So you are planning to switch your Instagram account from public to private or vice versa but don’t know how. You also want to know what happens next. Don’t worry, here’s everything you need to know about how to make your Instagram account public or private and what happens when you make your Instagram account private or public. Let’s with the how first.
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What Happens When You Make Your Instagram Account Private
Once you made your Instagram account public to private, here are all the changes you can expect from your Instagram account.
Who Can Check Your Private Instagram Account Posts/Stories
Only users who are following you can check your posts and stories. For all other users, it will say This account is private. Your posts will not appear on the search page or explore pages too even if you are using hashtags on your posts.
Who Can Follow Me on Instagram If It Is Private
People cannot follow you directly anymore. You need to accept their follow request in order for them to follow you. You can accept the follow requests from the Notifications page. You will get a notification as soon as someone sends a request. At the top of the screen, you should find Follow requests option where you can find all the requests in one list.
On the Follow requests page, you should find the list of users who send you requests to follow you. You can tap on the Confirm button to confirm, and the Delete button to delete the request. Users will not know when you delete their request.
What Happens to My Old Instagram Followers Once I Make It Private
Any user who was following you previously will still be following you after you have made your Instagram account private. If you like to remove any of them, open your profile page, tap on the Followers option at the top and then tap on the Remove option to Remove anyone from following you.
Users can cancel their request and send another request. It can be irritating to get the same request again and again. To stop that, you can block the user completely. You can do that by opening their account, then tapping on the kebab menu (three-dot menu) at the top right and selecting the Block option in the menu to block that specific user
What Profile Info Is Visible on a Private Instagram Account
Though you have a private account, anyone can actually look at some of your profile details. For example, users can check your profile picture and bio. There is no way to hide it for only the people you follow. You can choose to block them for a few users by blocking them completely. It’s always better to use a profile picture that you are fine with everyone seeing.
Along with that, anyone can know the number of posts you have made, the number of followers you have, and the number of users you are following. Again, you cannot hide it from your followers only. But you can block any user to restrict them.
They can access the number of people you are following and the number of people following you, but they cannot check the list of the following or followers. But if you both have any mutual friends, then they can check all the mutual followers between the two of you.
Who Can Send Me Direct Messages on a Private Instagram Account
Though your account is private, everyone can still send you direct messages. But it is hidden and users have to tap on the kebab menu (three-dot menu) at the top and select the Send Message option. That’s it, now they can send you messages even without following you. You can stop specific users by blocking them. Blocked users cannot send you messages.
Who Can Tag Private Instagram Accounts
Anyone can tag you in their posts and ping you on random comments across Instagram which is annoying. Again, to stop it, the only way is the block individual users.
What Happens When You Make Your Instagram Account Public
Now let us see what happens when you make your Instagram public and more, welcoming.
Who Can View Public Instagram Account Stories
Your posts and stories can be viewed by anyone, even those who do not have an Instagram account.
When Can My Uploaded Media Be Searched on Google Search
If you have a huge number of followers and have set your account to a professional account, then the images and videos you post can also appear on Google Search.
What Happens to Pending Friend Requests
All your pending friend requests will get accepted once you make your Instagram account public account from private. To stop that, you have to delete the friend requests that you don’t want. However, they can follow you back again as your account is not private anymore.
If there are many pending friend requests, Instagram cannot accept all the users in one go. It will only accept a few users.
But you can change your Instagram account to private and then make it public again, you should see Instagram accepting more and more users. You can continue the process as many times as possible for all the requests to be accepted.
How to Make Instagram Account Private/Public
1. Open the Instgaram app on your Android or iOS phone. Now tap on the profile icon at the bottom right corner.
2. Now tap on the hamburger menu at the top right corner. Then select the Settings option in the pop-up.
3. On the Settings page and select Privacy. On the Privacy page, enable the toggle beside the Private account option to turn your account into a private account. You can turn it off if you want to make your account public again.
4. In the pop-up, tap on the Switch to Private or Switch to Public option accordingly.
That’s it, you have successfully switched your profile from public to private or private to public.
Will You Switch
Now that you know what happens when you make the switch to a private or public Instagram profile, will you make the switch? Remember one thing, if you own a professional account, you cannot change it into a private account immediately. You need to turn your account into a personal account in order to do that. Also, don’t include anything personal information in the profile pic and bio. It’s better to post it and pin that post to your Instagram profile instead.
