How to hide who you follow on Instagram? Can I hide my followers?‍

TL;DR & Summary

When you switch to private account, only your followers can see who you follow. If you want to hide who you follow, switch your account to private mode by going to Settings > Privacy > Account Privacy and toggling on "Private Account." This will restrict access to your profile, including the list of people you follow, only to approved followers. Instagram does not allow users to entirely hide their followers list.

Is hiding following on Instagram justified?

Who isn't on Instagram? From your neighbour next door to your friend who lives miles away, almost everyone uses it. But there are a lot more people than that. And who you follow on Instagram can be a source of unnecessary drama. For instance, your friend might argue with you for following someone they don't like.

Another prime concern can be that of privacy. Instagram has blurred the lines of what’s private and what’s not. Instagram gives other people insight into your interests, relationships, and the content you view. Therefore, you must take some precautions.

In a weird turn of events, other Instagram users could potentially use this information against you. So, it’s always best to protect your privacy as much as possible.

Therefore, we’re going to discuss multiple ways how you can hide who you follow on Instagram!

Can you hide followers on Instagram?

The question people often ask is how to hide who you follow on Instagram? Unfortunately, for Instagram users, this is not something you can do.

The number of people that you follow on Instagram and how many people are following you remains visible when people click on your Instagram profile. However, there are other things that you can tweak with respect to choosing who sees what.

How to hide who you follow on Instagram for business accounts?

Regardless of which account you use, you cannot hide followers & following lists on Instagram. So, even for a business account, the number of followers remains visible to everyone on the platform.

Instagram has rolled out a bunch of features so far but nothing on this. Therefore, you can't do anything about this problem. We are still waiting for Instagram to add more privacy-related features.

How to hide who you follow on Instagram for private accounts?

Many people don’t consider keeping their social media account private. Apart from celebrities and influencers, everyone should keep their profile private. You never know how others may use your photos or post. On a private account people who don't follow you, cannot view your details.

However, when using a public profile this is visible to all. Even on a private account your followers and following list remain visible. But only those who follow you can see it. The rest can just see the numbers. On the other hand, on a public account, anyone can see both.

The reason why social media platforms want the number of followers to remain visible is that this is why they exist. Social media apps are driven by the number of followers a user has on its account.

People are obsessed with the number of followers. This is what keeps them coming back to the platform. Hence, the app will not make it easy for you to hide followers on Instagram. Instagram has now added the feature to hide likes. This has been done owing to the concern over the digital well-being of users. But nothing has been done further in this domain. 

How to hide who you follow on Instagram? [Hide from current followers]

Unfortunately, you can’t do this either! Then, what can you actually restrict? Don't worry we'll discuss this in a while.

The actual numbers represent your following and following. They are always visible. It doesn’t matter what type of account you have – you can’t hide the numbers. It’s one of the areas where Instagram is uncompromising. But there may be a to hide who you follow.

It does make sense though. As said before numbers drive social media. It would be counterintuitive to their business if you could just hide the Following and Followers list on Instagram. You would leave everyone to speculate. But there are things you can do to manage who sees what in your account.

Let's see what things you can restrict! 

How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Limit visibility

Maybe in the future, Instagram might allow users to hide followers. But we don’t see that happening any time soon. However, you can control your visibility on the platform and what people can see on your profile.

Here are some routes you can take to limit visibility on your Instagram account:

1. Restrict a user’s account

2. Switch to private mode

3. Block/Remove user

Now let’s take a look at each one of them.

1. How to restrict accounts on Instagram?

Restricting a person means limiting what a person can view on your profile. When you restrict someone they don't get to know. For instance, a restricted user cannot view when you are active or stories. The user also cannot see your online status or if you have read a message they sent you. Here's how to do this:

• Step1: Open Instagram.

• Step 2: Click on your profile icon to enter your profile.

  

• Step 3: Click on Settings and then tap Privacy.

• Step 4: Go to Connections

• Step 5: Then, tap Restricted Accounts.

  

• Step 6: Search for the name of the user you want to restrict and tap "Restrict"

  

If you ever decide to unrestrict them then follow the same steps as above!

2. Hide followers on Instagram by switching to private mode

By switching to a private profile you can hide the people you follow on Instagram. You still cannot hide the number of followers. But you can hide who is following you and who you follow.

This is how you can do it:

• Open the Instagram app

• Tap on your profile in bottom right corner

  

• Next, click on the 3 horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen

  

• Tap on Settings

  

• Tap 'Privacy'

  

• Toggle 'Private Account'

  

Once you switch to a private account, anyone who wants to follow you must seek your permission.

You can then decide if you would allow that person to view your profile.

3. How to block followers on Instagram?

If you do not want certain people to view your profile then the best things you can do is to completely block them.

Blocking can seem a little extreme but it’s the only way to hide followers on Instagram from certain people.

Follow the steps below to hide followers on Instagram :

• Open the profile you want to block

  

• Go to the 3 dots on the top of their profile page & tap block

  

• Tap 'Block' & then confirm your action

  

How to remove followers on Instagram?

Blocking someone is extreme. Instead, you can remove the user. Even this is easy! When you remove them, they will not be notified. In place of this, when they click on your profile only then they will know. Also, they will need your permission to view your profile again.

By removing followers and keeping your profile private you can't hide followers on Instagram. However, all they can see is the number of followers and not the list of people actually following you.

You can easily do this by going to your Followers' list. Just search the username and press "Remove" next to their name!

If you've tried to follow someone recently but couldn't, click here to see the fix.

FAQ- How to hide who you follow on Instagram

Well, we have so far discussed the topic of how to hide who you follow on Instagram. Let's dive and see other doubts on this issue!

Can I hide my activity status on Instagram?

Yes, you can and without further ado, we'll tell you how!

• Open your profile

• Click on the 3 lines at the top right corner of your screen

• Click on Settings & then select Privacy

  

• Tap Activity Status

  

• Tap activity status and slide it to turn it off

  

This will allow you to browse on Instagram with others not knowing that you are actually active on the app.

Can I stop seeing someone on Instagram without unfollowing?

Instagram introduced a new feature that lets you stop updates from a particular user without having to remove or block them. All you have to do is mute them. You can unmute them whenever you would like to view their posts again.

The best thing about this feature is that the person you muted will never know that they have been muted.

Can I hide my Instagram from my phone’s contacts?

This setting is quite simple to activate but has nothing to do with Instagram settings. In your phone’s settings, scroll to applications and locate Instagram.

From there, turn off contact accessibility, and the permission will be removed from the application. Additionally, no one from your contacts list will be able to find you using your contact information.

That's all on how to hide who you follow on Instagram, but keep reading for more!