Anyone who has followed a social network knows that sometimes the most innocuous post can attract unpleasant responses, especially on apps like Instagram, where your content — whether video, image, or text — can be out there for anyone to see. There are any number of reasons you might want to set your account to private, even if only temporarily. It would make it so that only people you approve can follow you and see the stuff you post on your grid or in your Stories.

This isn’t a perfect solution. For example, although only your followers can see your posts while your account is private, some aspects of your account, such as your profile, will remain public.

To toggle your Instagram Private Account on:

If you want to pare down your followers, you can do that as well.

In your settings, you can also click the link to the Accounts Center if you want to deal with issues with other Meta apps as well, such as Facebook and Threads, or add other security features such as two-factor authentication.

Anyone who has followed a social network knows that sometimes the most innocuous post can attract unpleasant responses, especially on apps like Instagram, where your content — whether video, image, or text — can be out there for anyone to see. There are any number of reasons you might want to set your account to private, even if only temporarily. It would make it so that only people you approve can follow you and see the stuff you post on your grid or in your Stories.

This isn’t a perfect solution. For example, although only your followers can see your posts while your account is private, some aspects of your account, such as your profile, will remain public.

To toggle your Instagram Private Account on:

If you want to pare down your followers, you can do that as well.

In your settings, you can also click the link to the Accounts Center if you want to deal with issues with other Meta apps as well, such as Facebook and Threads, or add other security features such as two-factor authentication.