How to View Private Instagram Profiles in 2024 [Without Following]

Do you want to view an Instagram profile and its content but the profile is private? With things such as this, there are always walk-around methods to get this done. In the article below, we would be describing some of the methods you can follow to view private Instagram profiles.

How to View Private Instagram Profiles

People need their privacy even in online settings and Instagram understands this need. For this reason, the platform comes with a privacy setting that a user can set his profile to private, and only those following such a user would be able to view the user’s profile.

While this is their right as a user and anyone can turn ON the feature as a way of keeping his content and posting away from prying eyes, the decision when taken does not go down well with many people. If you get trapped in the circle of wanting to view the profile of someone only to discover the visible has been turned to private, then you can tell how frustrating such decisions can be.

However, this does not mean a user hiding his profile means you cannot have access to it. There are methods you can follow to see the content of a user’s profile even after you have been denied access. In this article, we would be taking a look at the methods you can follow to view profiles of accounts that have been set to private on Instagram. Before doing that, let take a look at what an account being private means and why people would even set their account to private in the first place.


Account Private Mode on IG – an Overview

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By default, Instagram accounts are set to be public. That is, a user can actually view the content of your page without following you. In fact, non-Instagram users can even see your pictures and watch your videos by finding you via a simple Google Search. While many Instagram users are OK with this, some who are interested in their privacy or have some motives do not find this interesting.

For this reason, the private mode was introduced — to provide users control on who they would want to share their posts with. If you have the private mode ON, only your followers would be able to see the content of your profile. Not only that, new users that would want to follow you need to be approved first.

Aside from this private mode, there are other privacy-enhancing features such as blocking specific users from viewing your stories and feeds. You can even make yourself less visible on the platform. Now, you might be wondering; why do people do all of these?

Well, the number one reason is privacy. Some just do not want people outside of their circle to see their posts. Others would want to keep their profile private so that any user that is interested most follows them — an artificial method of forcing users to follow you. Some do this when they are under a public backlash. Whatever is the case, you can still view the content of their page with only a few steps.


Methods of Viewing Private Profiles on Instagram

Viewing Private Profiles on Instagram

There are basically 3 methods you can use to view the profile of a private account on Instagram. In this section of the article, we would be taking a look at these 3 methods in detail below.


White Hat Method: The Instagram Way

following a private account on Instagram
If you hit a profile only to discover it has been put on private mode, you might be thinking there is no way out or you need to follow some complicated steps to view its content, right? Well, that is not true. In fact, it might interest you to know that, you can be given permission to access the profile easily, but how’s is that done?

By simply following the account. However, the process of following a private account is different from following regular accounts. For a regular account, once you click on the follow button, you start following the profile. However, the process is different for private mode accounts as the profile owner needs to accept your follow request before you can follow him.

Now I am sure you can spot the problem right there — this means that if the user does not want you in his circle, your follower request won’t be granted and as such, you will be denied access to view the profile. So while this can work for the ideal situation, once sentiments set in, you might not be able to use this method to view a private profile on Instagram.

This method is only useful to those that want to respect the privacy of the user they want to view their profile — if a user is not interested, you give up. This is also the method supported by Instagram even though it is the least effective method against viewing content you were denied permission to view.


Grey Hat Method: Stealth Account Method

Stealth insta Account

What if you were denied the request; should you give up on viewing that private profile? Well, that is an option for a lot of people. However, if you are the type that does not take a NO for an answer, you can proceed to this method. The method is not different from the method above — you send a follow request and wait for your request to be granted.

However, there is a slight difference; you will need to use a different account other than your real account. If you own a business and you are trying to spy on your competitor, you can be certain they wouldn’t accept your request since you are not their target audience. If you know someone who does not want you to see his profile, there is no need to send the request using your account. Instead, you should use the account of another person — probably a friend or a colleague.

However, if you do not want to get anyone involved in the process, then you can create a stealth account that cannot be linked to you. By using such an account, the profile owner might grant you access since the account is from a “harmless person”. While doing this, you should avoid creating too many accounts as managing more than one personal account is against the T & C of Instagram. Also important is the fact that doing this is you already crossing the line since you are being deceptive — and Instagram sees this as a way of reducing the quality of its community.


Black Hat Method: Using a Profile Viewer App

IGlookup Overview

For some set of people, they wouldn’t just access a follow request from someone they d not know. For these set of users, the above two methods will not work — neither your account, that of a friend, nor even a stealth account will do the job for you. You will need to follow the black hat method. Usually, the method can be complicated if you are to go through the process manually.

Fortunately for us, there are some applications, some of which are available on the Internet that you can use to access private profiles without the owners of the profiles even knowing.

IstaPrivate overview

You can call the apps the ultimate Instagram profile stalker as that is what it does — it helps you to stalk profiles you are not allowed to access their content. This is the most effective method of getting it done.

While it is supposed to be the most difficult, private insta profiles viewer app have made them easily — even easier than following any of the other methods above.

Some of the popular private Instagram viewers you can use out there include IGLookup, IstaPrivate, and InstaLooker. All you need to do is access any of these via a browser and provide the username of the account and you will be granted access to the content posted by the user.

InstaLooker overview


Ethical Sides to Viewing Private Profiles

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If you are the type that is concerned about ethics and morals, then you do not have a business trying to force your way into accessing a private profile even when you are been denied access to it.

This means that, for the ethically concerned individuals, they are only confined to using the first method which is simply sending a follow request and hoping it isn’t declined. When declined, you should accept that and do nothing further. However, once you resort to using the account of another person – even if it is a stealth account, you have crossed the ethical line.

Ideally, one should not force their way into viewing the profiles of others. However, there are some situations where you will need to do that. For example, journalists might want to access certain content on a public profile that was turned private or the user just decided to remain private and keep a close group. The journalist would stop at nothing to make sure he is able to access the content he is interested in.

Conclusion

From the above, you can tell that keeping your profile private does not mean your content is protected — the way you think. The content you post on your profile can still be seen by others if they are interested in seeing them. For this reason, it is important you only post content you will not have the need to hide or keep in a close group on Instagram because if you do, you will discover how public the so-called private mode can become.

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