Instagram's Privacy Settings ExplainedSome time ago I wrote an article about How to hide your profile and photos on Instagram since then Instagram has started to take the privacy of its users very seriously and given us more options. While also at the same time Instagram has done a better job at explaining their privacy settings, you can find that information here: https://help.instagram.com/196883487377501. Most often however people comment asking how to hide their photos, comments and likes both when commenting on another’s account and with people on their accounts. I’ve selected a three of Instagram’s explanations below.

1. How do I set my photos and videos to private so that only approved followers can see them?

By default, anyone can view your profile and posts on Instagram. You can make your posts private so that only followers you approve can see them. If your posts are set to private, only your approved followers will see them in the Photos tab of Search & Explore or on hashtag or location pages. Posts can’t be set to private from a desktop computer.

To set your posts to private from the Instagram app on iOS:

  • Go to your profile by tapping your profile icon
  • Tap the gear icon
  • Turn on the Private Account setting

Things to keep in mind about private posts:

Private posts you share to social networks may be visible to the public depending on your privacy settings for those networks. For example, a post you share to Twitter that was set to private on Instagram may be visible to the people who can see your Twitter posts.

  • Once you make your posts private, people will have to send you a follow request to see your posts, your followers list or your following list.
  • Follow requests appear in the Activity area (the heart icon), where you can approve or ignore them.
  • If someone was already following before you set your posts to private and you don’t want them to see your posts, you can block them.
  • People can send a photo or video directly to you even if they’re not following you.

2. Who can like or comment on my photos and videos?

If your account is public, anyone can like or comment on your photos and videos. If you want to prevent specific people from liking or commenting on your posts, you can block them.

If your account is private, only the people you’ve approved as followers will be able to like or comment on your photos and videos.

3. Who can see when I’ve liked a photo, or when someone’s liked my photo?

When you like a photo, it’s visible to anyone who can see the post. Your followers may also see your username below a photo you’ve liked, no matter how many likes it has (example:  [your username] and 12 others).

After 4 likes, photos show the number of likes, along with usernames of some people you follow who have liked it.

If your account is set to private:

  • Only your approved followers can see your posts, including any likes and comments
  • Likes on your posts won’t appear in the  Activity > Following feed
  • When you like a public post, your like will be visible to everyone and your username will be clickable below the post, but only approved followers can see your posts