As far as is known, you cannot hide only who you follow on Instagram while keeping your profile public. There is no separate setting for this. With a private account, you limit access, but approved followers can still see your list. Therefore, first check whether your profile is public and whether the person you want to hide the list from already follows you.
Below, you will read what you can do in each situation and how to check what others can see.
Can you hide only who you follow on Instagram?
According to the explanation of hiding your followed accounts you cannot. Restricting, muting, Close Friends and hiding stories do not hide that list either.
Pay attention to the difference between the two lists on your profile:
- Following: the accounts you follow, such as friends, athletes or recipe accounts.
- Followers: the accounts that follow you.
Suppose you do not want an acquaintance to see which musicians you follow. Then this concerns the list under Following . Unfollowing those musicians does not hide the list. It changes which accounts appear in it.
Who can see your followers and followed accounts on Instagram?
What someone can see depends on your account setting and whether that person is an approved follower. The table shows the general difference. Then test on your own profile what is visible.
| Situation | Who you follow | Who follows you |
|---|---|---|
| Public account | Generally visible to other users | Generally visible to other users |
| Private account, approved follower | Visible to that follower | Visible to that follower |
| Private account, not an approved follower | Access to the list is limited | Access to the list is limited |
| Follower removed, public account | Generally remains visible | Generally remains visible |
| Follower removed, private account | No longer has access as an approved follower | No longer has access as an approved follower |
| Account blocked | No normal access through that account | No normal access through that account |
A protected list does not mean that it is no longer visible anywhere that you follow someone. The number of followers or followed accounts is also different from the list of names. Therefore, check the numbers and names separately if you want to protect both.
Protect who you follow with a private Instagram account
With a private account, you can choose who to allow as a follower. Does the person you want to hide the list from already follow you? Then simply making your account private is not enough.
- Check your privacy setting. Look in the settings to see whether your account is public or private. The name and location of this option may differ by version.
- Choose private if that suits your goal. Consider whether you want strangers to have to request permission before following you.
- Review your current followers. Decide who may retain access and remove a follower if necessary.
- Test what others can see. View your profile from an account that is not an approved follower.
Cannot find an option to make your account private? Check what type of account you have. With a professional account, you may first need to choose a different account type. Read the explanation in the app before changing this, so you know what will happen to your features.
Hide who you follow on Instagram from one person
For example, do you want to prevent someone from your old class from looking? First check whether that person follows you and whether your account is public.
According to the explanation about removing and hiding Instagram followers removing someone mainly helps with a private account. With a public profile, that person can view public information again.
- Your account is private and the person follows you. Find that person in your followers list and use the option to remove the follower.
- Your account is private and the person does not follow you. Do not approve a follow request if you do not want to grant access.
- You want to stop access through that specific account. Consider blocking the account through that person’s profile.
Blocking does not guarantee that the person will never see anything again. For example, someone could view a public profile using another account. Therefore, also consider what you want to keep visible to strangers.
Which options do not hide your followed accounts on Instagram?
Not every privacy option determines who can view your list. These options are not a replacement for protecting your account:
- Restrict: this does not hide which accounts you follow.
- Mute: this is intended to show you less of someone. That is different from showing that person less of you.
- Best Friends or Close Friends: you choose who can see a story, not who can view your list of followed accounts.
- Hide your story: the visibility of your stories is separate from that of your list.
Did you receive a notification that Instagram is restricting what you can view? That does not prove that someone has enabled a secret privacy button. You cannot determine the cause from that notification alone.
Do not use an external app that promises to make your list invisible. Also do not share a password or login code for such a check.
How to test who can see your followed accounts on Instagram
View your profile from a second account of your own. Do you want to know what someone without permission can see? Then use an account that is not an approved follower. You can also ask someone you trust to look with you.
- Open your profile from the account you are using for the test.
- Check whether you can see only numbers or also the names under Followers and Following can open.
- Check separately what an approved follower can see if you also want to know that.
- Repeat the test after changing your privacy setting or followers.
Pay attention to what you can actually see. If a list does not load, that does not immediately prove that your privacy setting is working. Try again later if the result is unclear.
This test shows what a particular account can view, not who has previously visited your profile. For that, read whether you can see who views your Instagram profile. Would you like to know more about possible indications of profile visits? Then see the explanation of who views your Instagram profile.
Is your question about a video you posted? Then read whether you can see who viewed your Instagram video. If you also publish your own content, our Instagram services includes packages for followers and likes. The product pages show the available quantities and prices.
