How to View a Private Instagram Account? A Detailed Guide

Imagine you are on your stalking spree on Instagram, and you come across a private account. It sucks, right? No stalking skill would work in this case, as you can’t do anything but wait till the user accepts your request. Or worse, what if you don’t even want them to know that you’re keeping an eye on them? Puzzler! 

Here, instead of pondering on how to view a private Instagram profile, you can apply some workarounds and get to feed your soul with what you want. You read that right, there are ways where you can learn how to view a private Instagram account. Dive in and you will get to know it all. 

What is a Private Instagram Profile?

Instagram private account feature is given to every Instagram user. Regardless if you are a famous personality with a blue tick on Instagram or a regular user, you will get the option to make your Insta private. So when you set your Instagram to private, only the users added to your list will be able to see your content. Users will first have to send you a follow request, and if you approve their request, then only they will be able to see your content. Without your approval, no one would have access to any of the content that you post on Instagram. 

Mostly, business accounts and celebrity accounts are public because it’s part of their job to gain as many followers as they can through their content. 

Users might confuse the Instagram private account with the Facebook one, but that’s not how Instagram works. When you make your Instagram account private, users outside your added list won’t be able to see anything, your posts, videos, or stories, just your display picture. 

So should Instagram be private or public? There’s a whole thread of arguments on Quora, you can have a look at it and decide for yourself. 

So the question here is, how to see someone’s private Instagram account since all the content on an Instagram page is hidden when the account is private? Well, you will be pleased to know that there’s not just one but multiple ways to view private accounts on Instagram. Let’s have a look at each one of them. 

How to View Private Instagram Profile?

I know stalking can be quite fun, but let’s also not forget how inappropriate and unethical it is. This is why I have come up with a few ethical and doable ways on how to see private Instagram accounts. 

You might have seen a few accounts on Instagram with just a few followers, no posts, and sometimes not even a display picture. What did you think? What are they there for? They are all accounts by users who want to stalk someone. So there won’t be anything wrong with you creating one for yourself, too, would it be? I doubt that. 

You can easily send a request from that ‘fake’ account to the person you want to stalk, and if they approve your request, go dig in. But if they don’t, there are more ways to see private Instagram accounts. 

Another way to view a private Instagram account is by creating a duplicate account of someone else with a totally different name. There are chances that the person you are trying to stalk might not let YOU in, so you can be someone else and sneak into their life. I won’t say this is 100% ethical, but since there are limited ways for the same, let’s consider this one too. 

Just like mentioned above, Instagram’s way of making an account private is a bit different from any other social media platform like Facebook. So if you have had no luck locating someone on Instagram, you can try any other of their social media handles; you may find something there. 

I know there are chances that if the user has a private account on Instagram, they could have the same on other social media as well, but it’s worth a shot. However, if you are still unsuccessful, try other ways to view a private Instagram account 2023. 

There’s nothing you can’t find on Google. Plus, Google can locate the images of a private Instagram account if they ever used to have a public profile. You may have noticed that Google does index public Instagram posts, so there are hopes that the target ever used to have a public account on Instagram. 

Well, of course, you can take help from a friend; what else are friends for? If any of your friends have followed the target user, you can take their help and look into their profile from your friend’s account simply. 

You can even ask them to send you screenshots or screen recordings of your target user’s account if they don’t mind. This way, you won’t be outperforming any of the Instagram community guidelines or doing something even slightly unethical. Hence, it’s a win-win! 

If you are so eager to take a look at someone’s profile, you can talk to them directly. What’s the worst that could happen? They could say no, but you have other methods for that then, but what if they say yes? Nothing could be better than that, right? 

I know, you have your reasons for not reaching out to the target user directly. That’s why you are here, to look for ways how to view private Instagram accounts, but if it’s not that bizarre, try asking them directly. 

Well then, if nothing works, you can take help from third-party apps that are specially designed to allow users to view private Instagram accounts without following them. These Instagram viewers can grant you guaranteed confidential and undetectable access to another user’s Instagram account without following them. 

Some of these apps might be paid, but there are tons of them that won’t ask for even a single penny and will grant you what you have been looking for. Let’s have a look at some Instagram private account viewers now. 

How to View a Private Instagram Account Without Following?

If none of the above methods worked out for you, it doesn’t mean that you lost; you still have a shot. Do you want to know how? Here are some apps and sites that you can opt for while looking for how to see private Instagram accounts without following just like you view Instagram stories anonymously. Have a look and see what would suit you the best:

1. Glassagram

An app that will serve you more than you came looking for. Here, you can get access to any Instagram account and see private Instagram accounts. Not just that, you can easily track and monitor phone calls while keeping GPS records as well. I bet you didn’t ask for this much. 

2. mSpy

To view private Instagram profile and their content, use mSpy. It lets you get access to private Instagram accounts without having to follow them. And not just on Instagram, you can also use this app on other social media handles like Tinder and Facebook. 

3. imglookup

One of the most widely used private Instagram viewers that users prefer the most. All you have to do to view a private Instagram profile is enter the username of your target user and hit on the “Spy Now” option, and just with it, the tool will start to work on its own, and you’ll be good to go. 

And this was the answer to your query about how to view private Instagram profiles in 2022 or 2023, but is it legit? And if it’s not, is there a legitimate way of doing so? Let’s find out. 

Is There Any Ethical Way of Viewing a Private Instagram Profile?

Obviously, sneaking into someone’s private Instagram account is not totally ethical. If someone has made their Instagram account ‘private,’ it is quite clear that they don’t want just anyone to view their Instagram profile and their content, and as a user, you should respect their privacy. However, sometimes we may not want to do everything that’s right, and this is why you are here. Plus, anyone can know who views their Instagram profile and find out what you have been doing. 

Either way, the most ethical and legitimate way to see private Instagram accounts is to send the target user a follow request; you never know, they might let you in with literally zero grudges. 

Why Do People Make Their Instagram Accounts Private?

After all this, you must be wondering what it is that makes users make their Instagram accounts private. What’s there to hide? Well, each user may have varied reasons for doing so, but there’s one thing that is certainly common which is they want and expect you to respect their decision and maintain their privacy. 

I mean, obviously, if anyone had wanted to share their content with everyone, they would have just made their accounts public, but if they haven’t, there must be some solid reason. Plus, doing something even remotely unethical is straight going against Instagram Community Guidelines, which can even hamper your account as well. And since Instagram is very strict about its policies, it is certainly advised to never even try to go against any of them. 

But since we are talking about private Instagram accounts, let’s dig in a bit more and find out some pros and cons of making our Instagram accounts private. 

Pros and Cons of a Private Instagram Account

Here are some pros and cons of making your Instagram private:

And that’s all about why people prefer private Instagram accounts. But now you must be wondering how to make your Instagram private. Here’s how. 

How to Make a Private Instagram Profile?

By now, you have encountered everything about a private Instagram profile, including its pros and cons as well. So if you also wish to restrict your privacy and wish to make your Instagram private, follow the below-given steps:

• Launch your Instagram account on your device and visit your profile. 
• Visit the Settings section from there and click on the Privacy button from there. 

  

• There right at the top, you will see ‘Account Privacy’, click on it to continue. 
• From there you can toggle the private/public account button for your account. 

  

Wrapping Up

Viewing someone’s private Instagram account without following them is quite possible but only if you know the right steps for it. I hope some of the above helped you with the same. The best way is to look for the safest and the most ethical way so none of it ends up landing you in any sort of trouble. 

Author: Mehak Gupta

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