--- title: "Instagram Privacy Settings: A Checklist With Trade-offs" url: https://playciso.com/blog/instagram-privacy-settings-checklist updated: 2026-11-07 section: Blog publisher: PlayCISO --- # Instagram Privacy Settings: A Checklist With Trade-offs > Private or public, who can message and tag you, stories, comments, blocking, linked apps and two-factor: what each Instagram setting does and costs. Source: https://playciso.com/blog/instagram-privacy-settings-checklist · Published: 2026-11-07 · Publisher: PlayCISO (https://playciso.com) --- **The biggest Instagram privacy decision is whether your account is private, and it is also the one with the clearest trade-off.** Instagram's help page says that on a private account people have to send a follow request to see your posts, and your posts do not appear on hashtag pages. That protects you and costs you reach. After that come smaller choices: who can tag or mention you, which comments and message requests get filtered, how to deal with a person who will not stop, which apps still have access, and how well the login itself is protected. Instagram renames menus often and the steps differ between the app versions, so this checklist describes what each setting does, says where we could not verify a menu path, and links the official pages. If your account has already been taken over, go to our [hacked Instagram guide](/blog/instagram-hacked-what-to-do) instead. This page is about getting the settings right before anything goes wrong. ## Do this now: the 15-minute pass - Decide private or public. If you are not a creator or a business, private is the sensible default. Read the trade-off below first. - Set who can tag and mention you. Instagram offers everyone, only people you follow, or no one. - Turn on Hidden Words and add a few words of your own. - Check who can message you and where message requests go, in the messages settings of the app. - Look at your story audience, including any Close Friends list. - Review your activity status and location sharing in the app's settings and when you post. - Remove apps and websites you no longer use. - Turn on two-factor authentication and check where you are logged in. - Know Restrict and Block before you need them. You can rehearse every one of these in the [Instagram Privacy Settings Lab](/tools/instagram-privacy-settings-lab), a scenario with fictional people where nothing real is at stake. ## Private or public Instagram's help page says to open the menu, go to Settings, choose Account privacy and turn on Private account. It lists what changes: followers have to ask, your posts stay off hashtag pages, and the help page says that if you switch between public and private too many times, temporary limits may be placed on the account. It also notes that business accounts cannot go private, so you would switch back to a personal account first. The trade-off is simple. Private means fewer strangers see your photos and your followers list, which blunts the usual lookalike-profile and scam-message tricks. It also means you will not grow through hashtags and fewer people find you. If you run a shop or a creator account, public is a business decision, so keep what you post public and keep your personal life elsewhere. One more caution: making an account private does not necessarily hide what is already visible elsewhere, such as your profile picture and name, so avoid putting sensitive details there. ## Who can tag and mention you Instagram's safety page says you choose whether everyone, only people you follow, or no one can tag or mention you in a comment, caption or Story. We could not confirm the current menu name, so look for tags and mentions in the app's settings. The cost of "no one": a friend cannot easily include you in a group photo, and you may miss a post you would have liked to see. "People you follow" is a sensible middle choice, because it stops strangers placing you in spam without blocking friends. ## Messages and message requests Strangers messaging you is where many scams start. Instagram's messages settings let you control who can message you and where requests from people you do not follow go; the exact options differ by app version, so check the help center before relying on a particular wording. Instagram's safety page also says Hidden Words can filter message requests that may be inappropriate or offensive. The cost: a filter can send a real message from an old friend to a requests folder, so look in it now and then. Treat any message that asks you to click a link, send a code or log in again as suspect; our [hacked Instagram guide](/blog/instagram-hacked-what-to-do) explains why. ## Stories and Close Friends Stories can usually be shared with everyone who can see your profile or a smaller list. A Close Friends list is the narrow option: you pick the people, and only they see what you share to it. We verified the idea but not the current menu wording or what the viewer sees, so check Instagram's help page. The cost is housekeeping: a list that you made two years ago may include people you no longer trust, so review it. Remember that anyone who can see something can screenshot it, whatever the audience. ## Activity status and location Activity status shows when you were last active. Turning it off is a small reduction in how much you broadcast, and the usual cost is that you may stop seeing other people's activity as well. Check the current wording in the app. For location, there are two things: the phone's permission for the app, which you control in the phone's own settings, and the place you attach to a post. Think twice before posting from home or tagging where your children are right now. Posting after you have left is a simple habit that costs nothing. ## Comments, Restrict and Block Instagram's safety page describes a toolkit rather than one switch: - Hidden Words filters comments and message requests that may be inappropriate or offensive but do not break the Community Guidelines, and lets you add your own words. - Limits temporarily hide comments and message requests from people who do not follow you or only recently followed you. Useful if a post suddenly attracts attention you do not want. - Restrict: Instagram says their comments on your posts are visible only to them, they cannot see when you are active or have read their messages, and they are not notified. - Block: Instagram says blocked accounts cannot see your profile, posts or Stories, people are not notified, and you can also block new accounts they might create. Pick Restrict when you want to quietly defuse a classmate or relative, and Block when you want them gone. The cost of any filter is that it can miss things, so it supports your judgement and does not replace it. ## Linked accounts and third-party apps Instagram has a help page titled "Manage the privacy settings for apps and websites that you've logged into or connected on Instagram". The idea is the same as on other platforms: old games, schedulers and photo apps you connected years ago may still have access until you remove them. Look through the list and remove anything you no longer use. We could not read the page's detailed steps, so use the link in Sources for the current ones. If you use Instagram through a Meta Accounts Center, also review what is linked between your Instagram and Facebook accounts; sharing is convenient but widens what one breach can reach. ## Sign-in: two-factor and where you are logged in Audience settings do nothing if someone logs in as you. Instagram's help steps for two-factor authentication go through Accounts Center, then Password and security, then Two-factor authentication, and offer an authentication app, text message or WhatsApp. An authentication app is generally stronger than a text message, and our [Passkey Lab](/tools/passkey-lab) shows where passkeys fit. In the same area, check where you are logged in and log out of sessions you do not recognise. Use a unique password from a password manager, and keep the email and phone number on the account up to date. ## Teen accounts and parental supervision Instagram's Teen Account help page says accounts of people under 18 are private by default, teens under 16 need a parent's or guardian's permission to make the account public, and 16 and 17 year olds can switch to public without permission unless supervision has been set up. It adds that moving to a more protective setting needs no permission. For families, the practical approach is to sit down together, set up supervision from the official tools, agree who may follow the account, and agree what to do if a stranger messages. Settings help; a child who knows they can tell you about a creepy message without being punished helps more. ## How to tell it is working - When you view your profile from a logged-out browser or a friend's phone, you see only what you intended. - Your followers are people you recognise. Remove the rest. - Where you are logged in lists only your own devices. - Your connected apps list holds only things you still use. - A search for your name and username shows what you expect; our [Digital Footprint Check](/tools/digital-footprint-check) can help. ## Prevent it next time: a checklist - Revisit these settings every few months and after any app update. - Keep the account private unless it is a business. - Limit tags and mentions to people you follow. - Keep Hidden Words on, with a few words of your own. - Review your Close Friends list. - Remove apps you no longer use. - Keep two-factor authentication on, with an authentication app. - Never give a login code to anyone, including someone who seems to be Instagram support or a friend; if you slip, use the [Instagram Hacked Recovery Lab](/tools/instagram-hacked-recovery-lab) to rehearse what to do. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I make my Instagram account private? Instagram's help page says to open the menu, go to Settings, choose Account privacy and turn on Private account. Instagram says that once an account is private, people have to send a follow request to see your posts, and your posts do not appear on hashtag pages. Menus change, so check the help page for the current steps. ### Can I stop people tagging or mentioning me on Instagram? Instagram's safety page says you can choose whether everyone, only people you follow, or no one can tag or mention you in a comment, caption or Story. The exact menu name changes, so look for the tags and mentions settings in the app. ### What is the difference between Restrict and Block? Instagram says that when you Restrict someone, their comments on your posts are visible only to that person, and they cannot see when you have read their messages or when you are active. Block is stronger: Instagram says blocked accounts cannot see your profile, posts or Stories. In both cases people are not notified. ### What does Hidden Words do? Instagram says it filters comments and message requests that may be inappropriate or offensive but do not break the Community Guidelines, and that you can add your own list of words. It filters; it does not remove the people sending them, so pair it with Restrict or Block. ### Are teen accounts private by default? Instagram's Teen Account help page says accounts of people under 18 are private by default, that under-16s need a parent's or guardian's permission to make an account public, and that 16 and 17 year olds can change it themselves unless supervision is set up. Moving to a more protective setting does not need permission. ### Is two-factor authentication on Instagram worth it? Yes, because audience settings only control who sees things, not who can log in. Instagram's help steps point to Accounts Center, then Password and security, then Two-factor authentication. The methods offered in the help pages include an authentication app, text message and WhatsApp; an authentication app is the usual recommendation. ## Sources - [Instagram Help Center: Make your Instagram account private](https://help.instagram.com/448523408565555) - [Instagram Help Center: Manage the privacy settings for apps and websites that you've logged into or connected on Instagram](https://help.instagram.com/1144624522593085) - [Instagram Help Center: Manage your Teen Account settings](https://help.instagram.com/455298907304715) - [Instagram Help Center: Controlling Your Visibility](https://help.instagram.com/243810329323104) - [Instagram: Anti-bullying tools (Restrict, Block, Hidden Words, Limits, tags and mentions)](https://about.instagram.com/community/anti-bullying/) - [Instagram: Account security](https://about.instagram.com/safety/account-security) *This is general guidance. Instagram's menus and wording change by version and platform, and the help pages above sometimes show only a shell to automated readers; follow them for the current steps. Where we could not read a page in full, the post says so.*