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1Do any private Instagram viewers work?
2Send a Follow Request
3See Which Friends Follow Them
4Check Their Facebook Friends List
5Google Their Instagram Username
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Written byNicole Levine, MFA
Last Updated: January 12, 2023Fact Checked
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Are you curious about who's following a private Instagram account? As you've probably noticed, you can't see a private Instagram account's followers unless you're following them. But if curiosity is getting the best of you, we have a few simple tricks for finding out more information about private accounts, including whether any of your friends are followers. This wikiHow article will teach you different ways to see content on private Instagram accounts.
Section 1 of 5:
Do any private Instagram viewers work?
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While many websites and apps claim they can show you private Instagram profiles, none of them work. Some of these sites seem very convincing, but after much testing, we've found that they are all scams.
- Most of these fake viewers are mostly harmless—they make money from visitors completing "verification" steps, like watching videos and clicking ads to generate ad revenue, but they never show any private Instagram details.
- Other "viewers" are more malicious, asking for peoples' Instagram credentials or credit card information in an attempt to steal that data.
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Section 2 of 5:
Send a Follow Request
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Private accounts have private follower lists. Unfortunately, there's no tool or trick that can accurately show you the followers list for a private Instagram account. The only true way to find out who is following a private account is to send them a follow request and wait for them to accept.[1]
- If you're feeling nervous about sending a request from your personal Instagram account, you could always create a new account. You might want to focus your new account on something interesting or funny to intrigue the person you want to follow, such as inspiring self-help quotes, hilarious memes, toys from the 2000s, or chihuahuas in costumes.
Section 3 of 5:
See Which Friends Follow Them
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When you visit the private profile from your own account, you'll see which of your friends follow them at the top of the profile. If several friends follow the account, you'll see the first 2 or 3 names, followed by "and 15 others" (the number will vary). Tap the "and 15 others" link to see a full list of all of your friends who follow that account.
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Section 4 of 5:
Check Their Facebook Friends List
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The person with the private Instagram account might have a public Facebook friends list. Just head over to Facebook, go to their profile, and click or tap Friends at the top. There's usually a bit of crossover between people's Facebook and Instagram accounts, so it's likely that a lot of the people they're friends with on Facebook also follow them on Instagram.
Section 5 of 5:
Google Their Instagram Username
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While Googling won't show you who follows the account, you might come across some private photos. This is especially true if the private account was ever public in the past—there's a chance some of the account's photos are available on other websites.
- If the username is pretty common, try adding "Instagram" to your search to narrow down the results.
- You can also click or tap the Images link at the top of Google to view only images in your results.
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Community Q&A
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Question
How do I tell if my Instagram profile is private?
Community Answer
To check if your account is private, open your profile link in a separate incognito window or a different browser where you are not logged in. If your account is private, no photos or videos or stories of yours can be viewed, it will state that the profile is private. No info, aside from your bio, username, profile photo, and number of followers, will be visible. You can change the visibility of your profile in the settings.
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Question
How can I see my friend's Instagram profile photo?
Community Answer
If the account holder has uploaded a profile photo, anyone will see it, no matter if the account holder is public or pviate.
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Question
If I am following and followed to a private account, can I see who else they follow on a privacy list?
Community Answer
Yes. If a user with a private profile accepts your request for you to follow them, you can see all their content, photos, videos, and their follow lists.
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About This Article
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 231,891 times.
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Updated: January 12, 2023
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