Instagram privacy settings: what to change and exactly where to find it
Breach / exposure. Updated 2026-09-13. About 5 minutes to read.
Make the account private, turn off activity status, set Instagram Map to No one and delete your uploaded contacts in Accounts Center.
Instagram's defaults are built for reach, not privacy. A public account, visible activity status and synced contacts make it easy for strangers, scrapers and people you would rather avoid to find you. Six changes fix most of that, and they take about 15 minutes.
Every path below starts from your profile: tap the three lines at the top right to open Settings and activity. Meta renames and moves these menus often. The names below were current in September 2026, so if one has moved, use the search bar at the top of Settings and activity.
Make your account private and clean out followers
Open Settings and activity, then Account privacy, and turn on Private account.
Open your Followers list and remove anyone you do not know. Switching to private does not remove existing followers.
Use Close Friends for stories that show your home, school or routine.
In Settings and activity, open Hide story and live and choose anyone who should never see your stories, such as an ex or a coworker, without blocking them.
If you have a professional or creator account, switch it back to a personal account first. Professional accounts cannot be made private.
A private account still shows your name, username, profile photo and bio to everyone. Keep your suburb, school and employer out of the bio.
Hide when you are online
Open Settings and activity, then Messages and story replies.
Tap Show activity status and turn it off.
Know the trade-off: you will no longer see when other people are active either.
Control who can message, tag and mention you
In Messages and story replies, open Message controls and choose who can send you message requests. Stop requests from people you do not follow if strangers message you.
Open Tags and mentions and allow tags and mentions only from people you follow. Turn on manual approval so tagged photos do not appear on your profile automatically.
Open Hidden words to filter offensive comments and message requests.
Use Restrict on a specific person you cannot block without drama. Their comments become visible only to them.
If a post attracts a pile-on, open Limit interactions to temporarily mute comments and messages from accounts that do not follow you.
Stop contact syncing and delete contacts already uploaded
Open Settings and activity, then Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions.
Tap Upload contacts, choose your Instagram account and turn off Connect contacts.
Turning it off does not delete what was already uploaded. In Accounts Center on the web, open Your information and permissions, then Manage contacts, and choose Delete all.
On iPhone, open Settings, Apps, Instagram and turn off Contacts. On Android, open Settings, Apps, Instagram, Permissions and set Contacts to Don't allow.
Location: Instagram Map, stickers and your phone
Instagram Map arrived in August 2025. Meta says location sharing on the map is off unless you opt in, and you can share with mutual followers, Close Friends, selected friends or no one. It is worth checking, because many people tapped through the prompt.
Open your messages inbox, tap Map, then the settings gear, and choose No one.
Add location stickers after you leave a place, not while you are there.
In your phone settings, set Instagram's location access to Never, or While Using if you want the map, and turn off Precise Location on iPhone.
In the Friends tab at the top of Reels, use the controls to hide your own likes and comments from friends.
Ads and data: what you can and cannot switch off
There is no master switch that stops Instagram collecting data. You can limit how some of it is used for ads.
Open Accounts Center, then Ad preferences, and review Ad topics to see fewer ads on subjects you want to avoid.
Find Activity from other businesses and turn it off. From July 2026 Meta began replacing the older Your activity off Meta technologies control with this setting in the US and other countries, so some accounts still show Activity information from ad partners instead.
On iPhone, open Settings, Privacy and Security, Tracking and turn off tracking for Instagram.
Meta says businesses may still send it your activity whatever you choose. The new setting controls whether that data personalises your ads, feed and Meta AI answers, not whether Meta receives it.
Lock the account itself
Accounts Center, then Password and security: turn on two-factor authentication with an authenticator app rather than text messages.
In the same area, check Where you're logged in and log out of devices you do not recognise.
Remove old third-party apps that were given access to your account.
Frequently asked questions
Can people see my location on Instagram?
Only if you share it. Instagram Map sharing is off unless you opt in, and posts show a location only when you add one. Check the Map setting anyway, and look for landmarks in photos.
Can someone find my Instagram with my phone number?
They can be shown your account as a suggestion if they upload contacts that include your number. Remove your number from the account if you do not need it, and use an authenticator app for two-factor authentication.
Are teen accounts private by default?
Instagram Teen Accounts start as private with limits on messages. In Australia, Instagram is an age-restricted platform and must take reasonable steps to stop under-16s having accounts from 10 December 2025.
Why do settings on my phone look different from this guide?
Meta tests menu layouts on different accounts and countries. Use the search bar at the top of Settings and activity and type the setting name, such as activity status or contacts.
Does Instagram use my posts to train AI?
Meta uses public content from adult accounts to train its AI models. In the EU and UK you can object through Meta's Privacy Center. Elsewhere, the practical control is a private account and not posting anything you would not want reused.
Will blocking someone stop them seeing my profile?
Blocking stops that account seeing your profile and posts, and Instagram offers to block new accounts they create. It does not stop them logging out or using a friend's account, so a private account and a clean follower list still matter.