Keeping your Instagram account private is important if you don’t want just anyone to see your photos. Many people choose to set their profile settings to private to avoid random followers and keep the app as a place where they can share visual content with close friends or trusted acquaintances. However, with this setting, you won’t be able to see who views your own posts or pictures, nor will you know when someone screenshots them. There are some downsides to keeping your profile set that way; for instance, if you want to know when someone views your own posts or take a screenshot of it. Luckily, there are ways to be able to do that while still keeping your profile private. Here are several steps on how you can turn off the read receipt feature on Instagram and get back your privacy!
Turn Off Read Receipts
When you “read” someone’s post, an icon of two unread paper strips will appear on the post’s icon on your profile. If you don’t want people to know when you’ve viewed their content, you can turn off read receipts by going to your profile settings and selecting “Posting.” From there, select the “Read Receipts” tab and slide the switch to “Off.”
Block Users
If you have a persistent stalker or just someone in your followers list that you don’t want to see your content anymore, you can block them. To block a user, navigate to the “Followers” section of your profile and click the “Block User” option next to the person you want to block. When you block a user, their comments and likes will disappear from your posts and they won’t be able to follow you. Additionally, if the person you blocked tries to search for you, they won’t be able to find your profile. To unblock someone, go to the same “Followers” section and click the “Unblock User” option beside the person’s name.
Turn on Dark Mode
If you’re looking to make your Instagram profile more low-key, you can turn on the app’s dark mode feature. This will make the app appear more like a black hole, making it harder for people to see what you’re doing on your phone or computer and keeping your privacy intact. To turn on the app’s dark mode, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the app, go to “Settings,” and select “Dark Mode” from the list.
Change Your Notification Settings
If you want to know when someone likes your content or screenshots it, you can turn on post notifications by going to your profile settings and selecting the “Notifications” tab. On this page, you can select whether you want to know when someone likes your posts, comments on them, screenshots them or posts on your feed.
Conclusion
There’s no shame in keeping your Instagram profile private. Many celebrities have public accounts but have their account set to private so only people they invite can follow them, which is the best of both worlds. If you’re worried about stalkers or just don’t want your account overrun with random followers, keeping your account set this way is an excellent way to avoid that. There are some downsides to keeping your profile private, though. If you want to know when someone views your own posts or takes a screenshot of them, you won’t be able to see that information. Fortunately, you can turn off the read receipt feature on Instagram and block users you don’t want to follow you while keeping your profile set to private.