How To Accept Follow Requests on Instagram
If you set your Instagram account to private, only users whom you accept as followers will have access to your content.
Opting for a private account offers greater control over your profile, ensuring that individuals with malicious intentions cannot steal your content or gather personal information such as your location, friends, home address, workplace, and more.
In simple terms, non-followers cannot stalk you!
To stay updated on activity related to your posts, you will notice a small dot beneath the heart icon and a notification bubble indicating likes, comments, and follow requests. Additionally, if you have push notifications enabled, you will receive notifications for these activities as well.
Let’s talk about how to accept a follow request on Instagram in more detail.
Contents
How To Accept Follow Requests on Instagram
Accepting a follow request on Instagram is a quick and simple process that only takes a few seconds. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open the Instagram app or visit https://www.instagram.com and log in to your account if you haven’t already done so.
- Tap the heart icon. In the Instagram app, you’ll find the heart icon at the bottom of the screen, while on a web browser, it’s located in the top-right corner next to your profile picture.
- If you have pending follow requests, you will see either a number indicating the count or a profile picture beside “Follow Requests.” Click or tap on this section.
- You’ll find a “Confirm” button next to the username of the person who requested to follow you. By tapping this button, you will accept their follow request, and they will become your follower.
- Alternatively, you may also see follower requests under your account’s “Recent Activity,” which can be accessed by tapping the heart icon. If you spot a follow request there, you can accept it directly without going to the “Follow Requests” section by tapping the “Confirm” button next to the user.
It’s important to note that if you deem it necessary, you can also deny follow requests. Simply tap the “Delete” button or the “x” mark next to the “Confirm” button if you prefer not to grant them access to your account. If you wish to prevent them from sending follow requests again, you have the option to block them.
How To Make Your Instagram Account Private
If you currently have a public Instagram account and wish to make it private, giving you control over who can follow you, changing your account privacy is a simple process. You can do this either through the Instagram app or the desktop site at https://www.instagram.com. Follow these steps:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Access your “Account settings.”
- Select “Privacy.”
- Toggle on the “Private Account” option to change your profile from public to private.
To confirm whether your account has been successfully set to private, you can check by accessing your profile on an Incognito browser using the URL https://www.instagram.com/yourusername.
If your account is still public, your Instagram posts will be visible. However, if your account is private, you will see a message that says, “This account is private. Follow this account to see their photos and videos.”
Conclusion
Only personal accounts can be set to private on Instagram. Brand and creator accounts are not allowed to switch to private because their purpose is to promote content and engage with a wider audience. By keeping their accounts public, they can reach a larger number of people.
However, setting your account to private does come with certain limitations. One limitation is that you can’t embed your posts or profile to share them with people outside of Instagram. Instead, you can only send them a link to your profile or share your username with them. If you want to show someone a specific post, you can only send them a screenshot or a copy of the photo or video.
Hashtags and locations also have limited functionality on private accounts. Your posts won’t appear in hashtag feeds or location searches for users who are not following you.
Despite these limitations, having a private Instagram account offers advantages as well. Your profile becomes more secure, and you don’t have to worry about unwelcome individuals with bad intentions monitoring your content. You can freely share whatever you want and post to your Instagram Stories in real time, knowing that your safety is protected as long as your followers are genuine and people you trust.
