You’re growing on Instagram, and you’re building an audience, but there’s a problem…

…you don’t want certain people seeing exactly who’s following you or who you’re following.

Maybe you’re concerned about competitors analyzing your audience. 

Maybe you’re building a side hustle and want to keep it on the down low initially.

Or maybe you just want more control over your personal information.

The problem is that Instagram doesn’t let you completely hide your followers or following list from everyone. Most privacy guides only cover one list or the other, not both.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to hide both your Instagram followers and following list strategically so you protect what matters without sacrificing your growth.

How to Hide Your Instagram Followers and Following List

Instagram doesn’t offer a setting to hide your follower or following list from everyone while keeping your account public.

Private accounts are the only way to hide both your followers and following list from non-followers. 

Public accounts can only use selective blocking or removal, which requires managing people one by one. 

Business and Creator accounts cannot be made private at all. And third-party apps claiming to hide followers are scams or security risks.

Here are a few of your main options:

Method 1: Make Your Account Private

To set this up:

1. Open Instagram and go to your profile
2. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines)
3. Select “Settings and Privacy”
4. Tap “Account Privacy”
5. Toggle on “Private Account”

Once enabled, only approved followers can see your follower list, your following list, your posts, and your Stories. Your profile is still searchable, but all content stays hidden until you manually approve each follower request.

This method works best for personal accounts focused on friends and family, building an intentionally exclusive community, testing content before a public launch, or managing personal safety concerns.

The tradeoff is significant. 

Private accounts have limited discoverability since your content won’t appear in Explore or hashtag searches. You’ll need to manually approve every follower request, and this option isn’t available for Business, Creator, or Professional accounts. 

That said, it offers the most comprehensive privacy protection while still allowing audience growth through follow requests.

Method 2: Remove Specific Followers

This is the quiet approach. You can remove people without the confrontation of blocking.

1. Go to your profile and tap “Followers”
2. Find the user you want to remove
3. Tap the three dots next to their name
4. Select “Remove Follower”

The user can no longer follow you until they request again, and they won’t receive any notification. However, this does not hide who you’re following from them.

This works well for removing inactive or bot accounts, quietly removing specific unwanted followers, cleaning up your follower list without confrontation, or removing competitors from your follower list.

But…it’s time-consuming if you have a lot of followers to remove, and the user can simply re-follow you afterward. It also doesn’t hide your following list from them. 

Method 3: Block Specific Users

This is the nuclear option. You’re completely cutting off access to both your followers and following lists.

1. Go to the user’s profile
2. Tap the three dots in the top right
3. Select “Block”
4. Confirm by tapping “Block” again

Blocking prevents the user from seeing your profile, posts, Stories, follower list, or following list entirely. They can’t search for your account or message you. Existing messages become hidden (though not deleted), and they’re automatically removed as a follower.

Use this for harassment or safety concerns, blocking competitors from monitoring your account, or preventing specific individuals from accessing any of your information. 

It’s the most comprehensive individual restriction and can be undone if needed, but it’s also a relationship-ending move. The user may realize they’ve been blocked when they can’t find your profile.

Method 4: Restrict Mode

This is the middle ground where you can limit interaction without full blocking.

1. Go to your profile and tap the menu icon
2. Select “Settings and Privacy”
3. Tap “Restricted accounts”
4. Search for and add accounts to restrict

When you restrict someone, their comments on your posts are only visible to them unless you approve them. They can’t see when you’re active or when you’ve read their DMs, and they don’t receive any notification that they’ve been restricted. However, they can still see your follower and following lists.

This works well for managing boundary-crossing followers without confrontation, limiting interaction while maintaining your follower count, or testing whether someone’s behavior improves before you escalate to blocking. 

The main thing to remember restricting someone does not hide your follower or following lists from them. It only limits their ability to interact with you.

Which Privacy Method Should You Use?

For Faceless Content Creators

Here’s something to consider when you’re using faceless content strategies to build a brand…

It could be a good idea to keep your brand account public for discoverability while making your personal account private. 

For Business Accounts (Coaches and Consultants)

You need to be public for credibility, but you don’t want competitors analyzing your audience or stealing your positioning.

Keep your main account public since that’s required for authority and discoverability. Then use strategic blocking to prevent known competitors from seeing your followers and following lists. 

Run quarterly audits to remove competitor accounts from your follower list.

For Side Hustlers

If you’re building a content business as a side hustle while still employed, you may want privacy from colleagues and your current employer while still growing publicly.

If so, use a different name or handle rather than your full legal name, then keep a separate private personal account for friends and family. 

For Personal Brands Building in Public

Stay public since that’s required for building in public. Quietly remove followers who make you uncomfortable rather than blocking them. 

Instagram Privacy FAQs

No. Instagram doesn’t allow you to hide your followers (who follows you) and following (who you follow) separately. 

When your account is private, both lists are hidden from non-followers. When your account is public, both lists are visible to everyone.

Will people know if I remove them as a follower?

No. Instagram does not send notifications when you remove someone as a follower. However, they may notice if they visit your profile and see they’re no longer following you.

Does hiding Instagram followers affect the algorithm?

Yes, indirectly. 

Private accounts have reduced discoverability because their content doesn’t appear in Explore pages, hashtag searches for non-followers, or shares to non-followers. However, private accounts often see higher engagement rates because their audience is self-selected and opt-in. 

Going private reduces reach but can increase conversion, especially for high-ticket offers or exclusive communities.

Final Thoughts

Instagram doesn’t allow complete follower and following hiding for public accounts. Private accounts are the only comprehensive solution since they hide both lists from non-followers. 

Public accounts require strategic blocking and removal for selective privacy.

After helping hundreds of students build profitable Instagram accounts, here’s what I know for sure… 

Follower counts don’t matter nearly as much as engagement, trust, and revenue.

If hiding your followers helps you build a more engaged, trusting, profitable audience, do it. If keeping your account public helps you reach more of your ideal customers, do that.