How to See Who Follows a Private Instagram Account

Last Updated: January 12, 2023

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?

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/cb\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/cb\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-1.jpg\/v4-728px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. \n<\/p> \n<\/p><\/div>"}
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.

Section 2 of 5:

Send a Follow Request

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/25\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-2.jpg\/v4-460px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/25\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-2.jpg\/v4-728px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. \n<\/p> \n<\/p><\/div>"}
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]
X
Research source}
- 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

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/5c\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-3.jpg\/v4-460px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/5c\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-3.jpg\/v4-728px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. \n<\/p> \n<\/p><\/div>"}

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.

Section 4 of 5:

Check Their Facebook Friends List

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/f\/fb\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-4.jpg\/v4-460px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/f\/fb\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-4.jpg\/v4-728px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. \n<\/p> \n<\/p><\/div>"}

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

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d0\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-5.jpg\/v4-460px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d0\/See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-5.jpg\/v4-728px-See-Private-Instagram-Followers-Step-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\u00a9 2024 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. \n<\/p> \n<\/p><\/div>"}
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.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

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.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 8
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.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 4 Helpful 7
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.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 3 Helpful 6

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

[1]

Log in

How to See Who Follows a Private Instagram Account

Steps

Do any private Instagram viewers work?

Send a Follow Request

See Which Friends Follow Them

Check Their Facebook Friends List

Google Their Instagram Username

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

You Might Also Like

References

About This Article

Is this article up to date?

Quizzes

You Might Also Like

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Watch Articles

Trending Articles

Explore Categories