How to See Private Instagram – The Handy Guide

While some Instagram users keep their profiles open for the world to see their aesthetics, others like to keep it on the low.

With that in mind, you must have asked yourself, at least once, “How can I access this private Instagram account and see the posts?”

The reasons behind this commonly-asked question are endless. It could be your ex-boyfriend, ex-friend, or just someone you’re interested in knowing more about.

We’re not here to judge. On the contrary, we’re here to help you get to the bottom of things, which is, in this case, someone’s private Instagram account.

If you’re eager to scroll through someone’s Instagram profile and check out their posts, or whatever it is that sparked your interest in the first place, we’re here to help you do just that—find out how to see someone’s private Instagram.

Disclaimer: There’s more than one way to do this.

Stay tuned, Instagramers!

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Ways To See Someone’s Private Instagram Posts

Right off the bat, there’s nothing wrong with being curious about someone’s social media account—we’ve all been there. The world that we live in revolves around technology, and it’s basically become part of our everyday life.

Our social media profiles represent our most trusted platforms that we use to express ourselves and share our life, opinions, clothes, and aesthetic with our friends, the community, and the rest of the world.

It’s a pretty big deal when you think about it.

And the effort we put into organizing our “feed” takes up some serious time.

As you are well-aware, Instagram is one of the most used social networks today, and it’s not just words coming from Instagram enthusiasts.

In 2021, Instagram recorded 2 billion active users.

With such a large user base, it’s important to stay safe on this platform. That’s why many users on Instagram keep their profiles private, and we respect that decision.

However, if you’re just curious about someone, and wondering how to see private account photos on Instagram, know that there’s more than one way to achieve this.

We’ve singled out a couple you can try, so don’t go anywhere.

We’ll explain each one, and offer our input as well.

The “Follow Request”

Yup, it’s pretty much the oldest trick in the book, and probably the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind when they want to view someone’s Instagram profile.

Gathering the courage and sending a “Follow” request.

Basically, what you do is go to the “Search” option on your Instagram, type in their name, and click on their profile.

Naturally, you have high hopes that you’ll stumble upon a public profile, but instead, this pops up:

ALT: A screenshot showing a private account on Instagram.

After you click on Follow, this is what you’ll see:

ALT: A screenshot showing the request follow option.

Now, it’s time to wait.

You’ll get a notification once that person has accepted your follow request. When that notification pops up, you can go to their profile and scroll all day if you want.

However, you might have to wait for some time before they accept you. There’s even a slight chance that someone may not approve your request simply because they don’t allow unknown people on their profile, or like to keep their virtual circle small.

This might be the oldest trick in the book, but it might not work every time.

Use A Friend’s Phone

Are there any other ways on how to see Instagram private account posts, without sending a follow request?

Yup, there’s plenty where that came from.

The second option would be to take your best friend’s phone, for example, and check out their profile. Of course, this option only works if your best friend follows the person.

If you don’t have any intention of following that person, however, and you just want to check out their posts, this is a harmless way to do it, and we doubt that your BFF won’t agree.

Search On Other Platforms

Bear in mind that Instagram is probably not the only platform that this person uses, at least as social media goes.

As we said, the virtual world is huge, and most of us use at least 3 social media networks to keep in touch with our friends and follow up on what’s happening worldwide.

So, your third option would be to search for this person on other social media. You have the freedom of choice here. You can go through:

Facebook
Twitter
TikTok
Viber

We believe that most people who can’t find something on Instagram go straight to Facebook. Most accounts there are public, and you can easily go through their photos and statuses they post to see what’s happening.

Download An App

You can view someone’s private Instagram profile with the help of another app that’s associated with Instagram. If you’re REALLY curious about this person, this is the best way to do it, without asking someone else for help.

For this venture, you will need PlayStore, AppleStore, or Google.

Nowadays, there are plenty of spy apps you can choose from. Their essence, however, remains the same—to spy on that one person.

Basically, you can go online and type in any of the following:

mSPy
Glassagram
PrivateInsta
IGLookup
InstaDP

Some of them require a download, while others require you to make a profile on their website or subscribe. Be prepared—spying might cost you a few dollars.

Our advice would be to skip this, because most apps are not programmed well. Some apps are just scams and will charge you money without giving insight into someone’s profile.

And just like that, you’re back to square zero.

Before you create an account or profile on any of the spy apps that you come across, make sure to not double, but triple-check everything about the app.

And, of course—read the reviews and comments from other people!

Create Another Profile

It could be that you’re so persistent in your desire to see someone’s private Instagram profile because they blocked you on your main one.

Let’s be honest. This is a pretty common thing to do, especially when partners get into a fight. Mind you; the “Block” option on Instagram doesn’t apply just to love relationships.

It can also be your friends, family, etc.

How do you outsmart them?

Well, you can create another Instagram profile. It’s not the most honest approach, to be fair, but if you’re desperate to see something, it might just work.

Also, if someone hasn’t accepted your “Follow” request sent from your main account, and patience is not one of your stronger assets, you can look at this as a shortcut.

Google Them

In some cases, Google helps the job get done.

This is your go-to search engine if you don’t use any other social media networks apart from Instagram, but you are eager to find out something about the “mystery” person.

Nothing complicated, really; you just type in their name in the regular search bar and click on Photos. The internet is a huge place, so you’re bound to find out something.

Everyone’s on Google. Don’t be surprised if these are old photos, though.

You might come across old Instagram or Facebook photos, group photos, old selfies, etc. It might not be much, but after an unsuccessful previous search, even pictures from 2015 can be enough.

Is This Invasion of Privacy?

We need to draw the line between curiosity and invading someone’s privacy. So far, we’ve discussed ways in which you can view someone’s private Instagram account for various purposes..

The line of invading someone’s privacy won’t be crossed until you abuse the data you find on someone else’s profile.

So, for example, if you get a hold of someone’s private Instagram account, and you willingly decide to exploit their posts or information, that’s an invasion of their privacy.

Although social media is meant for sharing, our accounts and profiles are almost like “private property,” and they should be treated like that.

In this case, if your search has proven to be unsuccessful, and you just couldn’t find a way to view someone’s private Instagram account, it’s time to move on.

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Summing Up

Okay, folks. That’s a wrap on how to see someone’s private Instagram. We revealed all of the ways in which you can “get a hold” of someone’s private account, so let’s review them.

The good thing about social media in general is that you can do one thing in a dozen different ways. As far as someone’s private Instagram account is concerned, you can: