How To Hide Your Following List on Instagram in 2025
How to Hide Your Following List on Instagram — Real Talk
Trying to hide your following list on Instagram can feel like trying to find the Holy Grail. Honestly, I’ve been through the mess of digging around in the Settings, only to realize the app’s interface changes constantly and some options are buried or unsupported depending on your account type. Here’s what I finally figured out after a lot of trial and error. Spoiler: Instagram doesn’t offer a simple “hide followings” toggle. It’s a bit of a workaround, but it works if you know the steps.
First things first: Check your account type and network
Make sure your internet connection is solid. I’ve noticed VPNs can cause weird glitches—disabling mine made everything smoother. Also, avoid heavy data-saver modes on mobile, because those can interfere with app functionality. If it feels like some options are missing or grayed out, it might be due to your network setup or app version.
Next, verify that you’re on a personal account. If you’re using a business or creator account, some privacy options, including hiding your followings, might not be available. To switch back to a personal account, head into Settings > Account > Switch to Personal Account. On some devices, this menu is tucked away under Settings > Account > Account Type. It’s a pain, but that personal mode is often needed for privacy tweaks like this.
Navigating privacy settings — this part kept tripping me up
Open your profile, tap the three horizontal lines top right, then go to Settings. From there, select Privacy. That’s where all the privacy controls live — at least in theory. But hiding the followings? Not exactly a toggle here. Instead, your best bet is setting your account to Private. When you switch to private, only approved followers can see your followers and followings. But wait—
Here’s where it gets tricky: even with a private account, your followers can still see your followings unless you manually cut off access. If you want to prevent anyone from seeing your list, you really need to control who follows you in the first place. That means reviewing your followers regularly — you can remove or block people who shouldn’t see your followings.
No direct toggle — but workaround options
Instagram doesn’t have a dedicated “hide followings” switch. Instead, making your profile private appears to be the closest thing. As soon as it’s private, only approved followers see the followings list. If someone is not a follower, they should be blocked from viewing, but technically they won’t see the list unless they’re approved, which is kinda close enough for most.
Some newer updates claim to add more granular privacy controls—like restricting who can see your following list specifically. In Settings > Privacy > Connections, some users report seeing options to hide following info for certain groups, but those features aren’t super widespread yet and might depend on your app version. Honestly, keeping your account private and managing followers is still the main strategy.
Extra tips and what finally worked for me
If options are missing or not working right, try restarting the app or clearing cache. Android users can clear Instagram cache via Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage > Clear Cache. iPhone users might need to reinstall the app. Also, make sure your app is up to date—many of these features are tied to the latest versions. Check the App Store or Google Play for updates.
Another thing—if your followings are still visible to certain folks, double-check your follower list periodically. I’ve found that actively removing or blocking suspicious or unknown followers helps keep your list private. Remember, if you really want tight control, don’t accept follow requests from people you just don’t trust. Better to keep your profile private and curate your followers carefully.
Honestly, it’s annoying that Instagram hasn’t made this feature more straightforward. For now, the best method seems to be turning your profile private and managing followers actively. No perfect solution, but it does the trick. It took me a while to figure this all out—expect some head-scratching and app reboots.
Since Instagram updates their privacy options frequently, I recommend keeping an eye on new features. Sometimes, toggling on/off the “Private Account” setting helps enforce privacy. Just don’t rely on it alone—regularly review your followers and what they can see.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure it out. Anyway, good luck keeping those followers at bay!