How to Hide Your Following List on Instagram (2025 Complete Guide)

Quick Answer

You cannot directly hide your following list on Instagram without making your account private. However, there are several workarounds and privacy strategies you can use:

1. Make your account private (hides from non-followers)
2. Remove specific followers who you don't want viewing your list
3. Use Close Friends for selective sharing
4. Create a secondary private account for following

Method 1: Make Your Account Private

This is the most effective way to control who sees your following list. When your account is private, only approved followers can see who you follow.

Steps to Make Your Account Private:

1. Open Instagram Settings Tap your profile picture → Menu (☰) → Settings and privacy

2. Navigate to Account Privacy Select "Account privacy" from the menu

3. Toggle Private Account Turn on "Private account" toggle

4. Confirm Changes Tap "Switch to private" to confirm

Important Note: Making your account private will require new followers to request approval. Your existing followers will still be able to see your following list.

Method 2: Remove Specific Followers

If you want to hide your following list from specific people without going private, you can remove them as followers.

How to Remove Followers:

• Go to your profile and tap "Followers"
• Find the person you want to remove
• Tap "Remove" next to their name
• Confirm removal when prompted

Note: Removed followers won't be notified, but they can follow you again unless you block them.

Method 3: Alternative Privacy Strategies

Create a Secondary Account

Use a private secondary account to follow people you don't want visible on your main profile.

Benefits:

• Keep your main account's following list minimal
• Follow sensitive or personal accounts privately
• Maintain professional appearance on main account

Use Close Friends Feature

Share stories and posts with selected people only, reducing the need for a public following list.

Benefits:

• Share content selectively without following publicly
• Maintain privacy while staying connected
• Control who sees your interactions

Restrict Accounts

Use Instagram's Restrict feature to limit what certain followers can see and do.

Benefits:

• Their comments on your posts are only visible to them
• They can't see when you're online or have read messages
• Limits their access to your activity without unfollowing

Additional Privacy Settings to Consider

Hide Your Activity Status

Settings → Privacy → Activity Status → Toggle off Prevents others from seeing when you were last active

Limit Story Sharing

Settings → Privacy → Story → Sharing Control who can share your stories and posts

Disable Similar Account Suggestions

Settings → Account → Similar account suggestions Stop Instagram from suggesting your account to others

Hide Tagged Photos

Settings → Privacy → Tags → Manually approve tags Review tags before they appear on your profile

Common Questions

Can I hide my following list without going private?

No, Instagram doesn't offer a feature to hide your following list while keeping a public account. The only way to fully hide it is by making your account private.

Will people know if I remove them as a follower?

No, Instagram doesn't send notifications when you remove a follower. However, they might notice if they check and see they're no longer following you.

Can I hide who I follow from specific people?

Not directly. You can only control this by either going private and not accepting their follow request, or by removing them as a follower if your account is private.

Does blocking someone hide my following list from them?

Yes, blocked users cannot see your profile, posts, or following list. However, blocking is a more extreme measure that completely cuts off interaction. For a less extreme option, consider using Instagram's Restrict feature, which limits someone's interactions without fully blocking them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I completely hide my following list on Instagram?

No, Instagram doesn't offer a direct way to hide your following list while keeping a public account. You can only hide it by making your account private, which restricts access to approved followers only.

Will people be notified if I remove them as a follower?

No, Instagram doesn't send notifications when you remove someone as a follower. However, they may notice if they check your profile and see they're no longer following you.

What's the difference between removing and blocking a follower?

Removing a follower simply stops them from following you, but they can still see your public content and follow you again. Blocking prevents them from seeing your profile, posts, or stories entirely.

Can I hide my following list from specific people only?

Not directly. You can only control this by making your account private and not accepting certain follow requests, or by removing specific followers if your account is already private.

Does making my account private affect my business reach?

Yes, private accounts have limited discoverability since only approved followers can see your content. For businesses, consider using a secondary private account for personal follows instead.

Can I see who viewed my following list?

No, Instagram doesn't provide information about who has viewed your following or followers list. This activity isn't tracked or reported to account owners.

What happens to my existing followers if I make my account private?

Current followers remain approved and can still see your following list. Only new follower requests will require your approval after switching to private.

Is there a way to make only my following list private, not my entire account?

No, Instagram doesn't offer granular privacy controls for individual profile sections. The following list visibility is tied to your overall account privacy setting.

Can third-party apps hide my following list?

No legitimate third-party apps can modify Instagram's privacy settings. Be cautious of apps claiming this functionality, as they may violate Instagram's terms of service.

Final Recommendations

For Maximum Privacy

Make your account private and carefully manage your followers list

For Selective Privacy

Use a combination of removing followers and restricting accounts

For Professional Accounts

Consider using a secondary private account for personal follows

Managing your Instagram privacy effectively requires understanding these limitations and using the available tools strategically. While you cannot completely hide your following list from approved followers, these methods give you significant control over who can see this information.