Your Instagram following list is like leaving your personal address book on the coffee table. Anyone who visits your profile can flip through it, see who you follow, and make assumptions about your interests, relationships, and habits. If that thought makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. Privacy matters, and Instagram’s default settings treat your following list like public real estate.
The good news? You can lock down your following list in minutes. This guide walks you through exactly how to hide following list on Instagram—on both iPhone and Android—plus the nuances that Instagram doesn’t advertise and the privacy trade-offs you should understand before you hit that button.
Why You Might Want to Hide Your Following List
Before we get into the mechanics, let’s be real about why this matters. Your following list tells a story. It reveals your interests, your professional network, your hobbies, maybe people you’re dating or reconnecting with. In a world where data brokers and nosy acquaintances have access to your profile, that’s information you might not want broadcast.
Think of it like this: would you post a list of every website you visit, every store you shop at, and every person you text? Probably not. Yet Instagram defaults to showing exactly that level of detail about your digital social life.
Common reasons people hide their following lists:
- Privacy from acquaintances—You don’t want coworkers, exes, or distant relatives seeing who you follow and drawing conclusions.
- Professional boundaries—If you’re a manager, therapist, teacher, or anyone in a role where boundaries matter, your following list can blur professional lines.
- Safety concerns—Stalkers, harassers, or people you’re avoiding can use your following list to find mutual connections or understand your location patterns.
- Protecting others—You might follow activists, people from marginalized communities, or individuals in sensitive situations. Their safety depends partly on discretion.
- Marketing and business strategy—Competitors can see who you follow and reverse-engineer your market research or influencer partnerships.
This is different from seeing who shared your Instagram posts, which is a separate privacy concern. Your following list is passive; it just sits there, visible to anyone who bothers to look.
How to Hide Your Following List on iPhone (iOS)
The process on iPhone is straightforward, but Instagram buries the setting deep enough that most people never find it.
- Open Instagram and tap your profile icon (bottom right corner).
- Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right.
- Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
- Tap “Privacy” (this is the key section).
- Look for “Connections” and tap it.
- Toggle off “Allow access to your following list” or similar wording depending on your Instagram version. Some versions say “Who can see your following list.”
- Confirm your choice if prompted.
That’s it. The setting takes effect immediately. No one new can see your following list, though people who could see it before you changed the setting won’t be notified that it’s now hidden.
Pro Tip: If you don’t see the “Connections” option, your Instagram app might be outdated. Update it from the App Store and try again. Instagram rolls out features gradually, so you might be on an older version.
How to Hide Your Following List on Android
Android follows almost the same path, with minor differences in menu names.
- Open Instagram and tap your profile icon (bottom right).
- Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right.
- Select “Settings and privacy.”
- Tap “Privacy” to expand privacy options.
- Find “Connections” or “Followers and following” depending on your version.
- Tap “Who can see your following list” or the equivalent toggle.
- Select “Only me” or toggle off the permission.
- Save or confirm if prompted.
Android and iOS have slight variations in exact menu wording because Meta updates them separately, but the core logic is identical: navigate to Privacy settings, find the Connections section, and restrict who sees your following list.
Public vs. Private Accounts: What Actually Changes
Here’s where it gets tricky. Instagram treats public and private accounts differently when it comes to following lists.
If your account is public: Even with “hide following list” enabled, Instagram still shows your follower count (how many people follow you). What’s hidden is the actual list of accounts you follow. People can see you follow 500 people, but not who those 500 are. This is a solid privacy win.
If your account is private: Your follower count is already restricted to approved followers. Hiding your following list adds another layer. Only people you’ve approved as followers can see anything about you anyway, and now they can’t see your following list either.
The real kicker: You can always see your own following list. Instagram isn’t hiding it from you—only from other people. So if you ever need to audit who you follow or find a specific account, you still can.
If you want maximum privacy, consider combining a private account with a hidden following list. It’s like locking your door and closing your blinds—redundant, but effective. Learn more about hiding sensitive apps on Android if you’re concerned about privacy across your whole phone.
What Hiding Your Following List Actually Protects (And Doesn’t)
This is the honest part: hiding your following list is useful, but it’s not a privacy silver bullet.
What it DOES protect:
- Casual visitors to your profile can’t see who you follow.
- Competitors can’t reverse-engineer your influencer partnerships or market research.
- Acquaintances can’t make assumptions based on your following habits.
- People you’re avoiding can’t use your following list to find mutual connections.
What it DOESN’T protect:
- Direct messages: If you message someone, they can still see the conversation happened. They just can’t see who else you message.
- Your posts and stories: People can still see what you post and who you interact with in comments. If you comment on someone’s post, anyone viewing that post can see you did.
- Meta’s data collection: Instagram (owned by Meta) still tracks who you follow for algorithmic and advertising purposes. Hiding the list from other users doesn’t hide it from Meta.
- Screenshots and workarounds: If someone had access to your following list before you hid it, they might have already documented it. People with technical knowledge can sometimes access cached data.
- Mutual follows: If you follow someone and they follow you back, they know you follow them. The hiding setting doesn’t change that.
According to Meta’s official Instagram Help Center, hiding your following list is a privacy control, not a security feature. It’s designed to keep casual observers out, not determined adversaries.
Special Considerations for Business and Creator Accounts
If you run an Instagram Business or Creator account, the rules change slightly.
Business Accounts: Meta encourages transparency for business accounts because it builds trust. Hiding your following list on a business account can actually hurt your credibility—customers might wonder what you’re hiding. That said, you technically can still hide it if you prioritize privacy over business metrics.
Creator Accounts: These are somewhere in the middle. Creators often want to maintain some privacy from followers while still being approachable. Hiding your following list is a reasonable compromise. Your followers can still see your content and interact with you; they just can’t audit your personal interests.
The algorithm consideration: Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t care whether your following list is hidden. It still tracks what you follow to recommend content and target ads. The hiding setting is purely about user-facing visibility.
If you’re worried about your overall digital footprint, consider reading about hiding Amazon orders and similar privacy controls across your accounts. Privacy is rarely one-and-done; it’s a series of small decisions.
What Happens After You Hide Your Following List
Once you’ve hidden your following list, here’s what changes and what stays the same.
Immediate changes:
- Existing followers can no longer see your following list.
- New followers also can’t see it.
- People who visit your profile see your bio, posts, and follower count, but not who you follow.
- If someone searches for a specific account and you follow it, they won’t see you in that account’s follower list (if the account is public).
What doesn’t change:
- Your own view of your following list remains unchanged.
- Your activity (likes, comments, shares) is still visible to people who see those posts.
- If you’re tagged in photos or mentioned in captions, people can still see that.
- Direct messages function exactly as before.
If you change your mind: You can unhide your following list anytime by going back to Settings → Privacy → Connections and toggling the setting back on. There’s no penalty for changing it, and no one is notified when you do.
Many people toggle this setting based on context. For example, you might hide it during a breakup or job transition, then unhide it once things settle down. Instagram doesn’t judge; it just follows your instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my following list from specific people but show it to others?
– No. Instagram’s privacy controls are all-or-nothing. You either hide your following list from everyone (except yourself) or show it to everyone. There’s no granular control like you might have with Facebook’s friend list privacy. If you need that level of control, you’d need to use a private account and be selective about who you approve as a follower.
If I hide my following list, can people still see my followers?
– Yes, completely separate. Hiding your following list (who you follow) doesn’t hide your followers (who follows you). If you want to hide both, you’ll need to adjust both settings. Go to Privacy → Connections and look for options related to “Who can see your followers” as well.
Does hiding my following list affect my engagement or reach?
– No. Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t penalize you for hiding your following list. Your posts reach the same number of people, and your engagement metrics work exactly the same. The hiding setting is purely cosmetic from a performance standpoint.
Will people know I hid my following list?
– Not directly. If someone tries to view your following list and can’t, they’ll just see a message that says something like “This user hasn’t shared their following list” or the option won’t appear at all. They won’t get a notification that you hid it. However, if they knew your following list before you hid it, they’ll notice the change if they try to view it again.
Can I hide my following list on Instagram Web or Desktop?
– Yes. The process is similar: go to your profile, click the menu, select Settings and Privacy, then Privacy, then Connections, and adjust the setting. The web version mirrors the mobile app’s functionality.
If I have a private account, do I still need to hide my following list?
– It depends on your threat model. A private account already limits who sees your profile to approved followers. Hiding your following list adds a second layer of privacy. If you’re extremely privacy-conscious, both settings together provide maximum protection. If you trust your followers, the private account alone might be enough.
What if I want to see someone else’s following list but they’ve hidden it?
– You can’t. There’s no way around it. If someone has hidden their following list, you won’t be able to view it, even if you’re a close friend or family member. The only exception is if you’re looking at a public profile that hasn’t hidden their list, in which case you can see it normally.
Does Instagram notify people if I unhide my following list after hiding it?
– No. Changing your privacy settings is silent. No one is notified when you hide or unhide your following list. It’s a personal preference that only affects what others can see about you.
Can I hide my following list but keep my followers list visible?
– Yes. These are separate settings. You can hide who you follow while keeping your followers visible, or vice versa. Many creators do exactly this—they want people to see how many followers they have (social proof) but don’t want to reveal who they follow (competitive advantage).
Is hiding my following list the same as blocking people?
– No, completely different. Blocking prevents someone from seeing your profile, messaging you, or finding you in searches. Hiding your following list just means people can’t see the list of accounts you follow. You can follow someone and hide your following list; they’ll know you follow them if they check (if they follow you back), but other people won’t be able to see it.
