Privacy & Safety

Protecting your Instagram privacy starts with knowing who can see your activity: by default, anyone who can view your story appears in your viewer list, and public accounts can be viewed by anyone — including anonymous tools. This section covers how to control your own visibility (private accounts, Close Friends, blocking and restricting, hiding your story from specific people) and how to tell whether someone is watching your content anonymously. We also cover account security basics — recognizing phishing, avoiding tools that ask for your password, and why no legitimate viewer ever needs your login. The core rule: a private account is the only reliable way to keep your stories out of third-party tools.