How to view a private account on Instagram?

These days a giant portion of our lives is spent on social media: we use it for entertainment, to update our friends on what’s going on in our lives, to check up on what our friends are up to, to update ourselves on the current trends and even to buy clothes, makeup and more. While most people enjoy the attention and prefer to keep their Instagram accounts public so everyone can see what they are posting, some people choose to keep their Instagram accounts private. In this case, only those who are approved by the owner of the account can follow the person and see the photos, videos and stories that person posts. But what can you do if you want to view someone’s private Instagram account but don’t want to request to follow the person? Don’t worry, we’ve got a few solutions for you that will help you check out those Instagram photos posted by a new crush, an ex or an old acquaintance. 

Use a fake Instagram account to view a private Instagram page

This method can appear a bit morally questionable or even creepy, but if you know that your motives are pure and you just want to view a few photos of a person you know because sending a request would feel weird or premature, you can try this method. Simply log out of your Instagram account and then follow the steps to create a new profile on Instagram, choosing a made-up name and adding a profile photo. Female accounts work better for these purposes, as females are subconsciously considered to be more trustworthy by most people. You should also fill out a bio, post at least a couple of pictures and follow some other people in order for your account to look credible. Another great trick is to make your dummy Instagram account private right before sending a follower request, as this makes it more legitimate and mysterious at the same time. Once that’s done, request to follow your person of interest and wait for them to approve! 

Use a friend’s Instagram account to view a private profile

If you only want to view a private Instagram account once or twice and you don’t want to go through the trouble of creating a fake Instagram account, ask a good friend to send a follow request from their account and view the posts once the request gets approved. The trick here is to choose the right friend depending on the situation. For instance, if you don’t want the owner of the private account to suspect that you might be behind the request and if it would be strange if a person who knows you sent a follow request to the owner of the private IG account, find a friend who doesn’t know the owner of the private account. Just make sure that you delete all the comments left by you on the friend’s photos and unfollow each other. 

However, most times you don’t need to go that far. For instance, if you’re trying to check up on an ex or a crush, in most cases you can use the account of a common friend. In this situation, it’s not necessary to unfollow each other, delete comments, etc.