How to Hide Your Followers and Following List on Instagram (2026)
Can you hide your followers or following list on Instagram? Not directly, but there are three ways to control who sees them. Here is what works in 2026, what doesn't, and what tracking tools can still see.
Short answer: Instagram doesn't let you hide only your followers or following list. There is no toggle for it in 2026. If your account is public, anyone on Instagram can open both lists, even people who don't follow you.
What you can do is control who sees them. There are three tools for that, and one of them hides both lists from almost everyone.
Option 1: Make your account private (hides both lists)
This is the only setting that hides your followers and following lists from people you haven't approved.
- Open your profile and tap the menu (three lines).
- Go to Settings and activity → Account privacy. The wording varies slightly by app version.
- Turn on Private account.
From now on, only your approved followers can see your posts, Stories, followers list and following list. Everyone else sees your name, profile photo, bio and counts, but not the lists.
The catch: private mode is only available on personal accounts. Business and creator accounts can't go private, so their lists are always public. If you're on one of those, switch back to a personal account first (and you'll lose access to Insights).
Option 2: Remove specific followers
If your account is private and someone you approved shouldn't see your lists anymore, remove them:
- Open your profile and tap Followers.
- Find the person and tap the menu or Remove next to their name.
- Confirm.
Instagram doesn't notify them. They lose access to your lists and posts, and if they request to follow again you can decline.
On a public account, removing a follower doesn't hide anything: they can still open your lists like anyone else.
Option 3: Block someone
Blocking hides your whole profile, including both lists, from that account. They aren't notified, but they may notice if they search for you.
Be aware that blocking is per account. On a public profile, a blocked person can still see your lists from another account or from a logged-out browser.
What doesn't work
People often try these, but they don't hide your lists:
- Restrict. It limits comments and messages, not who sees your lists.
- Close Friends. It only controls who sees certain Stories.
- Hiding your follower count on posts. Hiding like counts doesn't hide your followers or following.
- Archiving posts. It has no effect on your lists.
Can tracking tools still see your lists?
This matters if you're hiding your lists because you suspect someone is tracking who you follow.
- Public account: your lists are public data. Anyone can see them, and tools like Klupt can snapshot them and spot your new follows over time. That's how recent-follow trackers work.
- Private account: tools that only read public data, including Klupt's web tracker, can't see your lists. People you've approved as followers still can, including through browser extensions that use their own logged-in session.
So if you want your follows to stay private, the order of operations is: go private, then remove any approved followers you don't trust.
The flip side: seeing someone else's lists
If you landed here because someone else hid their lists: a private account's followers and following can only be seen by approved followers. No legitimate tool can get around that. We explain what you can and can't see in how to view a private Instagram account. For public accounts, Klupt shows who someone recently followed anonymously.
FAQ
Can you hide your following list on Instagram?
Not on a public account. There's no setting that hides only your followers or following list. Making your account private hides both from everyone except approved followers.
Can business or creator accounts hide their followers?
No. Business and creator accounts can't be private, so their lists are always visible. Switch back to a personal account first.
Does removing a follower notify them?
No. Instagram doesn't notify someone when you remove them as a follower.
Can tracking apps still see my followers if my account is private?
Tools that only read public data, like Klupt's web tracker, can't. Anyone you've approved as a follower still can.