Do you get more followers on public or private Instagram account?

Most of the meme profiles on Instagram make their account private to gain more followers. These big Instagram accounts have millions of followers. So why they choose to hide their posts from other users by being private?

In this article, we want to find out why more Instagram accounts are going private, does it actually work for gaining new followers or not, and do you get more followers on public or private Instagram account?

Differences between Private and Public Instagram account (Private Vs Public)

Washingtons Blog mentions that there is a basic difference about making an account public or private. In general, it is good to have public account if you are running business, your images are not personal, and you want to receive the Instagram analytics. If you want to have private account, then you should know that you cannot switch the account to a business or creator one. And, those who are in your followers list can comment on your posts or like them.

Here is the summary of Instagram public and private account option:

Instagram public account

• Receive Instagram insight(analytics)
• Get more engagement
• Switch to business account
• Switch to creator account
• Apply for Instagram ads
• Promote Instagram posts

Instagram private account

• More privacy
• Check users before letting them enter the profile

How to make my Instagram profile private?

To make your account private you should go to th

e Instagram Setting>Privacy. Here is the complete instruction:

1. Log in to your Instagram account on app
2. From the home, tap profile picture in the bottom right or the profile icon
3. Tap three-lined icon (on top right for iPhone users)
4. Select Setting from the menu
5. Select Privacy
6. The first option in Private account, turn this one on

What happens if my Instagram is private and I use hashtag?

If you are using hashtag on a private Instagram account, only those who are in your followers list can see the post in the feed. If you want all people see the post on Instagram feed, you should switch the account to a public one.

Should I make my Instagram public?

It depends on what you want from your Instagram account. If you want to get Instagram analytics, knowing how many followers you are getting every day, or which content had the highest rate of engagement, so you should switch it to a public one.

Why many Instagram accounts are going private?

Earlier this year, Instagram meme accounts have begun taking their account private to force the non-followers to request before they can view their content. This is becoming a trend right now!

Many people have tweeted against it: “it shouldn’t be legal for Instagram meme accounts to be private” and “Basic Instagram manners: don’t send memes from private accounts.”

Instagram aesthetic and feed is essential, so why going private?

These are the reasons why some Instagram accounts are using this strategy:

1- They make their Instagram private to gain more followers

This is the main reason they went private because this way they can attract new followers.

When one of their followers sends a post their friend, that person has to follow them to see it. But if their account is public, that person would only view the post in DM without following.

Going private has a mystery factor too. It’s like putting a red rope in front of your Instagram account, so it makes people curious.

If someone checks your profile and finds out that you have millions of followers although being private, there will probably hit the follow button thinking “there has to be a reason why this account has so many followers.”

So this strategy works!

2- They go private on Instagram to keep their existing followers

The second reason why a popular account on Instagram would go private is that it helps them keep their audience from hitting the unfollow button. Unfollowing a public account is easy, but when a user wants to unfollow a private account, Instagram will ask you if you really want to take that step by showing: “ if you change your mind, you will have to request to follow the user again “

3- They want to protect their content by taking their Instagram private

Another reason is to add a layer of protection to their posts. (copyright)

You can not say for sure that this strategy prevents other users from stealing their content or not. But it certainly does give them more control over their account.

4- They want to avoid getting reported

Instagram is getting more serious about banning users who break their terms of service. So they go private to protect themselves from being banned. This is more common for the accounts that post offensive content. This way their account won’t be reported by people who find their content offensive or indecent.

Should I make my Instagram account private too?

This is complicated. Going private only works for the large Instagram accounts. Because they already have like millions of followers so all they have to do is post good content and they will keep growing. They are too big to fail!

It also depends on the type of their content. For example, meme accounts are incredibly shareable. So they grow by encouraging their followers to share their posts with others.

So this strategy works for meme accounts but not for other users like brands and businesses, because your post will longer appear on the explore page. So you basically turn away from any other kinds of audience discoveries on Instagram.

The final words

While going private may be beneficial for large meme accounts, it can be a  detrimental strategy for most accounts. If you don’t have a great account on Instagram, you should keep your account public and use other ways to attract new followers!