Private profiles are a great way to safeguard your own Instagram account, but if you want to view someone else's private profile, things can get tricky. A popular privacy feature on Instagram is the ability to make your account private. Switching to a private Instagram account takes just a few taps and seconds — though the impact is significant. With a private account, only approved followers can see photos/videos from that account. If you're following the account, the posts show up like normal. If you're not following the account, you won't be able to see the posts at all.

While private accounts are undeniably useful, many users wonder how they can view someone's Instagram profile if it's been set to private. Upon viewing a private Instagram profile, visitors can only see the person's profile picture, their number of posts, how many followers they have, and their bio/description if they have one.