If you are a regular internet user, you might have undoubtedly created an account on a social media platform. When we talk about social networking services, one of the most popular and fastest-growing ones is Instagram.
The Facebook-owned social media giant currently has over 500 million daily active users, and the numbers are constantly increasing. The frequent updates and regularly providing exciting features have made it impossible for internet users to ignore Instagram. Today, it is not just a photos or videos sharing platform but has become a massive marketing hub for influencers and small to medium businesses.
If you have ever created an Instagram account, you might know that it provides two ways to manage the account. Either you can make your account Private to limit its access only to your friends or family, or you can make it Public so that everyone can view, like, or share the media you posted on your profile.
Anyone with an Instagram account can follow the public Instagram accounts and access their photos, reels, and videos. However, to see private account photos on Instagram, you need to send the follow request to the account holder and hope they accept it. Due to various reasons, the private account holder might not accept your follow request, making it inaccessible for you to view their photos and other posted media. The only way to view Instagram private account photos is to wait for the follow request’s acceptance.
Or are there other ways to do that?
Let’s dig that out and burst the myth.
Why would people require a Private Instagram Viewer app?
There might be various reasons to use a private Instagram viewer app. These two are the most general ones:
- Your crush is not accepting your follow request, and you are desperate to stalk their Instagram posts.
- You want to spy on someone without following their Instagram profile.
Is it possible to view private Instagram photos?
When you search on the internet, “How to see private account photos on Instagram?” or “How to view private Instagram profiles?” or any similar queries, you will find numerous websites, web applications, computer apps, and smartphone apps that claim to be Instagram private profile viewer. These platforms pretend to let you view the private account photo and story on Instagram without following them.
Such private Instagram viewer platforms are massive in number but do they really work?
To test this, I navigated to a top Private Instagram viewer, PrivatePhotoViewer. This platform claims to fetch all posts of a private account through just its username and nothing else.
On typing the username, it shows the correct private profile, but when you click on Unlock Private Photo button, you will notice all posts are blurred.
The site will display the error message – “Our systems detected botlike behaviour to see unblurred private images you have to pass human verification” and ask you to click on Verify button.
This is the first sign of suspicious behavior. When you click on the Verify button, you will get a pop-up to complete a survey or download the listed apps.
If you click one of the survey options, it might lead you to an external, untrustworthy site. You might become a victim of a phishing attack or even unintentionally download malware on your device.
Ultimately, you’ll never get access to the private Instagram account, and in a worst-case scenario, you could expose your device to cybercriminals or become a victim of identity theft.
Which Private Instagram Viewer works?
If you are desperate enough, even after trying the fake PrivatePhotoViewer, you might want to try other private Instagram viewer apps or websites. However, unfortunately, every such source which promises to unlock the private Instagram account is undoubtedly fake.
It’s common sense. Instagram is owned by Facebook, which is a multi-billion dollar company. They would ensure every possible way to provide the required security and privacy to their users. It would not be possible for a random app or website to break down Instagram’s security protocols and fetch private profile photos and other posts. I mean, if by chance it happens, wouldn’t it raise doubt in the minds of its 1.4 billion users regarding their privacy?
All these sites are designed in such a way to give you the feeling that you can view any private Instagram account. But in reality, it is not possible because of the tight security protocols of Instagram. You can give a try to every potential source that claims to be an Instagram private profile viewer. Each of them will ask you to go through multiple steps at the final stage, but eventually, you will never see that at any cause.
Dangers of using Instagram private profile viewer app
After trying and getting failed using the sites and apps to see private account photos on Instagram, you might wonder why people develop such sites that do not fulfill their purpose. Well, technically, they mostly succeed in fulfilling their original purpose, i.e., getting desperate users to use their dubious service.
Cybercriminals always take advantage of the things that can provide them, maximum users with minimum effort. Understandably, thousands of users try to access Instagram private accounts. To lure such users, cyber attackers create fake Instagram Private Profile viewer apps and websites.
Here is what can happen if you use the Private Instagram Viewer app or website:
- Many such platforms ask for money up front before beginning the process. The desperate users would willingly follow the instructions and lose their hard-earned money without getting anything in return.
- You might be asked to fill surveys and click on advertisements. Clicking on such unknown ads might be dangerous. Those ads can be malware carriers, and clicking on them can trigger the download and installation of malware programs like Adware, Hijackers, Ransomware, Trojans, and others.
- The surveys might ask you some confidential information like social security numbers, bank details, and more. In desperation, many users will blindly provide all such information without thinking about the consequences.
- You might unintentionally provide a backdoor entry of your device to the hackers.
What are the legitimate ways to view private Instagram photos?
Are you looking for ways to view private Instagram photos without surveys or ads?
Luckily, there are a few legitimate ways to do that. You might find these ways obvious, but trust me, there are no other tricks.
Ask the user personally
If you want to view private account photos on Instagram, you should directly send the following request to the intended person. This method might not work as most people keep their accounts private for a reason, and if you are unknown to them, they won’t accept your Instagram follow request. However, you can try sending them a direct message asking them to accept it. Be careful, as, in this process, you might impersonate yourself as a creepy, desperate person and might get permanently blocked.
Ask your mutual contact
It is highly possible that your follow request might not get accepted by the person whose private Instagram profile you want to access. In such a scenario, the best way to view their photos is by asking your mutual contact to show them. It is plausible that one of your friends is already following the person whom you want to follow. You can request that friend to show the media they posted on their private Instagram handle.
Search on the Google
There is a very slight chance of this method to work, but some users have got success in this. Try searching the exact username of the person whose photos you want to access. There is a probability that the account was not private previously, and some of the pictures might get indexed on Google. Those indexed photos might appear in the search results.
Create a Fake Account and Send Request
There is another possibility that the person with a private account whom you like to follow might not want to share their posts with you. In that case, you can create a fake account with a different name and try following that person. Who knows, you might get lucky using this trick and get your follow request accepted.
Should you try to see private account photos on Instagram?
Though it might feel frustrating to be locked out of someone’s private Instagram account, especially if that person is your crush, it is still advised not to try viewing someone’s private Instagram account illegally.
There is a reason why their account is ‘Private.’ They don’t want to share their moments with everyone, and that’s why your follow request is not accepted. You should just respect their privacy and stop wasting your time on fake Private Instagram Viewer apps and websites trying to infiltrate their profile. Instead of viewing private Instagram posts, you might infect your computer with malicious programs and files.
No, the apps that claim to show pictures of private Instagram account never work as it is not possible for a random website or app to infiltrate the tight security protocols of Instagram.
Cybercriminals use various techniques to fetch the login credentials of a person to hack its Instagram account. The techniques include Phishing, brute-force, and more.