Instagram collects an enormous amount of data about you — and most of it is enabled by default. Here's every setting worth changing and what each one actually does.
Make Your Account Private
Go to your profile → Menu (three lines) → Settings → Account Privacy. Toggle "Private Account" on. This means only followers you approve can see your posts. Anyone searching your name on Instagram won't see your content.
Note: even with a private account, Instagram still collects your data internally — this only affects who can see your posts, not what Instagram tracks.
Control Ad Targeting
Go to Settings → Ads → Ad Preferences. You'll see three options:
- Activity information from ad partners — Turn off. This stops advertisers from showing you ads based on your behavior on other websites and apps.
- Ads based on your Instagram and Facebook activity — Turn off.
- Audience-based advertising — Turn off. This stops advertisers from targeting you based on lists they've uploaded to Instagram (like email lists from data brokers).
Turn Off Location Access
In your phone's settings, set Instagram's location access to "Never" or "While Using." Don't give Instagram background location access. Instagram can infer your approximate location from other signals (IP address, tagged posts) — there's no reason to also hand over precise GPS coordinates.
Restrict Data Sharing with Third Parties
Go to Settings → Security → Apps and Websites. Remove any third-party apps that have been granted access to your Instagram account. Each one is a potential data leak and a potential security vulnerability if the third party gets breached.
Review Tagged Photos
Go to your profile → tag icon. Instagram allows others to tag you in photos, which can expose your location and appearance. Go to Settings → Privacy → Tags and set "Allow Tags From" to "People You Follow" or "No One." Also enable "Manually Approve Tags" so tagged photos only appear on your profile after you review them.
Turn Off Story Sharing
Go to Settings → Privacy → Story. Turn off "Allow Sharing to Story" to prevent others from resharing your posts to their stories. Under "Hide Story and Live," you can hide your stories from specific people.
Limit Who Can Comment
Go to Settings → Privacy → Comments. Set "Allow Comments From" to "People I Follow" or "People I Follow and Followers" to reduce spam and unwanted contact.
Access and Download Your Instagram Data
Go to Settings → Your activity → Download your information. Request a copy of everything Instagram has stored about you. The download will include your posts, stories, messages, search history, and the complete profile of data Instagram has collected about you.