Instagram will sometimes suggest accounts of people who you might know. These are based on factors such as:
- Posts you like
- Accounts you follow
- Hashtags you use
- Content you view
- Other social media accounts you’ve connected to Instagram
- Your contacts
- Your activity on other apps
Because Instagram’s suggestion algorithm can factor in people viewing your profile, some people may also think that “who you might know” indicates stalking. This is a myth.
These suggestions can also be invasive and annoying for some people. Instagram can frequently flood your notifications with them. Thankfully, you can disable Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions through the app.
Here’s more detailed information on Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions, what influences them, how to change or disable them, and if these suggestions can tell you anything about people viewing your profile.
Instagram’s Follow Suggestions Explained
As an integral part of Instagram’s app experience, you may want to know more about the nuts and bolts of Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions for several reasons, including:
- Curiosity - You want to understand Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions to be less confused about why certain accounts are recommended to you.
- Curation - You want to know what affects your Instagram “who you might know” suggestions to further personalize them.
- Privacy and Transparency - You may be concerned about the personal data Instagram uses to make its “who you might know” suggestions. You may also be worried that these suggestions can indicate stalking.
- Insights - You want to understand how Instagram’s suggestion algorithm works as a content creator. By understanding suggestion determinants, you can efficiently adjust your content strategy.
Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions also have a reputation for being irksome. Large lists of these suggestions tend to clog up phone and Instagram app notifications. So, you may also want to know how to disable it.
Thankfully, most information on Instagram’s “who you might know” feature, including how to change and disable it, is very straightforward. More on this below.
How Can I Disable Instagram’s “Who You Might Know” Follow Suggestions?
Whether for protecting your privacy or ending an annoying slew of notifications, disabling Instagram’s “who you might know” suggestions is no big hassle.
Here are a few different ways to do this:
Turning off Account Suggestions
1. On your Instagram app, tap on your Profile icon on the bottom-right of the screen.
2. Tap on the three lines in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. A new menu will appear. Tap on Settings and privacy.
4. Tap on Notifications.
5. Tap on Following and Followers.
6. Under Account Suggestions, select Off. This will stop Instagram from sending “who you might know” suggestions on your push notifications.
Turning off all Instagram notifications through the app
1. On your Instagram app, tap on your Profile icon on the bottom-right of the screen.
2. Tap on the three lines on the top-right corner of the screen.
3. A new menu will appear. Tap on Settings and privacy.
4. Tap on Notifications.
5. Tap on the switch next to Pause All.
6. Select how long you want to pause your notifications.
7. Once the switch next to Pause all turns blue, all your Instagram notifications are now paused. You will not receive “who you might know” notifications.
How Can I Stop Appearing on “Who You Might Know” Suggestions?
You can appear in other users’ “who you might know” suggestions, allowing them to follow you even if they’re complete strangers. This is usually because of similar account activity, such as liking the same post or having a similar set of followed accounts.
If you don’t want to be suggested to other users, you can stop Instagram from doing this by disabling the option in your Profile.
Alternatively, you can also set your profile to private so that anyone who tries to follow you through “who you might know” will need to send a request first. You can accept or deny these requests to protect your privacy.
Here’s how to do both options:
Disabling “Show account suggestions on profiles”
1. Open your device’s browser. This is usually Google Chrome or Firefox for Android devices, and Safari for iOS devices.
2. Go to www.instagram.com. This will take you to Instagram’s main website.
3. Log in to your Instagram account. Once you’ve logged in, you should see a homepage similar to the main screen of the Instagram app.
4. Tap on your Profile in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
5. Tap on Edit Profile.
6. Scroll down until you see Show account suggestions on profiles.
7. Tap on the checkmark to disable this feature. Your Instagram account will no longer be suggested to others.
Making your account private
Note: This only works for personal accounts. The steps below will not work for professional accounts unless you switch back to a personal account.
1. On your Instagram app, tap on your Profile icon on the bottom-right of the screen.
2. Tap on the three lines on the top-right corner of the screen.
3. A new menu will appear. Tap on Settings and privacy.
4. Scroll down until you see Account privacy.
5. Tap on the switch beside Private account.
How Can I Influence Instagram’s “Who You Might Know” Follow Suggestions?
As mentioned earlier, Instagram’s suggestion algorithm uses your personal data, account information, and account activity to generate its “who you might know” suggestions. The process is similar to curating your post suggestions (explained here).
To influence your Instagram’s follow suggestions, you’ll only need to make personal changes in the factors that affect Instagram’s suggestion algorithm. These changes can include:
- Adjusting your profile information like bio, name, username, etc. to attract certain types of recommendations
- Following or interacting with accounts similar to ones you want recommended
- Using relevant hashtags that align with your interests and the types of accounts you want to see
- Liking and commenting on posts from accounts you want to see more related suggestions fo
- Actively searching for and engaging with content from accounts you want to be recommended
- Spending more time browsing hashtags and content related to your interests
By optimizing these factors that influence Instagram's algorithm, you can shape the "who you might know” suggestions to better match the types of accounts and people you want to follow.
Does “Who You Might Know” Indicate Stalking?
No, “who you might know” suggestions don’t indicate stalking.
While Instagram’s algorithm can factor in people who’ve viewed your account, this doesn’t mean that it will automatically suggest the people who’ve viewed your account.
It’s also hard to confirm whether someone has viewed your account just from “who you might know” suggestions. This is because Instagram makes these suggestions based on a variety of other determinants, such as having similar followed accounts.