Instagram provides a high level of protection for users’ personal information. You can post photos and videos, share short stories in the feed, and hide all posts and personal information from prying eyes. To do this, you can make your profile private, after which no visitor can subscribe to your page without approval and see the content you’ve posted. This operation can also be performed in reverse. In this article, we will explain how to open Instagram for everyone and what to do if an error occurs.
What is the difference between an open Instagram profile and a closed one?
If you don’t want strangers to visit your page, view your posts, and respond to them, activate the closed account feature. This option is implemented to protect the user from unwanted subscriptions and intrusive advertising.
With an open profile on Instagram, anyone can view all your posts and creations without restrictions, subscribe to your updates without warning, and write a personal message. You can restrict access to your page yourself.
Let’s consider the main features and differences of a closed account in 2019:
- Only friends and followers can view, comment, and like all user-posted photos and videos.
- Your posts will not be displayed when searched using hashtags.
- The account can be found by name, but all personal information will be hidden from strangers when they visit the page.
- A visitor who wants to subscribe to you must first send a friend request, and only after it is approved will they be able to view the content.
It should be remembered that the privacy feature is only available to regular users, commercial business accounts cannot hide information and posts. To do this, you will need to switch the page to private.
How to make your Instagram account open to visitors
If you have blocked your page from outsiders, you can reverse this action and make it open at any time with just a few clicks. It is important to remember that after installing the application and registering with the service, the default account becomes transparent. Below we will consider how to make Instagram open on different types of devices – on a phone and a personal computer.
On the computer
The social network Instagram is available for PC owners in several variations. You can use the standard web version of the site, download the official app for Windows 8, 10. If your operating system is outdated and below version 8, you will have to use third-party services, extensions, and utilities, such as Android emulators, which allow you to work with the mobile version of the service on your computer. In this case, you need to have constant internet access.
Despite the significant number of restrictions and drawbacks of the browser version, the function is open to users. Let’s look at how to unblock a page through a computer using the web variation of the social network:
- Launch any browser on your personal computer.
- Find the official Instagram portal and log in with your account, enter your login and password.
- Once in the main menu, go to your personal page.
- Open the settings section by clicking on the gear icon at the top of the screen.
- An additional window will appear, in which you need to select the privacy and data security item.
- Uncheck the activate closed profile item on the first line.
- Confirm the action by clicking “OK”.
- Save the changes.
PC owners with the Windows 10 operating system can download and use the official Instagram app from the software store. The procedure for changing the privacy of information looks like this:
- Log in to the social network with your login and password.
- Click on the silhouette icon on the news feed to go to your personal page.
- Point to the settings section in the form of a gear.
- A new window will open, on the left panel find the privacy parameter and move the account closing slider to the off state.
- Confirm the operation.
- Save the changes.
After this, all your publications will be available to all visitors. When using an Android phone emulator, the setup procedure looks like on any mobile device.
On the phone
If you are using a mobile application on your smartphone, the procedure is as follows:
- Launch the utility on your phone.
- In the main menu, go to the personal section.
- Click on the icon in the form of three horizontal lines on the top panel.
- An additional window will appear, where you need to select the settings tab in the form of a gear.
- A list of parameters for modification will be displayed on the screen. Go to the privacy section.
- In the next window, you need to open the account privacy item.
- Move the slider to the inactive state.
- Save the settings.
You can re-lock your page from prying eyes at any time using the same method. It should be remembered that when you close your account, all subscribers will retain the ability to view your posts. The algorithm is the same on all mobile devices and operating systems.
Cannot open a private profile: errors
No one can exclude the possibility of malfunctions during this operation. It should be remembered that this function is not available to business account owners and activating it will result in an error. Let’s consider possible causes and solutions to the problem if the service does not open a closed account:
- An outdated version of the software is installed. To ensure that the social network works without issues, it is necessary to monitor and download official updates of the service in a timely manner.
- A temporary malfunction. Try restarting your mobile device or utility.
- Lack of constant internet access. Check the status of the access point. To ensure that the application works, a stable network connection is necessary. Change the connection method, switch from wireless Wi-Fi to mobile data. Check the download speed.
If you cannot solve the problem on your own, contact professionals in the service’s technical support department and thoroughly explain the situation.
The article explained how to make your own account open. After this procedure, every visitor has the opportunity to view your publications and personal information in the profile header. It should be remembered that this function is not implemented for business page owners.