We all know a particularly sad and hopeless feeling in the midst of an interesting Instagram scrolling sesh. A fun, stalking spree comes to a halt with a “Hey, this account is private” message on your screen. Now what? All you wanted was a glimpse of this person’s Insta feed. Or maybe you had finally found your crush’s username, only to find out their profile is set to private.

The truth is, at some point, we have all wanted to find a way around this inconvenience. The good news is, there are some tried and tested hacks you can use to your benefit. Let’s take a look at all the ways you can view a private Instagram account.

Send a Follow request

Your first option is to go by the book and follow the correct SOPs to get access to a private Insta-account. Simply send a Follow request, wait for the user to accept it and if you’re lucky, you will be in.
We know this is not exactly a hack. But this should be your first course of action, which is also the best one if you’re successful.

Hit The Google Search Bar

If you don’t have much time on your hands, or your request didn’t get accepted, you can try the second easiest option. This hack allows you to access photos posted by the user on Instagram.
All you have to do is type in their Instagram username into your device’s Google search engine. The results are usually shown in categories of ‘All, Images, News, and Videos’. Click the ‘Images’ section and you will probably find what you’re looking for.
The logic behind this hack is that these pictures are stored in the Google database when they were uploaded by the user with a public account. So, even if they later switched their account to private, you can still find some of the photos.

More searching, more platforms

If you didn’t find anything on Google, your next best bet is to rely on more search engines. There are so many platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. Details or links to other social media accounts can sometimes be found on their Instagram bio as well.
Checking their social media presence everywhere can easily let you find more information about them.

Ask a friend for help

One pro tip we suggest is to find out if any of your friends are following the Instagram user. If so, you can always ask them to let you view the profile. And you can forward the photos you need to your own account.

Instagram private account hacks

IGmods.com

This third-party application is specifically designed to allow users to get access to private Instagram accounts.
Here is how you can use IGmods.com for iPhone users:

Open your phone’s “Settings” then go to “General.”
Look for the “Background App Refresh” button and turn it ON.
Now look for the “Battery” section and switch off the low power mode.
Head to the App Store and turn on automatic downloads settings.
Now visit Igmods.com.
Click on “VIEW PRIVATE ACCOUNT”.
Once the page has loaded, you will find a box that says “Target Instagram Username”.
Here, write down the username you want access to.
Click on Connect and wait.
After confirming the account, a progress bar will start to load. The time it takes to load will depend on the number of posts on the profile.
Next, you will see a message “Private data successfully unlocked for XYZ.”
Go back on Instagram and search for the username again.
Finally, you should now be able to access the account.

On Android phones, the process is more simple. You do not need to change any settings on your device. Simply, go to the website and follow the written instructions.

InjectBox.com

You can use this website for both iPhone and Android devices. Here is a step-by-step guide:

Open Instagram and search for the username you want to view.
Visit InjectBox.com and click ‘Private Instagram Viewer’
Type in the username you were looking for
Now click on “View Private Account.”
Now you will be shown the number of followers and followings of the account. You can check if it is the same account you were looking for.
Now click on ‘Confirm username’ to go ahead and unlock the private account.
Next, a prompt will ask whether you want to
View photos?
View followers?
Or unlock complete profile?

After filling the CAPTCHA, you will be asked to head back to Instagram and search for the username again, It should now be visible.

Use the Instagram++ extension

For iPhone users:
Switch off Auto-rotation
Go into Settings, then go on General, then turn on “Background App Refresh.”

Now open the browser and visit HXTweaks.com
Look for the search bar and type ‘Instagram’
An app called “Instagram ++” will come up
Click and download, and add the app’s extension onto your main app.
In a new window, additional commands will come up.
After the commands have been activated, you can go back to Instagram.
Now search the private username again. You should be able to view the profile now.

For Android users:
First, you need to turn off auto-rotation. Then visit HXTweaks.com and follow the mentioned instructions.

Use the UnlockPrivate app

This is a mobile application that you can use to access any private account on Instagram.

For iPhone users:
Go in your phone ‘Settings’, then ‘General’, and then turn on ‘Background App Refresh’.
Then go to Battery settings and turn off low power mode.
Open the browser and visit XTweak.co.
Type and search ‘Private Instagram Viewer’.
The app will show now and you can install it on your phone.

For Android users:
Go on Settings and turn off the power-saving mode on your phone.
Turn off Auto-Rotate
Visit XTweak.co and install the app.