How to remove suggested accounts on Instagram
- How does Instagram Suggestions For Your algorithm work?
- How do I remove an Instagram account from my suggestions?
- Can I turn off Instagram account suggestions once and for all?
- How to disable similar or "you might know" Instagram account notifications
- How to not be suggested on Instagram
- Keep going popular on Instagram without your account being suggested
- Let’s recap
Tired of the accounts that Instagram force you to follow? Delete particular aacounts to see the ones you really may want to follow.
If you run a business account and don't need Instagram suggestions at all, then turn off the feature. But make sure you have set up your account so that you won't slower your account growth without the feature — read more below.
Instagram algorithm suggest a list of accounts to follow according to various signals. Below we've listed what it's based on.
- Mutual friends. Instagram analyzes user accounts. If the system detects that you and another user have many mutual friends, then it suggests you to follow them.
- Behavioral factor. Instagram tracks your actions on the platform. For example, what profiles you visit, whose posts you like and comment. So then, don't be surprised if these accounts turn out to be in your recommendations soon.
- Search history. If you searched for someone's Instagram account, well, it's more likely that Instagram will suggest you to follow it sooner or later. Read how to clear the search data on Instagram.
- Linked socials. It's no secret that Instagram and Facebook belong to Meta. Thus, these two social networks are closely connected. Therefore, Instagram may recommend following the accounts of those users who are your friends on Facebook. And it doesn't depend on what type of account you have, or whether you have logged in to Facebook or not.
- Your location. Instagram algorithm tracks your location to form the suggestion list for you. It means that the system knows where you live and what you visit most often. Based on this, the system advises you to follow users who, for example, live in your city.
- Your device information. Yes, Instagram also collects information about your device. How does this affect recommendations? For instance, you are logged into two accounts from your phone that are not connected to each other in any way. However, you may notice that in one account you are suggested to follow the users that you follow from your another profile.
- Phone contacts. If you have Instagram synced to your phone contacts, then you will also find the accounts of these people in the follow recommendations.
You can remove most Instagram accounts from the suggested at once. Disable contact synchronization, then you won't see your friends and other people you have in your contacts. Follow these instructions:
- Open your account in the app and tap the avatar in the right bottom.
- Tap the three lines in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Account.
- Hit Contacts syncing.
- Tap the slider next to Connect contacts to make it not active.
That's it! Your account is no longer synced with contacts.
If you are already fed up with one particular account that can't stop showing up in the suggested accounts in your Instagram, you can remove it from the list. Then Instagram will no longer offer you to follow it.
Instagram Suggestions For You usually appears in the feed after the first or second post. If you see the unwanted profile again, just tap the cross icon in the upper-right corner near it.
When you delete some accounts from the suggested list on Instagram, your profile is also not recommended to these users. Therefore, we don't advise you to overuse tapping the cross icon if you are promoting your profile. After all, as a rule, the first followers are our acquaintances.
You can clear the list of suggested accounts on Instagram manually, deleting profiles one by one. Open the full list, there are two ways to do this.
The first method is getting to the Instagram suggestions in your profile feed:
- Tap See All.
- Scroll through the list and look for the profiles you want to delete. To remove them from the suggestions, hit the cross icon next to Follow.
Another way to find suggested accounts on Instagram is from the Discover tab. Here's how you can find it:
- Open your profile in the Instagram app and tap the profile photo in the lower-right corner.
- Tap the three lines in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Go to Discover people.
- You will see the same list as in the profile feed. If you find a profile that you want to remove from the suggestions, just tap the cross icon next to it.
No, there is no way to get rid of suggested accounts on Instagram forever. The profiles will appear again from time to time.
Instagram has one more way to suggest accounts to follow. Do you constantly get "you might know" notifications?
In fact, it doesn't only distract, but can also mislead people. Thus, due to inattention, users think that they have a new follower and follow this person in response.
But if you're tired of these notifications, then it's time to turn them off. Here are instructions on how to disable the notifications:
- Open your profile in the Instagram app and tap the profile photo in the right bottom.
- Tap the three lines in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Go to Notifications.
- Then tap Following and Followers.
- Find Account Suggestions and tap Off.
Done! Now you will not receive a notification that a user, who you might know, is on Instagram.
You can also read how to disable all kinds of Instagram notifications.
You may be on the opposite side of the situation where your account is suggested to other users on Instagram, and you want to stop it. Then just disable this feature.
Here is a step-by-step instruction:
- Open your profile in the Instagram desktop version and click the profile photo at the right top.
02. Go to Profile.
03. Click Edit Profile.
04. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Uncheck the mark next to Similar Account Suggestions.
05. To save the result, click Submit.
That's it! You have stopped your account from being suggested on Instagram to your friends and other users.
If you want to avoid unsolicited followers, we also recommend that you remove your phone number from your Instagram account. Because this is one of the leads that let people find you on the social network.
Once you turn off Instagram suggestions, you lose an opportunity to gain followers. You both stop seeing the suggestions and stop suggesting your account to others. That's why you should step up and use other opportunities to promote your Instagram profile. Here are two main tips:
- Think about a design of your Instagram profile page. IG users expect high quality visuals. Impress them from the first sight with your profile page. For instance, make everything on your page match the same design.
- Use a link in bio page. Only one external link can be added to your bio on most social platforms. But you may need to share your TikTok, Snapchat and many more links to develop your brand. Create a page that contains all these links and add it to your social profiles. Below are examples, see more link in bio page examples here.
Use templates to create your page quickly. You only need to sign up and replace the default information with your own. And that's it — your page is ready to go to your Instagram bio! Here are the templates of the pages above:
Instagram Suggestions For You is a useful feature. It allows you to expand your social circle and the number of followers. But if you've already been weary of one account that seems to live in your suggestions, just delete it from there.
Remember, removing accounts from suggestions on Instagram also works in the opposite direction. In other words, your profile will also not be added to the list of suggested accounts for these users.
Use marketing tools for growth on social media to remain popular when you remove your Instagram account from the suggested to other users. Start with upgrading your social bio.