Instagram is an excellent method to connect with other people and share your life highlights. It’s not really private-friendly, but that’s something we’ve come to accept, for better or worse. Stalking, however, is a completely different matter.
How to know if someone is stalking your Instagram profile? How to know if someone is stalking your Instagram account? What are some of the red flags to look for, and how can you protect yourself?
Instagram Stalkers: Are They Dangerous?
When thinking about Instagram stalkers, we often think of a person who is overly curious and spends too much time on our profile. It could be someone who only wants to see what you’re doing, possibly using a “finsta” (fake account). It becomes uncomfortable if they seem to stalk your profile for new posts to get involved in, but it’s usually harmless.
Instagram stalking, however, can escalate to harassment, threats, or intimidation. This might entail the stalker attempting to get in touch, sending unsolicited messages, or even looking for personal information. Not only is this behavior disturbing, it could potentially result in real-world dangers.
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How to Know If Someone Is Stalking You on Instagram?
Do you have any cause to believe that you are being cyberstalked via Instagram? If yes, you might want to know how to tell if someone is stalking you on Instagram. Here’s what you should be aware of:
1. Go Through Your Privacy Settings
If you think someone’s stalking you on Instagram, the first thing you need to do is to review the privacy settings. Click the three bars at the bottom left corner, and head to Settings > Who can see your content. This is where you can check to see whether or not your account is set to “private”.
If not, make your Instagram account private so you can approve new follow-up requests. Also, it means only the viewer you approved can see your likes, posts, and stories. If your account is open to the public, everyone can view it, like your content, leave comments, and more.
2. Check Who’s Viewing Your Instagram Stories
Do you post many Instagram stories? If the answer is “yes”, that may assist you in determining if you’re being stalked. There is a simple method to check Instagram story views – all you have to do is swipe up, and you will see the usernames of people who have seen it.
If someone you do not know very well or have no idea at all, is seeing all of the stories you post, it could be a sign that they’re interested in your Instagram activity for certain nefarious reasons.
3. See Other Profile Interactions
Does a follower interact with your stories all the time, and like all your posts, including old ones? Receiving more direct messages than normal, and do they include links? Do you constantly get follow-up requests when your profile is set to private? Do they come from the same account?
These are all things to keep an eye out for. If someone is spying on you, there is a good chance that they won’t be able to help themselves, and are showing a high degree of interest in your profile.
4. Review Your List of Followers
This might seem obvious, but if you feel something is wrong, it is a good idea to go through your list of followers. There is always a chance that you may have approved a follow request from someone you do not know, even if your profile is set to private.
Indeed, if someone’s stalking you, they may have set up a fake account for the very purpose. Particularly, you should be on the lookout for vague, innocuous-sounding usernames that you do not recognize.
5. Keep an Eye Out for Any Suspicious Activity
If you think you’re being stalked on Instagram, you should also keep an eye out for any suspicious activity with regard to your account. Has anyone tried to gain access to your account? If the answer is “yes”, Instagram will notify you, thus go through your emails (also check your spam folders).
If someone close to you, or who was once close to you, is spying on you, they may have attempted to guess your password.
Conclusion
If you’ve ever been curious, “How to know if someone is stalking your Instagram?”, a few of the tips mentioned above can help you to quickly spot stalkers on Instagram.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Jocelin is keeping a strong passion for the multimedia industry with her first thoughts and visions. While continuously absorbing relevant knowledge, she believes that pictures, videos, and music can bring so much pleasure to life. To go deeper into the industry, she has acquired many skills in video editing. Also, she can provide readers with ways to solve problems on image, video, and auido topics.