How to See Private Instagram Activity [Without Direct Access]

Instagram is one of the social media platforms that provides complete confidentiality to its users. If a person has a private profile, you will not be able to see their posts, stories, followers, following, or any other activity they so on their profile.

In some cases, these settings can help protect one’s personal space, but in others, they can be a nuisance. For example, most parents and guardians who prefer to monitor teens’ and preteens’ online activities would want to know what they are doing on Instagram. If the children have private profiles and don’t allow their parents to follow them, parents will become anxious and suspicious of their Instagram activities.

Parents want to be in the loop because sometimes hidden activities can involve exposure to inappropriate content, which is harmful to young minds. Other issues include cyberbullying, communication with online strangers who can be potential scammers and predators.

As a result, parents are compelled to opt for other ways when direct access is not available. This article explores several effective methods that allow you to monitor private Instagram activity without needing direct access.

Why It’s Not Easy to View Private Instagram Activity

Instagram Private mode is one of the biggest selling points of the app because of the security it provides.  As per the latest search, 84% of social users have an Instagram profile, which is higher than any other platform. The reason is that you get to hide the entire profile rather than just a few posts, like Facebook used to before. 

When an account is set to private, its content—including posts, stories, reels, and tagged photos—is exclusively visible to followers who have been approved. Non-followers are blocked from viewing likes, comments, or even the lists of followers and those being followed. Moreover, Instagram’s activity tab, which once showed who followed whom, has been removed. There are even more settings that allow you to make your profile completely undiscoverable.

Apart from the profile, direct messages (DMs) are end-to-end encrypted, and one cannot see what is being shared in the inbox. So, tracking engagement becomes more difficult without third-party tools like an Instagram monitoring app or specific consent.

Even Instagram understands the need for bypassing privacy for children and offers tools for online monitoring. Other than that, you can follow a few other methods to see private Instagram activities. To make things easier for you, we have compiled 3 easy ways to effectively see someone’s Instagram activity.

Try Instagram’s Family Centre

Instagram’s Family Center is a tool within the app that provides parents and guardians with the option to supervise their teenage children’s accounts. You can track children in the age group of 13 to 17 years. The feature has two core components: A Supervision dashboard for monitoring and controls, and an Education Hub that contains videos and suggestions for educational videos. The supervision Instagram provides does not invade the privacy of children. It is based on mutual transparency. 

With this tool, you can check their Instagram screen time, followers, following list, settings, and any changes made to the account. It provides sufficient context for parents regarding Instagram activities and whether they are problematic or not. Here is how you can set up the link.

• To apply these settings, both parents and children need to have an account. If parents don’t have an account, they need to install the app.
• Once the app is installed on the parent’s device, create an account.
• From the parent device, go to your profile, tap the three-line menu, then tap “Settings and Privacy.”
• Navigate to the Family Center section and tap “Supervision”.
• From here, you need to send an invitation to your child. Tap “Create Invite” to send a supervision request.
• On your teen’s phone, accept the invitation by going to the same Supervision section.
• Once accepted, you’ll start receiving activity insights.

Limitations: Family Centre is a good tool to stay connected and get a basic overview of your child’s Instagram activity. However, it doesn’t allow you to view private messages, stories, or content interactions. Another limitation is that you have to rely on your child to accept the invitation. Also, they can change the settings at any time.

Check Shared Activity

Instagram’s built-in Shared Activity or shared Media features show what the target individual has shared in the DMs. This feature has its limitations, but it can help you understand a few things that can help you protect your loved ones. For example, the posts and links they share show their interests and reveal their content consumption and sharing patterns.

Also, if you are connected to them directly, you will be shown the posts you both have liked, comments you both made or replied to, the stories they reacted to, and engagement on public accounts.

Here is how you can use this feature effectively:

• To check the shared activity, first, you have to open Instagram on your mobile device.
• Go to the DMs and search the target individual’s name or go to their profile.
• Tap the three-line menu in the top-right side corner.
• Select “Shared Activity and choose what type of interaction you want to see. 

Limitations: This method can show content choices to some extent. However, this method is indirect and relies heavily on what your child chooses to share or save elsewhere. The feature does not provide continuous or comprehensive access to their Instagram usage.

Use Xnspy

Most methods that use Instagram’s built-in features come with one big limitation – they depend on whether the other person chooses to share their activity. While the methods are effective, they don’t align with today’s parent-child dynamic. Here, you need a more reliable and secure method, and that is using Xnspy Instagram monitoring app.

It is a parental monitoring app that helps parents view the online activities of their children. It includes calls, SMS, internet history, including incognito mode, social media activities, and more. The social media platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, etc.

Operating Xnspy is very convenient. You simply need to install the app once on the target device, and then you can view all activities remotely. You can access the dashboard from any browser that is updated in real time, so you don’t miss any information.

Xnspy offers a diverse range of functionalities, ensuring you capture every crucial detail. Here is how you can use these features.

Keylogging

Xnspy’skeylogger records every keystroke the target person has made on Instagram. Whether they have typed something in DMs, comments, captions, or search queries, you can access the content and the timestamps when it was written. With this feature, you get the idea about conversion, user intent, and content preferences.

Keyword Alerts

Xnspy allows you to create a list of words that, when used on the target device, can send an alert to you. For example, if you have added the word “5ex” to the list and your child has used it, you will get an instant alert. This way, you don’t have to constantly check the messages and still know in case of an issue.

ScreenTime

The ScreenTime feature helps parents monitor how much time their child spends on Instagram daily. You can see the number of times they have opened the app and the amount of time they spent on it.

Screen Recording

Xnspy captures periodic screenshots when Instagram is being used by the target person. You can see everything with this feature, stories, posts, likes, comments, shared media, all are included. With this feature, you will know what they are doing and if they are using the app responsibly.

Here is how you can use the Xnspy Instagram monitoring app.

• Go to the official Xnspy website and choose the plan that suits your needs.
• Once you have purchased the app, install Xnspy on your child’s smartphone.
• Log in to your Xnspy account dashboard from any web browser.
• From the main menu, navigate to the Instagram tab in the screen record feature.
• Set alerts for keywords related to bullying, inappropriate behavior, or online threats.
• Use the screen time feature to monitor Instagram app usage, files, and saved media remotely.

Limitations: Xnspy can be helpful in viewing private Instagram activities; however, it should only be used with proper consent and in situations where monitoring is legally and ethically appropriate.

Conclusion

Private Instagram profiles and activities can say a lot about a person. For example, what they like and what they are going through. When it comes to children, it becomes necessary for parents to understand what they are doing so that they can protect them from the effects of social media and the dangers of the internet.

While Instagram protects user privacy well, there are still ethical and practical tools that can offer complete visibility. For optimal results, combine all the tools and gather the necessary information. Most importantly, always prioritize open communication and trust whenever possible and use monitoring tools responsibly. The methods we have shared here are based on techniques covered by XNSPY. You can check out this blog to find more ways to view private Instagram activity. 

FAQs

Q1. Can you see deleted posts or stories from a private account?

No, Instagram does not allow anyone, including followers, to retrieve deleted posts or stories. Once a user deletes their content, it’s removed from Instagram’s servers. Monitoring tools can capture screenshots or media before deletion, but only if they were active at that moment.

Q2: Can third-party apps really show private Instagram content?

Most third-party apps claiming to reveal private Instagram accounts are unreliable or potentially dangerous. However, legitimate monitoring apps, when properly installed on the target device, can provide indirect access through features such as screen recording and keylogging. They don’t hack Instagram but give a broader view of app usage.

Q3: Is it legal to track someone’s private Instagram activity?

Tracking someone’s Instagram activity is legal only if you own the device or have the user’s consent, such as when monitoring your child’s phone who is a minor. Unauthorized access or the use of monitoring tools without proper permission may violate privacy laws and can result in legal consequences.