Profile discovery guide
Instagram Account Suggestions: Turn Them On or Off
Instagram can show similar profiles after someone follows an account. You can remove those suggestions from your profile on instagram.com, but Instagram says the same switch also stops your account appearing as a suggestion on other profiles. Keep it on when related-profile discovery helps. Switch it off only when removing the suggestion module matters more than that reach.
Published and reviewed by the Roastagram team ·
The setting changes both sides of discovery
Instagram describes account suggestions as similar profiles shown when someone taps Follow. Examples can include mutual friends and other people the viewer may know. The profile owner can hide that module, though the tradeoff is reciprocal: Instagram says the account won't appear as a suggestion on someone else's profile either.
That makes the choice more consequential than a cosmetic profile cleanup. A creator, shop, artist, or local business may gain useful visits from people who already follow a related account. A personal account may prefer a cleaner follow flow and care less about that discovery path.
Primary source: Instagram Help Center, Turn off account suggestions for your Instagram profile, checked October 30, 2026.
Keep suggestions on when the account has a clear neighbour
Related-profile discovery is easier to evaluate when the account's subject is obvious. Ask what kind of profile a useful visitor would have followed immediately before seeing yours. A photographer might belong beside other photographers in the same place or style. A specialist shop may fit beside makers who serve the same customer without selling the same item.
Review the display name, category, bio, and opening posts as one unit. They should give a visitor enough context to make a follow decision. The Instagram SEO checklist helps make the topic legible without stuffing the profile with repeated keywords.
Turn suggestions off for a deliberate profile boundary
A private individual, a tightly controlled campaign profile, or an account receiving irrelevant follow traffic may value a simpler boundary. Before changing the setting, record the reason. If the problem is an unclear bio or mixed opening grid, repair that first and leave the discovery path available while you measure the result.
A person-led profile can still have a recognizable subject through its captions and repeated visual choices. The switch does not rewrite that public presentation. It only removes the profile-suggestion exchange described by Instagram.
How to change the setting
- Open instagram.com and select your profile picture.
- Open your profile, then choose Edit profile.
- Find Show account suggestions on profiles.
- Switch it off to remove the module, or on to participate in related-profile suggestions.
- Submit the change.
Check the profile again from a separate signed-in account that does not already follow it. The Help Center documents this control on the web, so an app screen may not expose the same edit path.
Do not confuse profiles with suggested posts
Account suggestions appear around the decision to follow a profile. Suggested posts appear inside Feed, Reels, Explore, and Search. Hiding a suggested post, filtering a phrase, resetting suggested content, or switching to Following addresses what you see as a viewer. Those controls do not replace the profile setting above.
Use the suggested-post controls guide for unwanted content recommendations. Use the account types guide when privacy, professional tools, contact buttons, or Insights are part of the decision.
Measure the tradeoff without inventing a reach promise
Instagram does not publish a creator-side formula that guarantees an account will appear beside a particular profile. If you keep suggestions on, watch profile visits and follows in your own Insights before and after a clearer bio or opening grid. Change one profile element at a time so the comparison remains useful.
If you switch suggestions off, note the date and review the same measures after a reasonable period. A drop or increase can have several causes, including posting activity and the content people saw elsewhere. Treat the result as evidence from your account, not a general rule.
Instagram account-suggestion questions
How do I turn off account suggestions on Instagram?
On instagram.com, open your profile, choose Edit profile, switch off Show account suggestions on profiles, and submit the change.
What happens when I turn account suggestions off?
Similar profiles stop appearing after someone follows you. Instagram also says your profile will stop appearing as a suggestion on other profiles.
Is this the same as hiding suggested posts?
No. The profile switch controls similar accounts shown around the follow action. Suggested-post controls change recommendations in Feed, Reels, Explore, and Search.
Should a creator turn account suggestions off?
Usually keep them on when discovery beside related profiles is useful. Turn them off when removing that module from your profile matters more than appearing in suggestion slots elsewhere.
Keep improving
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