Instagram Professional Account Problems: Can’t Go Private, Sharing Limits and Switching Back

Does this match what you see?

• There’s no option to make your account private.
• Your posts only share to your Facebook Page, not your profile.
• Your posts or reels appear in Google or other search results.

iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

Switching steps are from Instagram’s Help Center for computer, phone and iPad.

Why this happens: the possible causes

Professional account limits, from Meta’s Help Center.

• Professional accounts can’t be privateCheck this first

  Meta says professional accounts can’t be set to private, and pending follow requests are automatically accepted when you go public.

• A linked Facebook PageCheck this first

  Meta says that if you linked a Facebook Page, you can only share Instagram posts to Facebook through that Page.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

What changes when you switch back

• Meta says you’ll lose access to some Meta business tools, like Meta Business Suite and Meta Ads Manager.
• If your account is public, Meta says you’ll still have access to Your dashboard and insights.
• Meta also says you’ll no longer have access to ads, and any Facebook Page connected to your professional account will be disconnected.
• Our note: professional-only features such as the Contact button and category label are part of professional accounts, so expect them to go too. You can switch to professional again later.

Insights missing or not showing?

• Who gets insights: Meta says you need a public account, either personal or professional. If you switch to a private account, you lose access to insights, but you can regain past data if you go public again within 90 days. If you recently made your account public, past insights may not show yet.
• Just switched to professional? Meta says you may not be able to view past insights if you recently converted to a business or creator account.
• Switched back to personal? Meta says you lose access to in-app insights, but your insights data is kept for 90 days. If you switch back to a business or creator account within 90 days, you can see your past data again.
• Find insights in the app: go to your profile and tap Professional dashboard (professional account) or Your dashboard (personal account). Don’t see it? Tap More > Settings and activity, then Insights below For professionals, or Your dashboard below Your insights and tools. You’ll see the past 30 days by default; tap an insight, use the dropdown to pick Last 7, 14 or 30 days, Previous month, Last 90 days or a custom range, then tap Update.
• Find insights on a computer: select Dashboard from the left-hand menu, then Insights below For professionals (professional account) or Your dashboard below Your insights and tools (personal account). Choose Account or Content from the Insights dropdown, then set the date range: the last 7, 14, 30 or 90 days, or a custom range at least 1 day apart within the past 90 days.
• Changing the time range: tap the drop-down at the top to choose a preset or custom timeframe within the past 90 days. To see everything you’ve posted, tap a content type in Content you shared to open the content library, where you can filter by media type, reach, interactions and time frame.
• No audience demographics (countries, cities, ages, gender)? Meta says these need a preset timeframe and content that reached or engaged over 100 accounts. If Last 7 days shows nothing, try Last 30 days, Previous month or Last 90 days.
• No follower trends? Meta says follower insights (growth, top locations, age range, most active times) need at least 100 followers.
• No “Views” metric? Meta says Views is being gradually introduced and may not be available to you yet. It also says Viewers and Accounts engaged are estimated and in development, so expect small differences. Our note: Views can count the same person more than once; Viewers counts unique accounts.
• Post insights: Meta says these are available for up to two years, and show Views, Interactions (likes, comments, saves, shares) and Profile activity (actions people take on your profile after engaging with the post). Open the post from your profile and tap View Insights.
• Reel insights: available for reels posted on and after May 14, 2021, for up to two years. See reel view counts.
• Definitions: tap any insight, then the (i) in the top right corner to see what each metric means.
• Insights for one post: tap View Insights below a post or reel. For a story, swipe up on the story and tap the insights icon.
• Story insights after it expires: Meta says stories expire after 24 hours, but you can still see their insights for up to two years (the story itself can’t be viewed). In the app (iPhone, iPad, Android and Instagram Lite): open your story, tap Activity > Insights; for past stories, More > Settings & activity > Insights (or Your dashboard) > Content you shared > the story. On a computer: for a current story, Options at the top right of the story > View insights; for past stories, your profile > View insights > below Top content based on engagement. Meta says numbers may be delayed as they populate. Story metrics include views, viewers, interactions (replies, shares, sticker and link taps), accounts engaged and profile activity.
• In Europe or Japan? Meta says certain messaging-related metrics, ad campaigns and organic messaging features for businesses, and ads delivered to and from Europe and Japan, are unavailable.

Can’t share to your Facebook profile?

Meta says that if you’ve linked a Facebook Page to your professional account, you can only share your Instagram posts to Facebook through that Page. You won’t be able to share to another Facebook Page or to a Facebook profile. For other sharing problems, see reels not sharing to Facebook.

Your posts show up on Google or Bing?

Meta says Instagram generally asks search engines not to index photos and videos from stories, reels, posts and highlights. But it allows indexing of photos and videos from public reels and posts uploaded from January 1, 2020 from accounts that meet all of these:

• The account holder is currently over 18.
• The account is currently public.
• The account is currently a professional account.

Meta says that once an account qualifies, all photos and videos from its public reels, story highlights and posts can be indexed, including older ones. Content others remix or reshare may also appear.

How to stop it

• Turn off the setting that lets your public photos and videos appear in search results, in your account privacy settings (external site, opens in a new tab).
• Or set your account to private.
• Or switch from professional to personal (see Switch back to a personal account).

Meta says it may take time for search engines to remove your content, even if you delete your account, and it can’t guarantee if or when they will. Your username, profile picture and bio may still appear. Google and Bing have their own removal tools: Google’s image removal help (external site, opens in a new tab) and Bing’s block request page (external site, opens in a new tab).

Set up a professional account (and what changes)

Before you switch: Meta says that if your personal account is private, switching to a professional account makes it public, and all pending follow requests are accepted automatically.

In the app

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right, then More to open Settings and activity.
2. Below For professionals, tap Account type and tools > Switch to professional account.
3. Choose a category (Meta says this doesn’t decide whether you get a business or creator account), then Switch to professional account, choose Creator or Business, and tap Next.
4. Add contact details (or tap Don’t use my contact info). Connecting a Facebook Page is optional; Meta says it makes sharing to Facebook and using ads and shopping tools easier. You can tap Skip.

On instagram.com

1. Click More > Settings, then below For professionals, select Account type and tools > Switch to professional account.
2. Choose Creator or Business, click Next, choose a category, then Done and Continue to confirm.
3. Add contact details and click Save (or Don’t use my contact info), then Done.

• Hide your category or contact info: in the app, Edit profile > Profile display below Public business information. On a computer, More > Settings > Professional account > use the checkboxes, then Submit.
• Switch between Business and Creator: in the app, More > Account type and tools > Account type > Switch account type, choose a type, then Switch.
• Meta says you can have up to 10 Instagram accounts logged in at once.

Business vs Creator, and what professional accounts include

• Business accounts are best for retailers, local businesses, brands, organizations and service providers. Creator accounts are best for public figures, content producers, artists and influencers.
• Meta lists: a professional dashboard, monetization and ads, a Contact button (directions, phone, email, visible to anyone who taps it), a category label (same as your linked Facebook Page’s), Insights, an inbox with Primary, General and Requests folders, ranked requests, tools to remove suspected spam and bot followers, and improved discovery.
• Meta recommends connecting your business Facebook Page to get the most from Instagram’s business tools. See Facebook and Instagram not linking.

How to know it worked

• Your account type and privacy are set the way you want.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Leaving Instagram altogether? See Delete or deactivate your Instagram account.

Frequently asked questions