How do I prevent my contacts from finding me on Instagram?

Hi. I'm a gay guy. But I'm not fully out to my family and friends.

I want to use Instagram to get to know other lgbt people.

Hence, I do not want my family,friends, colleagues to find/follow me on Instagram.

But Instagram now prompts you to share contacts and allow your contacts to find/locate you on Instagram.

Is there a way to prevent this?

I don't really want to set my account to private because that means other lgbt people won't be able to see my photos freely. And making my Instagram account private means that my family,friends will still be able to find me on Instagram, then they will request to follow me. Then I will have to either oblige or block them ( which they will be unhappy if I block them)

I understand that there is a way to unsync/disconnect your contacts from connecting with you on Instagram.

But I'm concerned, if I disconnect/ unsync my contacts, can they still find me even though they still have my mobile number in their phones?


I didn't use my mobile number to sign up for my Instagram account. But I have WhatsApp and my friends,family, colleagues's mobile numbers stored in my phone.


Can someone help me with this? I will really appreciate your help.

Thank you. :)

How do I prevent my contacts from finding me on Instagram?