Instagram without your friends is boring. Instead of watching celebrities on your feed, you want to see the next epic photo that your friend posted. Even reels are more enjoyable when you know the characters in the videos.
To follow your contacts on Instagram, go to “Settings” > “Follow and invite friends” > “Follow contacts.” You’ll receive a prompt to allow Instagram to access your contacts. Tap “Allow access.” After that, you’ll see your friends and their friends on your “Discover people” page.
This guide will walk you through two methods of following contacts on Instagram on Android and iPhone. You’ll also see how to turn off follow contacts or delete the synced contacts. And what happens after you turn on follow contacts on Instagram.
- Method #1: How To Follow Contacts on Instagram
- Method #2: How To Find Your Contacts on Instagram Through Settings
- What Happens After You Turn On Follow Contacts on Instagram?
- How Do You Turn Off Follow Contacts on Instagram?
- How To Delete Synced Contacts on Instagram?
- Why Are My Contacts Not Showing Up on Instagram?
- Conclusion
Method #1: How To Follow Contacts on Instagram
- Tap your profile icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap the icon (person and + sign) next to “Edit Profile,” which should take you to the “Discover people” page.
- You’ll see the “Discover people” section with recommended accounts. Tap “See All.”
- On the “Discover people” page on Instagram, tap “Connect” next to “Connect contacts” if present; else, you have already given your permission.
- Tap “Allow access” to allow Instagram to read your phone contacts.
- You’ll now see your contacts and their friends on the suggested accounts. Check out the profiles and follow your friends.
If you’re using a business Instagram page, you won’t see the discover icon. You’ll have to access the “Discover people” page from the menu.
Method #2: How To Find Your Contacts on Instagram Through Settings
- Tap on your profile icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap on the menu icon (three lines) in the top-right corner.
- Go to “Settings.”
- Tap “Follow and invite friends.”
- Tap “Follow contacts.”
- Tap “Allow access” to allow Instagram to read your contacts.
- Go back to your profile and access the “Discover people” page by clicking the icon next to the “Edit Profile” button.
- Tap “See All” and scroll through the page. Tap “Follow” on any contact to follow them.
After connecting Instagram to your phone contacts, Instagram suggestions become more relevant. Instead of random folks and celebrities, you’ll start seeing acquaintances and people you may know. But you’ll choose whether or not to follow them.
You can also follow your Facebook contacts. Click “Connect” next to the Facebook button to follow your contacts on Facebook. Then follow the prompts on your screen.
What Happens After You Turn On Follow Contacts on Instagram?
After connecting your contacts, Instagram will periodically sync your contacts and store them on its servers. You can stop the syncing anytime (more on this below).
After syncing your contacts on Instagram, you’ll start receiving notifications to follow your contacts. You can simply tap “Follow” to follow them.
If you want to turn off the notifications on friends to follow, follow these steps:
- Open Instagram and log in.
- Tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap on the menu icon at the top right.
- Select “Settings.”
- Select “Notifications.”
- Tap “Following and Followers.”
- Under “Account Suggestions.” tap “Off.”
After syncing, you’ll find your contacts and the people they follow on the “Discover people” page. You’ll also see your contacts under “Suggested for you” as you scroll your feed.
If you’ve updated your phone number and email, Instagram will recommend your account to your friends.
How Do You Turn Off Follow Contacts on Instagram?
If you wish to stop syncing your contacts on Instagram, follow these steps:
- Open Instagram and go to your profile.
- Tap on the menu icon in the top right corner.
- Go to “Settings.”
- Select “Account.”
- Tap “Contact syncing.”
- Turn off the button next to “Connect contacts.”
- Tap “Disconnect.“
How To Delete Synced Contacts on Instagram?
Instagram allows you to delete all synced contacts under the Manage Contacts section. This option is available in the web version. So, access your Instagram account using a computer. Then follow the steps below:
- Access Instagram on your browser and click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings.”
- Choose the “Manage Contacts” tab.
- Click on “Delete All.”
- Confirm by clicking “Delete.”
Note that Instagram syncs your contacts periodically. So, it’ll re-upload your contacts again unless you turn off “Connect contacts” or remove Instagram’s permission to access your contacts.
Why Are My Contacts Not Showing Up on Instagram?
If you don’t find a contact on Instagram’s “Discover people,” they might have registered their Instagram with a different phone number or email.
Besides that, ensure you’ve allowed Instagram to read your contacts after clicking “Connect contacts.”
To verify that Instagram can read your contacts, go to your phone settings and locate Apps settings (where you have a list of all your apps). Click on Instagram, then locate the “Permissions” setting. Find out if “Contacts” is allowed. If “Contacts” is not permitted, you need to enable it.
Finally, check whether you’ve blocked the contact. Go to your Instagram app. And navigate to “Settings” > “Privacy” > “Connections” > “Blocked accounts“. If you’re the contact is blocked, tap “Unblock.”
Conclusion
Following your contact on Instagram is straightforward. You just need to enable the “Follow contacts” option. After that, you’ll see your contacts on the suggested accounts on the “Discover people” page.
