This is because people who have your phone number saved on their devices can easily find you on Instagram, even without knowing your username or any other details about you on the platform. And yes, you can be found even if your phone number isn’t displayed on your (public) profile or if your account is set to private. Instagram is pretty clear about this in its privacy policy; that profile information you provide (phone number including) allows it to help you be found on the platform. Sometimes, Instagram also sends annoying SMS updates. To prevent these from happening, the best bet is to completely rid your phone number from your Instagram account. In this tutorial, we’d walk you through the steps of getting it done on your phone and computer.
On Mobile App
Step 1: On the profile page of your Instagram account, tap the Edit Profile button. Step 2: Under the Profile Information section, tap the Phone number. Step 3: Now delete the phone number. Step 4: Next step is to hit the Next button to save the changes. Do this and you’ll be redirected back to the Edit Profile page. Step 5: Hit that Check mark icon at the top-right corner of the page to save the changes. The page loads after a couple of seconds and saves your profile information without your phone number. Additionally, Instagram will send a confirmation message to the email address connected to your account informing you that your phone number has been removed from its database. Included in the mail are the exact time and date the action was made and a link to secure your account if the phone number removal wasn’t prompted by you. Now let’s check out how to get it done on the web/PC version of Instagram.
On PC
If you access Instagram directly from your computer or don’t have access to your Instagram mobile app, here’s how to remove your phone number from the platform via PC. Step 1: On the Instagram web homepage, tap the Profile icon at the top-right corner of your PC screen. Step 2: Tap the Edit Profile button. Step 3: Delete the phone number on your profile. Step 4: Tap the Submit button. A Profile saved notification is displayed at the bottom of the screen and likewise, a confirmation is also sent to your connected email address.
Other Tips
Instagram sometimes sends update notifications via SMS and this could get annoying. You can also stop this by removing your phone number but a better alternative is to directly disable SMS notifications in your account. Here’s how to disable SMS/text notifications on Instagram without removing your phone number.
On Mobile
Step 1: On your profile page, tap the hamburger menu icon. Step 2: Tap Settings. Step 3: Select Notifications. Step 4: Tap the ‘Email and SMS notifications’ option. Step 5: Tap ‘Text (SMS) Messages’ to uncheck the option and disable SMS notifications.
On Web/PC
Step 1: On your profile page, tap the Settings icon. Step 2: Select Notifications. Step 3: Tap the ‘Text (SMS) Messages’ to uncheck the option.
Privacy over Security
Having your number linked to your Instagram account comes with its benefits — for one, it can be used as a means of verification should you forget your account password. Secondly, your phone number may also be used by Instagram to contact you should there be any security emergency or important updates. The downside, however, is the privacy risk it poses — anyone with your number can find and follow you on the platform. If for some reason, you’d rather stay anonymous, one of the best ways to prevent being followed by random strangers on the platform is to remove your number from your account. Conclusively, it is imperative to mention that you would not be able to remove your phone number on Instagram if you don’t have an email address linked to your account. Next up: Since you take your privacy seriously, the article linked below contains nine different privacy settings you can further tweak on your Instagram for a better, more enjoyable, and private usage experience. You should check them out. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
