Taking your account private makes it harder, though not impossible, to have your content stolen. Some might even be stealing content and then selling it, on sites like Redbubble, where print on demand services don’t do any copyright checking. Others may be copying content from a dozen different sources to make their account seem like it’s way more active and creative than it is. They don’t realize what they’re doing is theft, and they’re just sharing content they like in an inappropriate way. Some of these accounts are relatively benign. There are a lot of people out there who are more than happy to just steal and copy images from Instagram accounts and post them on their own without credit.
We’re not talking about harassment here, but rather, content theft. It’s easier that way.Ī second possible reason to take your account private is asset protection. This is why so many large accounts, once harassment gets out of control, simply shut down. And, once information is out, it’s impossible to put the cat back in the bag. Sometimes there are smarter people attached to these movements, who follow an account but don’t make waves, merely leaking information to their fellows. This can’t happen if non-followers can’t report you. One common tactic amongst harassment groups is to mobilize large numbers of people to click a link and report an account, in hopes that the mass reports get the account suspended. This can also help with casual drive-by report bombs. By restricting the people who can even see your content, you minimize the amount of access these harassers have to attack you. Women and minorities, of course, are frequently the targets of these kinds of harassment.Ī private account offers some manner of protection against this kind of harassment. Some of those people might be members of movements like the MRAs or Gamergate, or white supremacist movements, or another hate group that targets specific kinds of people. Unfortunately, we live in a world where things like doxing are increasingly commonplace.Īny time you’re in a position of power, authority, or visibility, there will be people who are jealous of you. A private account allows you to filter who is following you and who is applying to follow you. The first and most obvious reason is protection. There are a number of different reasons why you might want to go private as a large-scale brand or meme account. The Downsides to Switching Your Account to Private Reasons to Go Private
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