To make your Instagram account private and restrict who can see your posts and stories, follow these steps:
1. Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.
2. Go to your profile by tapping on your profile picture icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Once you're on your profile, tap on the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top right corner of the screen.
4. From the menu that appears, select "Settings" at the bottom.
5. In the Settings menu, tap on "Privacy" near the top of the list.
6. Under the Privacy settings, tap on "Account Privacy."
7. Toggle on the switch next to "Private Account" to enable it. The switch should turn blue, indicating that your account is now private.
Once your account is set to private, only your approved followers will be able to see your posts and stories. Any new followers will need to send a follow request, and you'll have the option to approve or deny their request.
Keep in mind that making your account private doesn't affect your existing followers. They will still be able to see your posts and stories as usual. If you want to remove specific followers, you can do so by going to your followers list and tapping on the "Remove" button next to their name.
That's it! Your Instagram account is now private, and you have control over who can see your content.