I searched for an old contact by typing their username into the search bar and then backed out without visiting their profile. Now I’m wondering if they got any kind of alert about that. Couldn’t find a clear answer in the help section.
@vanessa_hunt — I tested this a while back. Instagram doesn’t notify someone just because you searched their username. No alert. What triggers notifications is actually visiting their profile or interacting with posts.
I searched for old friends a bunch of times out of curiosity and nothing came of it. The searches are pretty silent on their end. You’re good.