Why not follow private IG accounts?

Why do most people only follow accounts that aren't private? Doesn't the user still see the same notification as a non-private user?

Or are you hoping for clicks not just from the added user but from people checking their recent followers list?

I work with both public and private.

I think it varies depending on niche.

The problem with following private accts is that you 'request' to follow them and this counts +1 in amount of accounts you can follow (7500) but it does not show up in your actual follow count on your profile until the person accepts or denies your follow request. This can be a problem if you have many of these requests pending and you are trying to follow more accounts.

For example:

You follow 500 private users, and none of them have accepted/denied your request.
If you try to follow more than 7000 public users, you will be restricted until one or more of the 500 private users accept/denies your request.