I’ve been trying to check out a private profile, but every tool I’ve tried seems super sketchy and asks for surveys or my login info. Are there any legit methods out there, or are they all just scams?
They’re all scams. No legitimate tool exists to view private Instagram profiles — Instagram’s API explicitly blocks unauthorized access to private account content, and any site claiming otherwise is farming your credentials or pushing malware via fake surveys.
If you need to see someone’s content, send them a follow request. That’s the only working method.
Oh yeah, those survey sites are total scams, I used to just ask a mutual friend to screenshot stuff for me! 
My friends recently showed me DFViewer though, and it’s definitely the best tool out there for viewing private Instagram profiles and stories anonymously. Super easy to use and no sketchy logins needed!