Blocking People

To block someone:

  1. Tap their username to go to their profile
  2. Tap (iPhone/iPad) or (Android) in the top right
  3. Tap Block

To unblock someone:

  1. Follow steps 1-2 above
  2. Tap Unblock

People aren't notified when you block them. Learn more about blocking people.

When you block someone from commenting, they can still view your photos and videos but cannot comment on them.

To block someone from commenting on your photos and videos:

  1. Go to your profile by tapping
  2. Tap (iPhone) or (Android) in the top right
  3. Below Settings, tap Comment Controls
  4. Next to Block Comments From, tap People >
  5. Enter the name of the person you want to block, then tap Block next to their name

To unblock someone from commenting on your photos and videos, tap Unblock next to their name.

Keep in mind that when you block someone from commenting, it doesn't remove their previous comments. Learn more about blocking people.

By default, anyone can view your profile and posts on Instagram. You can make your posts private so that only followers you approve can see them. If your posts are set to private, only your approved followers will see them on hashtag or location pages.

To set your posts to private from the Instagram app on iOS:

  1. Go to your profile by tapping
  2. Tap (iPhone) or (Android) in the top right
  3. Tap Account Privacy then tap to toggle Private Account on

Things to keep in mind about private posts:

  • Private posts you share to social networks may be visible to the public depending on your privacy settings for those networks. For example, a post you share to Twitter that was set to private on Instagram may be visible to the people who can see your Twitter posts.
  • Once you make your posts private, people will have to send you a follow request to see your posts, your followers list or your following list.
  • Follow requests appear in Activity, where you can approve or ignore them.
  • If someone was already following before you set your posts to private and you don't want them to see your posts, you can block them.
  • People can send a photo or video directly to you even if they’re not following you.

When you block someone, that person won't be able to find your profile, posts or story on Instagram. People aren't notified when you block them.

Yes, someone you blocked can mention your username on Instagram, but this mention won't appear in your Activity. If you block someone and then change your username, they won't be able to mention you unless they know your new username.

You can report abusive photos, videos and messages that are sent to you with Instagram Direct:

  1. Open the conversation
  2. Tap and hold the individual message you'd like to report
  3. Select Report

If you'd like to report a post from Feed that was sent to you with Instagram Direct, you can tap the post and report it.

If you want to stop someone from sending you messages, you can block that person or report their profile.

After you block someone, their likes and comments are not removed from your photos and videos. You can delete their comments from your posts.

People that you block can still see your likes and comments on posts that were shared by public accounts or accounts they follow.