Depending on how you like to manage your social media accounts you might have strong privacy settings on and only a few close friends or you might add anyone you meet on platforms such as Instagram.
Regardless you often find that someone occasionally rubs you the wrong way either by posting too frequently, or sharing content you’re not interested in. In more serious cases they might leave negative comments on your posts or behave with poor etiquette compared to the standards you set for yourself and prefer others to follow.
Regardless of the reason, you might need a break (or a permanent breakup) from certain handles. In this article, we will deconstruct your options for managing people on Instagram to help you make the best choice for the situation you are facing.
Table of Contents
Unfollow Instagram Accounts
This is a good option for people who post things that bother you or post too frequently cluttering up your feed. If you unfollow someone on Instagram you will no longer see their posts, stories and pictures. They will however be allowed to see yours, which works fine if you don’t mind them seeing your content.
The unfollow someone on Instagram follow these steps;
- Find their profile – you can do this by either navigating through to all your followers through your profile page or by searching for them
- Click the green “Following” button
- Select “Unfollow” and confirm your selection
If you want to unfollow multiple users at once it’s probably easiest to do that from the list you can find by clicking on followers from your profile.
Once you’ve unfollowed someone successfully their profile will say “Follow” instead of “Following” and the button will no longer be green.
Mute an Instagram User
This is a great option if you don’t want to see someone’s posts or stories in your feed without having to unfollow or block them. It is probably the least restrictive action you can take for an ongoing Instagram friendship with the person in question.
The mute someone follow the steps above, however when you select the “Following” button continue in this way;
- Select Mute in the menu that appears
- Toggle the button next to Posts or Stories or both
To unmute them at a later date, navigate back and reverse the toggle.
Block Someone on Instagram
Blocking is probably the most definitive action you can take against another user. This is useful in instances where people are being offensive or difficult online and you just don’t want to deal with them anymore. When you block someone, you will no longer see any of their posts or stories and if your profile is private, they will not see any of yours either.
Other facts about blocking:
- All their previous likes and comments on your posts will be removed these will not be reinstated if you unblock them
- They can still see likes and comments you’ve made shared on public accounts or accounts they follow
- Once you block them, they won’t be able to tag you or mention your username – if you change your username, they may be able to tag or mention the new name if they know it
- You won’t be able to message them after you’ve blocked them
- In a group conversation if they are in it you will be asked if you want to leave – if you stay you will be able to see their messages and they yours in that group
- You will not see direct messages form them and these will not be saved for you to receive if you unblock them later
To block someone, follow these steps:
- Navigate to their profile either by clicking on their feed/story or searching for their username
- Click the Ellipsis menu this is three horizontal dots … on a computer and IOS and a vertical three dots on Android
- In the menu that appears select Block
To unblock them, navigate back through the menu and select unblock.
You can also manage blocked accounts through your privacy settings by following the steps detailed below:
- Select your avatar/ profile picture
- Tap the three vertical lines menu then select the cogwheel for settings
- Select privacy then select Blocked Accounts
- To unblock someone, navigate to their name then tap unblock
- To add someone to your blocked list tap the + icon I the top right then search for their name
Other options
Remove someone as a follower
This option is available to you if your profile is set to private. They will no longer be able to see your new pictures and stories though they can refollow you if they notice you’re gone. To unfollow someone, go to your profile, then click on Followers at the top of the screen, in the list that appears scroll until you find the follower in question and select Remove. Tap remove and confirm your choice.
Block Someone from Commenting on your Posts and Videos
Any comments they make will only be visible to them and no one else. They will however still be able to view your content. You can block users from commenting by following these simple steps:
- Navigate to your profile
- Select the three horizontal lines menu in the top right and tap settings
- Navigate to Privacy then select Comments
- Select People next to Block Comments From which will be under the comments section
- Search for the person then tap block next to their name (this is a different block than the one described above and just relates to comments)
If you ever want to unblock them follow steps 1-5 but select unblock next to their name.
Summary
There are a variety of ways to limit your interaction with certain users. The level of restriction on your interaction with them will vary.
Instagram does not notify them of any action you make against their account.
