While you can't always avoid seeing someone in real life, you can sometimes avoid seeing them online. Like many social media platforms, Instagram's block feature ensures that your personal feed is protected from unwanted interactions with specific accounts. And, lucky for you, blocking someone on Instagram is easy to do and just as easy to undo. So whether you want to block a bothersome account or unblock someone, this guide has got you covered.
Blocking users on Instagram
As the social media app has grown, so have Instagram’s risks for negative online interactions. While most people tend to use Instagram for positive promotion and social connection, every now and then, you come across an account you'd just rather not see. That's where Instagram's blocking feature comes in.
Blocking on Instagram is a tool that hides individual accounts and prevents them from engaging with yours. So if you don't want to interact with a person or have their content pop up on your feed, this is a valuable feature. It's simple to learn how to use and only requires a few steps.
So how do you block someone on Instagram?
If you want to stop seeing a specific person's account for any reason, blocking them is as easy as pressing a few buttons. Here's how to block someone on Instagram:
- Locate the account you want to block.
- Go to their profile by pressing on their username.
- Press the three horizontal dots button at the top right of the screen to access your settings. (On Android devices, the button will be three vertical dots.)
- Press the Block option.
- Press the Block option again to confirm.
Instagram currently allows you to block anyone on the app, not just accounts who mutually follow each other. You can block accounts you don't follow, and you can also block accounts who don't follow you.
What happens when you block someone on Instagram?
As soon as someone is blocked, that person will no longer be able to find your profile, your posts, or your stories. If the blocked account clicks on or searches for your username, it will take them to a page that says "User Not Found."
Blocked accounts can still mention your username on Instagram, but it won't appear in your activity, and you won't be notified. If the blocked account was previously following you, your posts and Stories would no longer appear in their feed. This result is the same whether your profile is private or public.
At first, it seems like you may have fallen off the face of the earth. However, the slate isn't entirely wiped clean. If you've interacted with this account by liking or commenting on each other's posts, those interactions will remain. Likes and comments do not disappear automatically after an account is blocked. While, unfortunately, you can't delete another person's likes on your posts, you can delete their comments.
Here’s how to delete comments on Instagram:
- Go to the post that contains the comment you want to delete.
- Locate that comment by pressing the speech bubble button below the post.
- If you have an iPhone, swipe left over the comment. If you have an Android, press and hold the comment.
- Press the trash can button to delete it. On iPhones, the button will be red, and on Androids, it will be blue.
If you and the now-blocked account have interacted through Direct Messages before, those threads will not be deleted and will remain in your Direct Inbox. However, you will no longer be able to message the account. If the blocked person tries to send you a direct message, it will send, but you will never receive it — even if you unblock them later.
Now, if you were at any point involved in a group message with the now-blocked account, you’ll get a dialog box when you open the message asking you if you want to stay in the group message or leave. If you choose to stay, you will be able to see the blocked account's messages within that group chat.
Unfortunately, you can't block accounts and still follow them, as the feature essentially forces them to unfollow you and your content. However, if you’re concerned that someone might feel hurt when they learned that you’ve blocked them, don’t worry. Instagram doesn’t notify accounts that they have been blocked.
It's also good to note that even if you block someone, they can still see any likes or comments you leave on other public accounts or private accounts they follow. So while Instagram doesn’t notify accounts when they’re blocked, there are other ways they could find out. Here’s how to know who blocked you on Instagram.
How to unblock someone on Instagram
While all this talk of blocking seems pretty final, it’s actually not permanent at all. In fact, unblocking someone is about as easy as blocking them.
The only trick is, you have to find them first.
How to find your Instagram block list
After you block someone, they no longer appear in your feed or in searches, which makes finding their account a little tricky. While you may not be able to locate them the old-fashioned way, you can find them on your Block List.
Your Block List is essentially a list of every account you have blocked on Instagram. Luckily, this list is private, so no one can see who you’ve nixed from your Feed. This comes in handy when you want to remove someone from that list.
Here’s how to find your Instagram Block List:
- Go to your profile.
- Press the button with three lines at the top right corner of the screen.
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Blocked Accounts.
On that page, you will see your list of accounts you’ve blocked. Pressing on those accounts will take you to their profiles, where you can find the option to unblock them.
How do you unblock someone on Instagram?
After you’ve found your Block List and located the person you want to unblock, the rest is pretty simple. Read on below to learn how to unblock someone on Instagram:
- Locate the account you want to unblock on your Block List.
- Go to their profile by pressing their username.
- Press the three horizontal dots button at the top right of the screen to access settings. (On Android devices, the button will be three vertical dots.)
- Press the Unblock option.
- Press the Unblock option again to confirm.
Remember, blocking someone means you are unfollowed from their account and vice-versa. If you want to see that person’s Feed and Stories again, you will need to follow them.
Why can’t I unblock on Instagram?
If you can’t unblock someone on Instagram, it’s most likely because the account you blocked also blocked you. And as you’ve learned, once you’re blocked, you can no longer access that person’s account. If you can no longer find them, and they can no longer find you, it can be difficult for either of you to unblock the other.
If you think this may have happened, contact Instagram’s support team for additional assistance.
While blocking someone on Instagram is an effective way to keep them out of sight and out of mind, there are other ways to limit your interactions. You could remove them as a follower or block them only from commenting on posts in your feed.
However, if you do decide to put someone on your Block List, remember that it’s just as easy to unblock them.
