You do have some level of control over which accounts you want to interact with on Instagram. If someone you follow is posting stuff you don’t want to see, whether it’s in their posts or stories, there is a way to hide their activity. Keep on reading to find out how to mute someone on Instagram.
Good to know: curious about who appreciated the content you posted on Instagram? Learn how to check who shared your Instagram posts and more.
What Happens When You Mute Someone on Instagram
Muting someone on Instagram is akin to politely removing yourself from someone’s presence. You will remain their follower, and they will still continue to follow you, but your interactions will be minimized. Fortunately, Instagram won’t notify users that you’ve muted them. The following is a list of what will happen when you mute someone on Instagram:
- If you mute their posts, they will no longer appear in your feed.
- If you mute their stories, they will no longer appear on the top of your feed.
- If you mute their notes, you will not see the notes they share.
- If you mute their messages and calls, you won’t get notifications when they try to message or call you.
One thing to keep in mind is that, even though you’ve muted them, they can still see your posts, stories, and profile and interact with them. They can also call and message you, even though you won’t see the notifications.
Tip: if you want to stop all interactions, look into how to block someone on Instagram.
Mute Someone From Your Instagram Feed
If you happen to come across the person’s post in your feed, you can mute them from there. Do this from the mobile app or your PC browser.
Open the Instagram app and tap the avatar on the person’s post in your feed. Tap on Following -> Mute in the pop-up menu. Choose whether you want to mute their Posts, Stories, or Notes by tapping on the appropriate toggle(s).
Tip: worried you’re losing followers on Instagram? Find out who unfollowed you on Instagram.
Mute an Instagram Account
Another way to mute someone on Instagram is to find the person’s Instagram account and mute them from there.
For this, open the Instagram app, tap on Search (the magnifying glass icon) in the bottom menu, and enter the name or Instagram handle of the person you want to mute. Tap on it in the search results.
Tap on Following -> Mute in the pop-up menu. You can now choose whether you want to mute their Posts, Stories, or Notes by tapping on the appropriate toggle(s).
Tip: check out our post to find out what all the symbols mean on Instagram Direct Messages.
Mute Instagram Messages and Calls
If you don’t want to receive notifications when a specific person messages or calls you on Instagram, you can mute those too.
Open the Instagram app and tap on Messages (the chat icon) in the top-right corner of the screen. Tap on the desired chat.
Now, tap on the username in the chat window and select Mute.
Turn on the toggle for Mute messages. Set how long you want to mute the messages. Back in the previous pop-up, do the same for Mute calls.
How to Unmute Someone on Instagram
Once you decide you no longer wish to mute the person, unmuting them is just as easy as muting them.
Open the Instagram app and find the account you’ve muted. Tap Following -> Mute. Turn off the toggles for their Posts, Stories, or Notes to unmute them.
FYI: ready to take a break from social media? Check out how to delete or deactivate your Instagram account.
Mute Someone’s Instagram Story
If you just want to mute someone’s stories on the platform, open your account. Tap and hold the profile picture of the targeted account in the stories section on your feed.
Choose Mute -> Mute stories or Mute stories and posts. This is the quick way to do it.
The second method is to follow the steps we listed above, which include heading over to the targeted profile, choosing Following -> Mute, and selecting Stories.
Learn Whether Someone Muted You on Instagram
Instagram won’t notify you when someone mutes you, meaning there’s no direct way to tell. Regardless, you can look for the following signs:
- The person used to previously interact with your posts and stories, but they suddenly stopped.
- Their name no longer appears when you see the people who viewed your stories.
- They aren’t picking up your calls or answering your messages, even though you can see that they’re active online.
There’s a trick you can use to find out whether someone has muted you: add them to your “Close Friends” list, and remove everyone else. Then, post a couple of stories at different times. After a few hours, check to see whether the person has viewed any of them – keep checking until all stories have expired.
If none of the stories you’ve posted get a hit from the person, then they have most likely muted you, especially if you’ve noticed the other signs mentioned above. Although, there is also a chance that they’re no longer that active on Instagram. It’s best to try this trick more than once if it’s important that you know whether someone has muted you.
Choose Who You Interact With on Instagram
If you don’t want to see someone on Instagram, the easiest thing you can do is mute them. That way, you won’t see a single post, story, or note that they post or get a message or call notification from them. It’s a subtle approach, and they will probably never find out that you muted them.
If you’d rather have a more private Instagram experience, learn how to hide your Instagram account to make it harder for people to find you. You may also find it useful to know how to hide those embarrassing tagged photos on Instagram.
Image credit: Instagram logo under a magnifying glass on a smartphone by DepositPhotos. All screenshots by Zainab Falak
