If you don’t want to receive messages or don’t want to see posts from someone without unfollowing them, Mute is a great option. Instagram won’t notify muted users, nor will they be able to check it.
Fortunately, there are three ways to mute users. So, here are tips on how to mute someone on Instagram on both mobile and PC.
Table of Contents
How to Mute Someone’s Messages on Instagram
If you don’t want messages from someone, you can mute their messages on Instagram. The perk of muting messages on Instagram app is that you won’t have to open their messages to mute them.
For Mobile/App Users
- Open Instagram app and slide left for the Inbox.
- Hold press on the User and select “Mute Messages“.
For Website Users
- Open the user’s message on the Instagram website.
- Click on the info button (i) on the top right of their message box.
- Now, click on “Mute Messages” and you’re done.
To unmute someone, just follow the same steps.
How to Mute Someone’s Stories on Instagram
This feature is great for when you don’t want to be stuck with scrolling paralysis on someone’s story spam. Muting someone’s story won’t remove them from the story bar but it will push them to the end of the story bar to avoid accidental run-ins. Here’s how to do it:
If you are on your phone or use the app,
- Hold press on a user and Select “Mute” > “Mute story“.
But when it comes to browser, unfortunately, muting stories is not an available function on the Instagram website.
How to Mute Someone’s Posts on Instagram
Muting someone’s posts will make sure they don’t show up on your feed. Like the holiday party your friends didn’t invite you to. You can still access their posts if you click on their profile, they just won’t appear on your homepage anymore.
For Phone/App Users
- Tap on the menu with the three vertical dots (⋮) on the top right of their post.
- Select “Hide”
- Select “Mute“
Alternatively, if they have posted a story recently you can mute both stories and posts at the same time.
- Hold press on their icon from the story bar. Click on Mute > Mute story and posts.
Another alternative, if they have neither posted a story or post recently, is:
- Go to their profile and tap on “Following” for more options.
- Tap on Mute > Mute “Posts“.
For Desktop/Website Users
This feature is not available on the Instagram website either. But if you mute them from the app, they won’t show up on your Instagram web version’s feed either.
Other Alternatives to Muting Someone on Instagram
There are other alternatives to muting someone on Instagram. You can try moving the conversation to General, Restricting, Reporting, Blocking and posting to “close friends“, Hiding story.
Moving to General
If you want to mute their messages because you don’t want to see them, you can move them to “General” instead. Here’s how to do it:
- Hold press on a User from your inbox > Move to General.
Messages in “General” are automatically muted so you won’t get notifications for them, won’t have to see them on the Inbox (Primary) either.
Restricting Someone On Instagram
If you don’t want to see someone’s messages, you can restrict them. They won’t be notified. But their messages and comments will no longer appear for you either on “Primary” or “General”. Here’s how to restrict someone on Instagram:
- Tap on the User and press the three dots ⋮ for Menu.
- Find and press “Restrict“.
Now their messages will no longer show up on your Inbox. You can find them on “Requests” instead. And they won’t know if you have viewed their messages either.
Report Someone on Instagram
If you are being harassed by their messages, you can report them. Depending on the context, you can either report a message or the account.
To Report a Message
- Hold press on the message, press “Report”
- Select the category.
Now, Instagram will review and take action against them.
To Report the Account
If the user is sending a lot of malicious texts, you can report the account instead. Here’s how:
- Go to the User’s profile and tap on the three dots ⋮ for Menu.
- Tap on “Report” and select the category.
Blocking Someone on Instagram
After reporting the user for good measure, you can block them too. They will still be able to send messages but you will no longer receive them. And they will not be able to see your stories and posts either.
Recently, Instagram has introduced “block” so they wont be able to bother you by making new accounts either.
- Go to the User’s profile and tap on the three dots ⋮ for Menu.
- Tap on “Block” > “Block (user) and new accounts they may create.”
Posting to Close Friends List on Instagram
Muting someone is efficient to hide their content from you. But your messages, stories, and posts will still be visible to them. If you don’t want them to see any story you post, you can create a close friend’s list.
Posting to “close friends” will ensure that only an approved group of people will see your story. Unfortunately, this does not apply to posts so they will be able to see every thing you post on your feed.
Here’s how to create and use the “Close Friends” list.
- Open your profile. Click the icon on top-right corner.
- Select Settings > Privacy > Story.
- Click on “Close friends“
- Search for users and add them to the list.
Hiding Story From Someone on Instagram
This will block an individual or a group of individuals from seeing your stories as well as the highlights on your profile. Even if you have posted a story, the pink ring wont appear around your icon. And if they press on your story highlights, it will show as an error.
However, this also applies for the stories you send to them privately. So you will have to “Send as chat” or send directly from your Gallery instead. Here’s how to hide your story from someone:
- Open your profile. Click the icon on top-right corner.
- Select Settings > Privacy > Story.
- Tap on “Hide Story From” and Select the account.
Now they will no longer be able to see any recent stories from you. This of course won’t make them un-see the stories they have already seen. But they wont be able to access your previous stories either.
