How to Hide Someone on Instagram Without Blocking Them

Last updated on March 19th, 2023 at 08:58 pm

You might want to block someone you had an argument with on Instagram or even a coworker who doesn’t want to see your activities online.

This is not new, especially with all of the shaming happening on social media. Is blocking these users on Instagram the solution to it?

How To Hide Someone On Instagram Without Blocking Them

Most of us might not want to block certain people based on our relationship with them. However, we can hide someone on Instagram without blocking them.

This article is a complete guide on how to hide someone on Instagram without blocking.

Sounds good? Let’s get started!

Contents show

The Benefits of Hiding Someone on Instagram

There are lots of benefits that you get from hiding someone on Instagram. They include:

More control over your privacy
Peace of mind from stalkers
Not blocking someone from achieving what you want

What Happens When You Block Someone on Instagram?

If you block someone on Instagram, you won’t be able to access their profile anymore. But then, will those you block be able to access your profile?

Obviously, yes, they can easily find your Instagram profile via the Search section, comments that mention your account, and tagged posts. However, when they open your Instagram profile, they will be restricted from accessing any information.

They can only see your username and the three vertical dots on your screen.

Can I Hide Someone on Instagram Without Blocking Them?

Yes, you can hide someone on Instagram without blocking them. This will help you achieve exactly what you can achieve by blocking them.

However, it is a more subtle way to stop someone’s activities on your Instagram timeline.

Note: you can only hide someone from viewing your Instagram stories and highlights.

How to Hide Someone on Instagram Without Blocking Them

The simplest way to hide someone on Instagram without blocking them is to unfollow them and put your profile in private mode.

However, you might not want to take this direction.

Below is how you can hide someone on Instagram without blocking them.

Launch your Instagram app on your smartphone and sign in to your account
Search for the Instagram profile that you want to hide

Proceed to click on the three vertical dots at the top right of the profile. From the menu displayed, click on “Hide Story.”
The account will no longer be able to view your stories or highlights.

How to Unhide Someone from Viewing Your Instagram Stories

To unhide someone from viewing your Instagram Stories, follow the steps below:

Launch your Instagram app on your smartphone

Search for the Instagram profile that you want to hide
Proceed to click on the three vertical dots at the top right of the profile. From the menu displayed, click on “Unhide Your Story.”

Alternatives to Blocking and Hiding on Instagram

Instagram Mute

The Instagram block option is sometimes too “harsh” for everybody. For example, if you are not pleased with your friend’s party pictures on your Instagram feed, it is not fair to block them.

The good thing is that you can always mute them.

Once you use the “mute” option on Instagram, it limits their posts from showing up on your feed. That’s how mute works. This implies that their posts will disappear from your feed.

However, they can still access your post on their feed. It is a much more straightforward and less “harsh” way of severing ties with someone on Instagram.

Note that you won’t see their posts and stories on your Instagram feed after muting them.

It differs from the block option because you can still access their profile and posts whenever you wish.

You can also send them messages and engage with them via comments and “like” their posts. The nicest thing? They won’t even know that they have been muted.

Instagram has two different mute options for posts and stories. You can use both options or a single one.

Here’s how to mute a post on Instagram:

Access the Instagram page of the person you wish to mute. Next, select the triple dots (…) on Android mobile devices and the gear option on iOS devices.
Tap Mute from the dropdown menu. A menu will show up with the following options: Mute posts, Mute story and Cancel. Make your choice.

Hide my Story

Mute is an alternative to blocking and can limit a user’s posts and stories from showing up on your feed. However, is there a way to hide your stories or posts from another user without using the “block” option?

Yes and no.

It is impossible to hide your posts from specific users alone. Although archiving your post will hide it from others.

But for stories, the good news is that you can hide them from a specific number of users. Like mute, the other party won’t know that your story has been hidden. Except they use a different account to access your profile.

Here’s how to hide your story on Instagram:

Access the Instagram home screen and select the Your Story option in the upper section. Next, select the settings option on the proceeding screen.

Below the Hide Story option, add the user you wish to hide your story from. After doing this, they won’t be able to access your story.

Unfollow and Remove

Aside from the methods we have listed above, you can also “unfollow” users to restrict them. After “unfollowing” someone, their post won’t show up on your feed.

For public accounts, you can still access their posts by checking out their profile. But for private accounts, you can’t access their posts even if you check out their profile.

It’s a complex form of mute. This means that someone can easily find out if you have unfollowed them. The other party can also send you messages and engage with your posts via comments and likes.

Here’s how to unfollow someone on Instagram:

Navigate to the profile page and select the Unfollow option.

You can also individually remove someone using the remove option.

For instance, if you change your account to a private one and desire a limited number of followers, you can easily remove people from your followers list without using the block option.

After removing them, they will need to send you a follow request to access your posts if your account is a private one.

Here’s how to remove a follower on Instagram:

Access your profile page and select the followers.
Search for the followers you wish to remove and select the three-dot icon beside their name.
A popup will appear. Select Remove. They will be removed from your followers, and they won’t be notified about it.

Restricting

While blocking stops someone from messaging you on Instagram and accessing your posts, the “Restrict” feature helps you limit unpleasant interactions without notifying the other party.

Instagram launched the feature in response to “anti-cyberbullying” advocacy. This feature lets you manage the comments you and your followers can access on your posts. It filters posts from restricted accounts and prevents them from showing up on your feed.

Its functionality differs from muting and blocking because it hides the comments and messages of restricted accounts from your profile.

It is as if the restricted users are shielded from a privacy window where although they have access to you, they can’t engage with you normally and are oblivious to this situation.

The tool is beneficial for tackling cyber bullies who leave offensive comments on your Instagram posts and send abusive messages. It is also known as a “soft block” — a less hostile version that is similar in some way but less belligerent.

Will the Affected Person Know that I Blocked Them

While Instagram won’t directly notify the other party that you have blocked them, there are other means of finding out.

For instance, if they search for your profile and can’t access it on Instagram, they will know that you have blocked them.

But the restricted feature is different. The restricted profile won’t know that you have restricted their account. Things will continue as normal on their end.

They can still engage with your post through likes and comments, access your profile and send you DMs like every other user. The restriction will only affect your end.

Thus, the “restrict” feature on Instagram is highly effective for dealing with trolls and bullies. Even though they can still access your account and send you messages, they will be hidden from you.

Conclusion

Following this guide, you should find out how to hide someone on Instagram without blocking them. We hope you find this valuable and do not hesitate to share it with your community.

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