How do You Block Someone on Instagram? (Quick Guide)

There are many ways to have fun on Instagram, and connect with others, but this doesn't mean that everybody is going to get along. Every now and then, you are going to come across users that you would rather not have a connection with. 

Whether it's your boss that's checking a little bit too much on what you are up to outside of work hours, or an ex that likes to leave passive aggressive comments on your content at the end of the day, you are in control of your profile, which means that you are in control of who sees it. 

In this article, we're going to talk about how you block someone on Instagram, so that you can maintain control of who is able to see your content, and who isn't.

How to Block Someone on Instagram

If you are trying to remove an account from your Instagram feed, or you're just wanting to limit their access to your content, then blocking them is the best approach. 

However, there are other options, like removing them as an Instagram follower, blocking them from being able to comment on your content, or muting their content from coming up in your feed. Let's take a look at how to block people who follow you on Instagram.

1.      Open the Instagram app on your phone.

2.      Find the account that you're wanting to block by making the most of the search feature, or by going through your list of existing followers.

3.      At the top of the screen, select the three horizontal dots.

4.      In the menu that comes up, select ‘block’.

5.      Instagram is going to ask you to confirm your action. Press ‘confirm’ to block that person.

Can You Block Somebody Who Isn’t Following You?

The good news is that you can also block somebody who actually isn't following you and the process for doing this is the exact same as blocking somebody who already follows you. 

This is a really good action to be able to take if you have a stalker, who feels the need to look at your Instagram feed, and comment on everything you upload, but doesn't feel compelled to follow you.

How to Unblock on Instagram

As much as you want to be able to block someone right now, perhaps in the future you might want to be able to unblock them as well. The good news is that this action isn't irreversible, which means that if at some point you decide you want to unblock somebody it is completely possible. 

The other great thing about this action on Instagram is that Instagram isn't going to let users know when they have been blocked or unblocked. However, you are going to have to follow the account again, once you have blocked it.

In order to unblock an Instagram account, you will need to be able to access your Instagram block list. This is how you find your Instagram block list.

1.      Open that Instagram app on your phone.

2.      Select the person icon, that you'll see at the bottom of your screen, and this will take you to your profile.

3.      At the top of the page, select the three horizontal lines.

4.      From here, you can go to settings, then privacy, and then you'll find an option that says ‘blocked accounts’.

If you follow the steps above, you'll be able to access your Instagram block list which is where you're going to see everybody that you have blocked in the past. This enables you to manage the people that you have blocked, and decide if you want to unblock anybody at some point.

What Happens When You Block Somebody on Instagram?

Of course, you might be someone that thinks that blocking someone on Instagram is pretty harsh, and to be honest, it kind of is. When you block somebody on Instagram, you restrict them completely from seeing your Instagram profile. 

Once they have been blocked, they aren't going to be able to see your posts, your profile, or your Instagram stories. If you are worried about that horribly awkward moment when the person you have blocked realizes that they have being completely restricted from your account you can at least take some comfort in knowing that Instagram isn't going to notify them directly about this new status.

Is Blocking Someone Going to Get Rid of Your Messages?

The only thing that's going to stay once you block someone as evidence that they ever existed is any direct messages you might have had with them. 

If you have messaged with them Instagram before, then the messages are going to remain in your inbox, as well as the inbox of the person that you have blocked. However, they aren't going to be able to send a new message to you. If they try to send you a new message once you have blocked them, then you aren't going to get it.

If you are in a group message with the person that you have blocked, then you are going to get a notification asking if you want to stay in the group, or leave it. If you choose to stay, you are going to be able to see the messages from the person that you have blocked, and they are going to be able to see yours.

Does Blocking Someone Mean They Unfollow You?

When you block someone, this is going to automatically remove them from your followers, which means that you aren't going to be following them anymore. The same goes for them as well, it obviously means that they aren't going to be able to follow you anymore either. 

This means that they aren't going to show up in your follower list, and vice versa.