There are many reasons why you may want to mute someone on Instagram. Maybe they post too much, or they’re a friend or family member and you don’t want to unfollow them, but their inspirational quote posts mean zero to you.
Muting is a way to quality-control your feed and (temporarily) avoid being sucked into your Instagram Close Friends’ ongoing personal drama. In fact, a survey of some 1,500 teenagers and young adults showed that while Instagram is great for self-expression, too much of it can lead to anxiety.
That’s why it’s a good idea to start muting accounts that don’t add to your happiness nor offer any real value. Don’t worry, you can always unmute them later when you have the energy.
How Muting Someone On Instagram Works
If you mute someone on Instagram, it simply means their Stories and posts won’t appear in your feed. But, you’ll still be following them, and you can still send them direct messages. If you want to have a quick look at what they’ve been posting, you can go to their profile page and take a peek.
Best of all, they won’t know you muted them. So there’s little chance they’ll ever know – unless you bump into them at a real-life event and they enthusiastically ask how you liked their post about their new paid sponsorship …
Or maybe you are just not interested in their endless Stories. You can mute someone’s Instagram Stories specifically to ensure you don’t see them at the top of your feed (see below). Note, when you mute someone’s Story you’ll still see their other posts in your feed.
How To Mute Someone On Instagram
Peace and quiet are within reach with these three quick ways to mute someone on Instagram.
Mute Or Unmute Through Messages
- Tap the Direct Messages icon in the top right of your feed
- Select the person you want to mute/unmute’s name
- Tap the toggle slider to switch on or switch off next to Mute messages or Mute call notifications to mute/unmute someone.
Mute Or Unmute Through A User’s Profile
- Tap their person’s username from their Feed or Story post, or go to the Explore page and search for their username to go to their profile
- Go to the Following button below their profile info
- Tap Mute
- Tap the toggle slider to switch off next to Posts or Stories
- To unmute them, tap the slider to switch on Posts or Stories.
Mute Or Unmute Through Feed
- Tap the three vertical dots for more on Android, or the three horizontal ones for more on iPhone, right next to the post of the person you want to unmute
- Select Hide
- Tap Mute [person’s username], then tap Mute Posts or Mute Posts and Story.
How To Mute Someone’s Instagram Story
If you’re using the Instagram app for Android or iPhone, you can choose to only mute their Instagram story. Here’s how:
- Go to the top of the feed, tap and hold the profile picture of the person whose Story you would like to mute.
- Select Mute, then tap on Mute Story.
How To Unmute Someone’s Instagram Story
When you’re ready to see someone’s Stories again, you can unmute them super easily. Here’s how:
- Tap on their username from their feed post. Or, tap Explore and search for their username.
- Go to their profile and tap on Following just below their bio.
- Tap Mute and tap the small blue toggle slider next to Stories.
How To Mute Your Own Story On Instagram
Sometimes, you may want to limit who sees your Instagram Story. To mute or unmute your Story on Instagram, go to the Story tab and select the Story you want to mute or unmute.
From here, you can change the permissions for the Story so that only people who you choose to see it actually do.
Last Words On Muting Someone On Instagram
Muting is a way to stay close, but take a temporary break from a specific account. Chances are you will forget you muted them, and in a couple of months wonder what happened to them. Then you can follow the steps above and go ahead and unmute the account.