Instagram Block vs Mute vs Hide: Common Terms Explained
Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.
Arshmeet has been a tech tinkerer since childhood, but she realized her love for technology and writing about 5 years ago. Since then, she has been honing her skills and helping people figure out how things work, troubleshoot problems, choose the right app and products, and dig deep into the new and old concepts of technology. She is a self-professed Apple Enthusiast who loves debating what’s good and what’s not. It is her passion for finding techniques, hacks, apps, and products that make everyday life simpler.
What Does Blocking on Instagram Mean
Similar to other social networks,blocking on Instagramcompletely restricts your profile from the other person. They can’t see your profile or contact you in any form. It’s like the two accounts (yours and theirs) kinda stop existing for each other.
How to Block Someone on Instagram
Open the Instagram profile you want to block and tap thethree-dot iconfrom the top-right corner. SelectBlockfrom the pop-up menu. TapBlockagain to confirm.
Note: If you only want to restrict someone from commenting on your posts, you can do that too. Open your profile → Three-line icon → Comments → Block comments from → Search for the person → tap Block.
What Does Mute Mean on Instagram
Blocking is an extreme step, thankfully, Instagram also has an interim option.When you mute someone,you are merely stopping their posts from showing up on your feed. You’re not severing all communication channels, i.e., you can see each other’s profile, message, and call each other.
Notably, Instagram offers multiple mute options. So you can mute someone’s posts, stories, reels, and lives individually or all of them together.
Note: The mute feature is for hiding their posts/stories, but if you want to hide your posts/stories from someone you’ll have to use the restrict feature. Check out our guide onInstagram restrict vs. blockfor better understanding.
What Does Hide Mean on Instagram
The hide feature on Instagram is mostly dedicated to stories. It helps you hide stories from someone. And while you can also hide your posts from someone, it is done via blocking or removing them from following (private profile).
You can hide your stories from any number of followers, in fact, you can alsohide Instagram stories from everyone except one.
Since the feature does not affect anything else between you and the user, we’re keeping it out of the comparison below.
Instagram Block Vs. Mute: What Happens When
Will They Know If You’ve Blocked or Muted Them
Technically no, Instagram doesn’t send notifications to the user when you block or mute them. However, since all interactions are blocked, someone can deduceif they are blocked on Instagram.
But that’s not the scene for mute. Unless the user guesses from your limited interactions with their content, they won’t know that you’ve muted them.
Can They See Your Profile
When you block someone, they will not be able to see or visit your profile (whether it’s a public or private profile); even if they search for it. And if they do, all they would see is the follower and the following count, no posts, and vice-versa.
However, a muted person can see your profile and all posts (if you have a private profile, they should follow you). The reverse is the same, you can see their profile and posts (as long as you follow their private profile).
Can You See Each Other’s New Posts and Stories
The blocked person and you can’t see each other’s posts and stories on their feed. And since your profile is locked, they can’t see it from theirs either.
As for a muted person, you will not see their posts or stories on your feed. But you can visit their profile and check out all the latest updates. However, they can see your posts and stories on their feed (if they follow you and have not muted you) or from your profile.
Who Can Comment or Interact With Posts or Stories
Since the blocked person can’t see your posts or stories and vice-versa, they can’t interact with it, and neither can you. However, the muted person can like, share, and comment on your post and you can do so as well.
Can You Message or Call Each Other
Blocking someone stops all forms of communication on Instagram. So, you can’t call/message them. And while the blocked person can message/call you, you won’t receive the message or any notifications.
There is no such restriction on muted persons. You can message/call each other to your heart’s content.
Can You See Each Other’s Active Status
Even after you mute someone, they can still see your active status (unless you’vedisabled it). But a blocked person won’t be able to check whether you’re online or not.
Instagram Block vs Mute vs Hide: Which One to Choose
In a nutshell, the block restricts both profiles from interacting with each other. Meaning, neither you can view their posts nor can they. In mute, both the users can view the profiles, the only limitation is that their posts won’t appear on your feed.
As for hide, you’re simply hiding your stories from someone else. They can still view your posts.
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Last updated on 25 July, 2024
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