How to Use Instagram Settings and Privacy Options

Written by Jessica Thodas
2022-06-03T14:58:00Z

How to Use Instagram Settings and Privacy Options | BeTimeful

Instagram has many useful privacy options to keep you safe. However, finding these options can be confusing. Here is a breakdown of Instagram’s privacy options and how to use them to make your experience on Instagram as safe as possible.

How to Find your Privacy Options on Instagram

Open Instagram on your browser or app.
Click your profile.
- On the app, it is the small circle on the bottom right.
- On your browser, it is the small circle on the top right.
Go into your settings.
- For the app, click in the top right, then click Settings.
- For the browser, click next to Edit profile.
Click Privacy on the app and Privacy and Security on the browser.

From here, you can personalize your privacy settings.

How to Make your Account Private

Go to the privacy section of your section (as done above).
Click Private Account under Account Privacy at the top of the screen on the app and the browser.
A message will pop up saying, “Switch to private account?” click the blue button that says switch to private.

Once you click, your account will immediately become private. You can make your account public again by clicking the same button again.

On the app, means that the account is private, but means that the account is public.
On the browser, if the box is checked, the account is private, but if the box is unchecked, then the account is public.

Private account: Only your followers will be able to see your posts and stories. As well, people will have to request to follow you.

Public account: Your posts and stories are available for anyone to see. People do not need to request to follow you, and by clicking the follow button, they will automatically be following you.

How to Block Accounts

Go to the search bar by clicking the 🔍 on the bottom left of the app. For the browser, the search bar is at the top of the page.
Search for the account and click on their profile.
Click (iPhone/computer) or (Android) in the top right.
Press Block.
It will ask, “Block ______?” Click Block.

What happens when you block someone?

Blocking accounts erases your account from the other user.
Instagram will remove them from your followers, and Instagram will prevent you from following them.
They won’t be able to see your posts, and you won’t be able to see their posts.
Instagram will remove their likes and comments from your posts.
They won’t be able to mention your username or tag you.
They won’t be able to message you, and you won’t be able to message them.
You can also unblock someone if you no longer want them blocked.

How to Restrict Accounts

Go to the search bar by clicking the 🔍 on the bottom left of the app. For the browser, the search bar is at the top of the page.
Search for the account and click on their profile.
Click (iPhone/computer) or (Android) in the top right.
Press Restrict.
It will then ask you, “Are you having a problem with_____?” Click Restrict.

What happens when you restrict someone?

They can’t see when you are online.
They can’t see if you read their messages.
Instagram will move their chats to message requests.
You will control if others will or will not see their new comments on your posts.
They can still see your posts, and you can still see their posts.

How to Mute Accounts (only on the app)

Go to the search bar by clicking the 🔍 on the bottom left of the app.
Search for the account and click on their profile.
Press Following.
Click Mute.
Click either Posts or Stories, or you can click both.

What happens when you mute someone?

You can still message the person that you muted.
You are still following them, and they are still following you.
They can still see your posts and stories.
If you click Posts, you won’t see their posts in your feed.
If you click Stories, you won’t see their stories in your feed.
But if you go to their profile, you can still see their posts and stories.

How to Report Accounts and Posts

Reporting Accounts

Go to the search bar by clicking the 🔍 on the bottom left of the app. For the browser, the search bar is at the top of the page.
Search for the account and click on their profile.
Click (iPhone/computer) or (Android) in the top right.
Click Report.
Click Report Account.
Choose either It’s posting content that shouldn’t be on Instagram, It’s pretending to be someone else, or It may be under the age of 13.

It’s posting content that shouldn’t be on Instagram: Click either It’s spam, I just don’t like it, Suicide, self-injury or eating disorders, Sale of illegal or regulated goods, Nudity or sexual activity, Hate speech or symbols, Bullying or harassment, or Intellectual property violation.
It’s pretending to be someone else: Click either Me, Someone I know, A celebrity or public figure or A business or organization.
It may be under the age of 13: Click Learn more, tap fill out this form, and then fill out the form.

Reporting Posts

Click on the post.
Click (iPhone/computer) or (Android) in the top right of the post.
Click Report.
Click either: It’s spam, Nudity or sexual activity, Hate speech or symbols, False information, I just don’t like it, Bullying or harassment, Scam or fraud, Violence or dangerous organizations, Sale of illegal or regulated goods, Suicide or self-injury, eating disorders, or Something else.

What happens when you report someone’s account or post?

Your report remains anonymous.
Instagram will review the account to see if it goes against their community guidelines, and they will act accordingly.

How to Change Comment Settings

How to Filter Out Offensive Comments:

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Go to the comment section.

For the app, click Hidden words.
For the browser, click Edit comment settings below Comments.

Personalize settings.

App:

Tap Hide comments to hide offensive comments.
Tap Advanced comment filtering to hide comments that may have offensive words or phrases.
Tap Hide comments below Custom words and phrases to hide comments that contain words from your custom list.

Create a custom list by clicking Manage List and adding words.

Remember:

means on

means off

Browser:

Check the box next to Use Default Keywords to hide comments that may be offensive.
Add words into the box under Keyword Filter to hide comments that have the same words as those on your list.

How to Control Who Can Comment (only on the app)

Go to Privacy.
Tap Comments.
Then either tap Allow Comments From or Block Comments From
- Allow Comments From: you can choose to allow comments from Everyone, People You Follow, Your Followers, or People Your Follow and Your Followers.
- Block Comments From: Tap People, and enter the name you want to block. Then tap Block.

How to Change Posting Settings

How to Hide Likes and Views

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Tap Posts for the app or scroll down to Posts on the browser.
Click next to Hide Like and View Counts to hide likes and view counts on your posts.

How to Choose Who Can Tag You

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Tap Posts for the app or scroll down to Allow Tags From on the browser.
Click either Everyone, People You Follow, or No One.

How to Turn on Manually Approve Tags on the App

Click Manually Approve Tags Below Allow Allow Tags From
Click next to Manually Approve Tags to choose whether tagged videos end up on your profile or not.

How to Control Who Can @Mention You

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Tap Mentions for the app or scroll down to Mentions on the browser.
Click either Everyone, People You Follow, or No One to choose who can @menion you.

How to Control Who Can Use Your Posts

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Tap Guides for the app or scroll down to Guides on the browser.

Do not allow others to use your posts.
Allow others to use your posts.

How to Change Story Settings

How to Customize Viewing Options (only on the app)

Go to Privacy.
Tap Story.
Click Hide story From or Close Friend.
- Hide story From: Search for users and click their name to hide your story from them.
- Close Friend: Create a special list of people to have the option to share some stories with just them.

How to Customize Who Can Reply to Your Story (only on the app):

Go to Privacy.
Tap Story.
Click either Everyone, People You Follow, or No One to choose who can reply to your story.

How to Choose Who Can Share Your Story and Posts:

Go to Privacy or Privacy and Security.
Tap Story for the app or scroll down to Story Sharing on the browser.
Choose your settings:

Browser:

Check the box to allow people to share your stories.
Uncheck the box to prohibit people from sharing your stories.

App:

Click next to Allow sharing to story to allow others to share your posts to their story.
Click next to Allow sharing to Messages to allow people to share your stories in messaging.
Click next to Share your story to Facebook to automatically share your Instagram story as your Facebook story as well.

How to Hide Live From Specific People

Only on the app:

Go to Privacy.
Click Live.
Click Hide Live from.
Search people and click the people you would like to hide from your live.

How BeTimeful Can Help

Even after optimizing your Instagram safety through customizing each of these settings, Instagram can still be hard on your mental health. When your feed becomes too overwhelming, it is best to take a break. BeTimeful is here to help you take breaks from your feed while still allowing you to message people on social media. BeTimeful is more than a website blocker because it permits you to use the messaging feature while taking away the harmful and overwhelming feed.

So download BeTimeful today to help your mental health with a break from your feed. You can also delete instagram, without worring about your messages getting deleted.

Here are some of the other helpful resources from BeTimeful: