How to mute someone on Instagram

How to mute someone on Instagram
(Image credit: Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

It's useful to know how to mute someone on Instagram, in case you don’t want to see a particular person's posts or stories anymore.

This is a scenario many of us have faced: someone you know posts so much on Instagram that just seeing their username drives you crazy — but you don’t want to unfollow them. 

Whether it’s because you don’t want to deal with the awkwardness the next time you see that Instagram user in person, or because they have a private account and you still want to be able to message them, don’t worry, there’s another option.

Muting someone on Instagram means that their posts and stories won’t appear in your feed, but you’ll still be following them, and will still be able to send them direct messages. Even if you have someone muted, you can still view their posts by heading to their profile page. Best of all? Instagram is no snitch, and won’t tell the person that you’ve muted them.

If this sounds like the perfect solution for you, here’s how to mute someone on Instagram.

How to mute someone on Instagram 

1. Head to the user’s profile by selecting their name on your feed, or by searching for their username on the Suggestions page.

2. Under their profile picture, press the “Following” button that has the arrow pointing downward. 

How to mute someone on Instagram - a screenshot of a user's profile on Instagram

(Image credit: Future)

3. Press “Mute”

How to mute someone on Instagram - a screenshot of a user's profile with "mute" selected in the menu

(Image credit: Future)

4. Choose whether you’d like to mute their Stories or Posts by turning the sliders on or off. 

When you’re done, swipe the menu back down to close it and save your changes.

How to mute someone on Instagram - a screenshot of the "mute" menu with the sliders turned on

(Image credit: Future)

5. To unmute someone, follow the same method, turning the sliders off rather than on to start seeing their posts again.

More Instagram tips

If you need more help with apps and social media, we have tutorials that will help you. 

If you’ve decided you’re done with Instagram, here’s how to delete an Instagram account. Can’t remember your password? Here’s how to change your Instagram password

Plus, here’s how to save photos from Instagram and how to get Instagram dark mode on iPhone and Android.

Millie Davis-Williams

Millie is a Deals Editor at Tom's Guide specializing in deals content. She also covers the latest tech news and and creates how-to articles about everything from phones, streaming devices, and headphones to apps and video games. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gaming on her Nintendo Switch and creating digital art.

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