Accidentally liking posts is an easy mistake to make on Instagram. A quick double tap or heart icon click is all it takes. But what happens after you undo that accidental like? Will the other person still get notified?
I decided to thoroughly test this out on my Instagram accounts to uncover the truth. In this post, I share my findings on accidental Instagram likes, as well as tips to prevent them from happening again.
Do They Get Notified If You Accidentally Like and Then Unlike Their Photo?
To test whether the person is notified after an accidental like and unlike, I used two separate Instagram accounts. On my alternate account, I liked a photo from my main account‘s feed.
Immediately, my main account was alerted that the post was liked. But when I quickly unliked the photo from my alternate account, the notification on my main account‘s feed disappeared.
The result: If you accidentally like someone‘s Instagram photo and then unlike it, the notification will vanish. They‘ll only know about it if they‘re actively in the app at the moment it happens.
Basically, you need some luck here. If the person has Instagram open while you‘re doing this, they will catch that split-second notification before it‘s removed. Otherwise, they‘ll remain blissfully unaware of your Instagram flub.
Admittedly, it can feel awkward if they notice. The thought may cross their mind that you‘re stalking them. But try not to worry excessively – most people won‘t think it‘s a huge deal.
What If You Also Block or Disable Account After Accidentally Liking?
Okay, but what if you panic and block the person right after accidentally liking their post? Or even disable your entire Instagram account? Will that remove the evidence of your like?
Blocking someone on Instagram withdraws all your previous likes and comments from their profile. So if you did block them after an accidental like, this would erase that interaction.
However, I don‘t recommend blocking people solely for this purpose. It seems quite extreme to block an account just to hide a single accidental double tap.
As for disabling your account, that also deletes all your Instagram activity, including likes and comments made to others. But disabling an account is tedious – you can‘t do it from the app itself. Instead, you have to log into Instagram from a web browser, which is an annoying extra step.
Furthermore, as we found earlier, simply unliking their photo makes the notification disappear. You don‘t have to resort to blocking or disabling accounts. An "unlike" does the trick.
How to Prevent Accidentally Liking Photos
While the odd accidental like probably won‘t be a big issue, repeated ones could look suspicious. So how can you avoid Instagram tapping mishaps?
One handy technique is to enable airplane mode on your device before browsing Instagram. This prevents any errant taps from registering as likes with other users.
If you‘re an iPhone user, swipe up from the bottom of your screen and tap the airplane icon to toggle airplane mode on. For Android devices, open your settings app, select Network & Internet > Airplane mode, and turn it on.
With airplane mode enabled as you scroll Instagram, you don‘t have to fret about accidental double taps or heart icon clicks. No likes can process while it‘s on. Pretty nifty!
What If You Unlike Then Like Their Photo Later On?
The assumption so far is you undo your accidental like shortly after it happens. But what if some time passes before you re-like their photo for real?
When I tested an initial accidental like, quick unlike, and then an actual like later on, my main account received a second notification for that post.
So if you unlike someone‘s photo, then choose to properly like it later, they‘ll get an updated notification of your "for real" like. Most folks likely wouldn‘t notice or care that you previously liked then unliked it earlier.
No Worries If You Accidentally Double Tap Like
You might also be wondering – what if I accidentally double tap the like button instead of just single tapping? Does anything unique occur then?
After testing this scenario, I discovered that rapidly double tapping Instagram‘s heart icon doesn‘t cause any special effect. The person is only notified of a single like, not multiple ones.
And no, double tapping does not act as an unlike. This is a common misconception. An unlike can only happen from pressing the heart icon below the photo – not by double taps or anything gesture-wise.
In Conclusion
When liking mishaps strike on Instagram, don‘t panic excessively. As we learned today, no lasting evidence remains if you quickly undo accidental likes or double taps.
Airplane mode is an easy safeguard if you want total assurance against tapping snafus while browsing Instagram feeds. And even if someone happens to spot a fleeting notification before you undo, it‘s likely no big deal.
Accidents happen on social media. Learn how to handle them properly, and don‘t let fear of taps stop you from engaging!
