So your cousin has started posting endless Instagram stories documented her recent trip to Europe. Or maybe a high school friend spams your feed daily with gym selfies and protein shake pics.
We all have (or know) that person who starts overwhelming our Instagram feeds at some point. And unfollowing them seems a bit harsh…
That‘s where Instagram‘s "mute" feature comes to the rescue!
Muting allows you to secretly remove someone‘s content from your feed without them knowing. This lets you take control and customize what you see on Instagram on your own terms.
In this beginner‘s guide, I‘ll walk through exactly how muting works on Instagram and the simple 5-step process to mute (or unmute) accounts.
Let‘s get started!
An Introduction to Instagram Muting
First things first – what even is this muting business on Instagram anyway?
Essentially, muting is similar to unfollowing someone, but without the public act of removing your follow. You get their updates removed from your feeds behind the scenes.
According to Instagram, over 500 million users are active on their platform each month. With so much content, muting empowers you to tailor your own experience.
I‘ll sometimes use Instagram‘s muting feature when:
- Friends or family start posting way too often
- I want to take a short social media break
- Someone‘s content no longer interests me
- I notice sponsored posts that don‘t align with my values
Muting has also saved a friendship or two when tensions were high. Rather than impulsively unfollowing, I muted that person for a bit until things calmed down.
Now let‘s get into the step-by-step on how to mute accounts with some visual examples. I‘ll be demonstrating on an iPhone, but the process works the same across iOS and Android.
Step 1: Navigate to Their Profile
First, launch the Instagram app on your mobile device as usual. From your home feed, type the person‘s username into Instagram‘s search bar.
When their profile pops up, tap it to view their page.
Make sure you are currently following whoever you‘re wanting to mute – otherwise the option won‘t show up.
Step 2: Open Their Story or Posts
Once you‘ve landed on their profile page, your next step is accessing their stories or posts.
If they have an active story published, it will appear as a colorful ring around their profile photo. Go ahead and tap it to view the story.
With no current story? No problem! Tap on their profile photo instead to open a feed of their recent posts.
Review their recent stories or posts for a few seconds first. This ensures the next vital step will work…
Step 3: Locate the Three Dot Menu
Now it‘s time to open up your muting options. But first, you need to summon the magical three dots settings menu.
Look in the top-right corner near the closing "X" button. Tap the three dots to open this menu.
This same settings icon also appears if you tap "Following" while viewing their posts. Use whichever you have open.
Step 4: Choose "Mute"
Great job finding those three dots! Many users miss this vital step.
Once the menu opens, go ahead and select the "Mute" option.
We‘re so close to the home stretch of muting now!
Step 5: Pick Whether to Mute Story, Posts, or Both
Almost there!
Instagram now asks what exactly you want to mute from this user – just their story, posts, or both stories and posts.
Choose your preferred muting level, and boom! Muting activated. Their updates will vanish without them having a clue.
Let‘s quickly recap:
- Visit profile of person you want to mute
- Open their story or posts
- Tap the three dots menu
- Select the "Mute" option
- Choose to mute story, posts, or both
And that‘s it – you‘ve now successfully muted someone on Instagram in just five simple steps. Repeat for any other accounts giving you social media fatigue.
What Happens When You Mute Someone?
- When you mute stories – you won‘t see that person‘s stories at the top of feed, but their posts will still show up
- Muting posts removes just post updates from your feed
- Muting both stops all content from that user appearing in your Home or Following feeds
Muted accounts have no idea you cannot see their content. So muting avoids hurt feelings that deleting a follow might cause.
Now let‘s switch gears and unmute accounts…
Need to Unmute Someone? Here‘s How
Do you now miss your best friend‘s hilarious commentary on her Instagram story? Or maybe you unmuted your annoying cousin when her European adventures finally ended.
Either way, unmuting accounts you‘ve previously muted is fortunately very straightforward:
- Head back to the muted profile
- Tap "Following"
- Select "Unmute" from menu
And their stories or posts will automatically start appearing on your Instagram feed again.
Below I‘ll cover some frequently asked questions around muting Instagram accounts. But first, a warning sign you should watch for…
Troubleshooting: If Mute/Unmute Isn‘t Working
Sometimes users run into issues where the mute or unmute toggles disappear. This annoying Instagram glitch happens once in a blue moon in my experience.
If your mute and unmute options aren‘t showing up, here‘s my troubleshooting tips:
- Force close and restart the Instagram app
- Toggle Airplane mode off/on to refresh connection
- Log out and back into your Instagram account
- Check Instagram‘s status page for any known issues
- As a last resort, uninstall/reinstall the app
This typically resolves any intermittent technical issues. Now let‘s cover some of your most frequently asked muting questions…
FAQs: Your Top Instagram Muting Questions Answered
Confused about how Instagram muting and blocking differ? Or when to use each option?
Here I‘ll break down answers to the muting questions I get asked about most often from friends:
Q: What‘s the difference between Instagram muting vs. blocking?
When you block an Instagram account, you stop seeing any of their content. The user is also made aware you blocked them.
Muting simply removes someone‘s posts from your feed quietly. So they don‘t know you‘ve muted them and can still message you (unless you change message settings).
My rule of thumb – if I never want to hear from someone again, I‘ll block. If I just need a break from their overload of dog memes for a bit, muting does the job.
Q: Can someone tell if you‘ve muted them on Instagram?
Nope! The beauty of the Instagram muting feature is that no notification goes out when you mute someone.
So feel free to tap that mute icon on annoying accounts freely without worrying about causing drama.
Q: Why did my Instagram mute/unmute options disappear?
As mentioned in the troubleshooting section, Instagram has intermittent bugs that causes profile menu items to vanish temporarily. Usually force closing the app or logging out/in of your account resolves this.
If mute/unmute still don‘t reappear after trying the steps above, file a report through Instagram‘s Help Center. They‘re usually great about investigating missing features issues.
Q: Can I get in trouble with Instagram for muting too many accounts?
Instagram places no limits on how many accounts you can mute. So feel free to go on a muting spree and clean up your following list without concerns!
Muting is actually designed to improve your experience on the app. Just don‘t overdo the blocking against Instagram rules and your account remains in good standing.
Q: I muted someone – Now can I limit them DM‘ing me too?
Even once an account is muted, Instagram still allows messaging between you and that user (unless you block them completely.)
To limit private messages without fully blocking:
- Head to your profile
- Tap the three lines
- Choose "Settings" then "Privacy"
- Under "Messages", switch off allowing messages from accounts you don‘t follow
And viola! Now muted accounts can‘t slide into your DMs either.
I hope reviewing these common mute questions has helped explain exactly how Instagram‘s useful muting feature can improve managing your digital social circle!
Let‘s wrap this up…
Take Control Of Your Instagram Feed
While blocking has its purpose, muting empowers you to effortlessly customize an Instagram feed aligned with your interests and values.
If this beginner‘s guide helped you finally figure out Instagram‘s mute functionality, I‘d be honored if you passed it onto any friends new to the app!
Muting is one of those features many don‘t realize exists. But once mastered, it can drastically improve your Instagram experience.
Here‘s to a refreshed Instagram feed and more of what inspires you! Feel free to reach out with any other questions.
