When you block an account on Instagram, they won’t know because a blocked account is not notified when you block them. They’ll only be able to tell you’ve blocked them when they realize they cannot interact with your account anymore via tags, mentions, or messages or search for your account.
Have you blocked someone on Instagram and wondered if they know that you’ve blocked them? I’ve blocked a few people on IG before, and while I don’t usually think or care about if they can tell that they’ve been blocked, I know that’s not the case for everyone.
When you block someone on Instagram, it can sometimes lead to some awkward in-person interactions, so it’s understandable if you want to know if someone can tell if they’ve been blocked. That’s why I went ahead and wrote this article to help you understand how someone can tell they’ve been blocked on Instagram.
Contents
If I Block Someone On Instagram, Will They Know That I Did It?
Instagram is a great platform to share and connect. There’s a reason why it has 2.35 billion monthly active users according to the marketing company, Demand Sage. I use Instagram to keep up with friends and creators, however, I know that Instagram has its downsides too.
That’s why I firmly believe that sometimes you have to block someone on Instagram to protect yourself and your digital space. This is especially the case if you’re being harassed or bullied online, like 59 percent of teens in the United States, according to The Atlantic. Online harassment is horrible and sometimes the only solution is to block the Instagram profile doing it.
When you block someone on Instagram, you put boundaries in place to protect yourself from the blocked person. Why waste time going back and forth with an online troll when you can just block them and move on?
However, sometimes the person you block isn’t unknown, sometimes it’s someone you know and will possibly run into in the real world. Maybe you’re like me who blocks certain relatives or old schoolmates so they don’t see what your online profile is like.
If that’s the case, you may be wondering exactly how someone can tell that you’ve blocked them. Or you may be wondering if you’ve been blocked by someone. Read on as I show you exactly what happens when you block someone on Instagram.
Notification
I like that when you block someone on Instagram, the blocked account isn’t notified about the block. So, right off the bat, they don’t have any knowledge that they’ve been blocked. In order to find out, they’d need to do a little investigating.
Instagram blocks work in an interesting way that’s a bit different than other social media platforms, as you can see in my screenshot above, you have the option to block one account as well as any existing accounts that the person may have or create.
However, I found out via the Instagram Help Center that if you do follow multiple accounts by the same person, you’d need to block them individually.
Likes & Comments
When it comes on to likes and comments, I learned that blocking someone on Instagram removes their likes and comments from all your posts. If you unblock them, these likes and comments won’t be restored.
I also realized that people you block can still see your likes and comments on posts that were shared on public accounts or accounts that they follow. This means if you both follow the same account, they’ll see your likes and comments on the other’s posts that this mutual follow has shared.
If you don’t want to block someone but instead limit their ability to comment on your Instagram posts or interact with your account, then you can restrict their ability to comment on your Instagram posts.
Mentions & Tags
One of the features of an Instagram block I love is that even though someone you’ve blocked can see your likes and comments on other Instagram posts, that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to mention or tag you. I had a suspicion about this but I confirmed this via the Instagram Help Center.
If you blocked them and changed your username, they still won’t be able to mention or tag you even when they know your new username.
Messages
Naturally, blocking an Instagram user also affects your direct messages with that person. In my experience, when you block someone on Instagram, the message threads in your direct messages with them still remain. However, a blocked account won’t be able to send you any more direct messages and vice versa.
However, similar to WhatsApp, if you remain in a group with someone you’ve blocked, then they’ll be able to see your direct messages and vice versa in that group chat. However, if this person tries to message you directly, you won’t receive them and even if you unblock them, you still won’t receive the messages.
I found out that if you receive any messages from someone on Instagram that are concerning to you, you can report that message or conversation according to the Instagram Help Center.
Your Account Won’t Be Displayed In Search Results
One of the benefits I found when you block someone on Instagram is that the blocked account won’t be able to find your account in the search results. However, this could be used as a hint that you’ve blocked them and they’ll possibly take other means to confirm their suspicions.
I find that this is often the hint most people use to see if they’ve been blocked on a social media platform. It’s also one of the ways you can tell if someone has blocked you on Facebook.
They’ll Be Removed As A Follower
Another thing I like is when you block someone on Instagram, they’ll automatically be removed as a follower from your Instagram account. This means you won’t show up in their following list. If you were following the blocked user then they’ll also be removed from your following list once you’ve blocked them.
I found out via the Instagram Help Center that you can remove a follower without blocking them so you don’t lose their likes or comments.
Your Profile Is Still Visible
As I mentioned before, even when you block someone on Instagram, they can see your likes and comments on public posts, as well as in group chats that you’re both in. Due to this, your profile will still be visible to them.
However, when they go on your profile, it’ll read “user not found” and while the blocked person will see your profile picture, they won’t be able to see your stories, posts, or highlights.
Here’s a video showing you what happens when you block someone on Instagram:
FAQs
Can someone tell when you block them?
Someone cannot tell when you block them as you do it. This is because they don’t receive any notification that they’ve been blocked. The only way they’ll be able to tell is by noticing that you’re no longer following each other or they cannot find your Instagram profile.
Can someone see your profile if you block them on Instagram?
Someone can see your profile if you block them on Instagram. However, while your profile will be visible to the blocked user, they won’t be able to see the contents of your profile. This means they won’t be able to view the posts, stories, or highlights on your profile.
Can you see if someone blocked someone else on Instagram?
You cannot see if someone blocked someone else on Instagram. While it’d be great to be able to see who blocked who on Instagram, there is no list that displays which Instagram accounts someone has blocked and Instagram doesn’t display that one account has blocked another either.
When you block someone on Instagram does it unfollow them?
When you block someone on Instagram, it does unfollow them, and it also removes them from your follower list. If you decide to unblock then you’d need to refollow the previously blocked user and have them refollow you to restore your mutual status on Instagram.
How long does it last when I block someone on Instagram?
When you block someone on Instagram, it lasts forever. The only way the block can be removed is if you remove it. However, this doesn’t stop the blocked person from possibly using another Instagram account to interact with yours especially if you were following multiple accounts that they own.
What Happens When You Block Someone On Instagram – Wrapping Up
What’d you think of this article?
When you block someone on Instagram, “will they know” is often the first question that comes to mind. However, some people are like me and don’t care if the blocked user knows that they’ve been blocked.
Keep in mind that even if you blocked someone on Insta, they can still track you. One of the ways to avoid that is to make your Instagram account private and then some spy apps won’t be able to snoop on you.
If you blocked someone on Instagram and feel that they’ve served their time on the block list then here’s how to unblock them.
Leave any questions you may have for me in the comments below. Be sure to share this account with your fellow Instagram users too.
Hi I blocked someone on Instagram does all comments and pictures stay in the DM’S ?
I have a question! I am in a group chat with two people I have blocked on instagram. I want to send out a post to the group but I don’t want the two people I have blocked to see my post in the group chat. Will they be able to see it?
Hi, I was blocked, and all the DMs are still there for me, which is expected. His profile picture had stayed the same, even though I know he had updated it. He unblocked me for a bit and we chatted, at which time his picture updated. Then after he reblocked me again and I knew he had changed his picture again, it stayed the same on the DMs. After about a week or so of being reblocked, his picture did update on the DMs. Does this mean he unblocked me for a period then reblocked me again? Or did the picture just update over time?
Hi, I blocked someone on Instagram (they didn’t block me) and someone else checked their profile and my likes and comments are still on their posts? What does this mean
I have the same inquiry!! Haven’t been able to find anything anywhere.
If someone I’ve blocked follows another user that shares my content, will the blocked user be able to see?
Hey, I blocked someone on instagram that was trying to scam/blackmail me. sense they are blocked can they see how many followers and following I have
Hello, can someone please answer my question.
I sent a message to someone from
anew Instagram account then I blocked him , I deblocked again and blocked gain and deblocked 3 times,😅 now it’s deblocked but I can see that he didn’t see the message . Wanna know if the message is delivered or not?
I’m experiencing a strange behavior on Instagram related to blocking: I’ve blocked on Instagram a dangerous predator that raped me some years ago, but Instagram keeps trying to suggest me to connect to him as a friend on those tiled suggestions on my feed, clean through the block! It’s like Instagram doesn’t remember that I blocked him. It’s traumatizing. Is there anything that can be done to stop it, besides leaving and closing my account?
No, IG does this. I have blocked someone and found him suddenly following my other IG accounts. Same on FB. IG feeds through all your connected accounts – especially if you block someone, and your searches all get fed through to each other. So, I was checking out someone who had asked me out but wasnt very respectful. I liked him but was curious as to who his old girlfriend was he had admitted to beating up. He had only had one years ago. I found her and began looking at her profile. In a few days he had connected to her having not thought about her or even been in the same country for years. I realised it was IG feeding my searches through to him.
I blocked someone who was stealing my content, and yes everything from my end when I looked at their account was 0, 0, 0, but when I left that account and went to another of my accounts and then went back to the account that I had blocked from, searched for the blocked account, it doesn’t show as blocked… it shows that i don’t follow them. Are they still blocked? They are most likely blocking me (steal my content and then block me, real genius here).
Hi there. My question pertains to point #5. I blocked someone and yes, the number of followers and following show 0 but the number of posts they have says 44. I know for a fact that it’s 77. So if it doesn’t say 0 as said in the article, nor does it say 77 (actual number of posts), where does the 44 come from? Any ideas? Thanks!
Hey Noodles,
it seems like Instagram handles the number of posts of a blocked account differently now. I have fixed the article.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hi my Friend has deleted her part of conversation from the chat and she has blocked me. Can i recover the full instagram chat history that happened between us pls help.
How to get back comments after unblocked someone.it is very valuable and important for me.
Temporarily blocked someone just to focus and when I unblocked them all their comments and likes never came back. They were kinda important to me and I’m kinda upset. Might want to update your article!
Hi Thomas,
I just checked this and I see an inconsistent behavior. For me, in the first attempt, the likes were not restored but all the comments came back. However, when I blocked and unblocked the person second time around all the comments were also gone.
So, I will wait for a few more weeks before updating the article.
In any case, thank you for notifying the change and sorry for the inconvenience.
hello! does blocking someone remove their tag from a photo?
Hi Ashton,
Yes, the tag of the blocked person will be removed from your photos. The tag will be restored if you decide to unblock them later. I hope this helps.
Hello!
I blocked and unblocked someone and all their likes etc have disappeared – and not reappeared after unblocking.
Is this a new thing? Any ideas?
Thanks!
Francesca
Hi Francesca,
Yes, this has been reported by a few readers and I also observe it. Previously likes and comments were restored but now they are not coming back.
Will update the article if it remains the same for the coming few weeks.
Thanks for your comment and sharing your observation.
When I block someone all the DM’s are removed! But on their end why does the person getting blocked still keep the DM’s? Secondly, if you block them and change your username, does the new username appear on the DM’s they still have pre blocking them?
Just wanting to make sure that when I block someone and change my username they can’t follow me
Hi,
Yes, that’s one of Instagram glitches. But if you observe closely the name on that conversation changes to their own username. Secondly, when you block someone they cannot follow you no matter what.
I hope this helps.
If I block someone on Instagram, can they still see my posts, as my account is set to public? Is there a way to block a few people and not have to set the account to private?
Thanks in advance
The blocked person cannot view your posts. The statement is true for both Private and Public profiles. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much as most articles I read on Instagram pointed to the fact, that if the account is public, then set it to private ( as a solution) or else one can’t block.
Well, that’s not true as you use the block function from both private or public profile. However, if your aim is only to hide your posts from some users then you can unfollow them and make your profile as private instead of blocking them.
Thanks. Will block I think, as I tried to unhide the story first but seems like that didn’t work. And I keep my account public as I share my work too on it. This is for some few who I don’t want around. I don’t follow them but they follow me so to take care of that I needed a solution and seems like blocking is the best option, and thanks a ton for clarifying it works even with public accounts.
Yeah, in your case blocking is the way to go.
I believe this article is not accurate. When you block someone all of their likes disappear. I know this as I’ve done this for someone and all of their likes are gone.
Hi Janet,
Firstly, I would like to thank you for pointing out the incorrect information.
Actually, at the time of writing this article(July 2016) all the likes and comments used to stay there for both the parties. But as after my testing, I can see that it no longer works that way. I have updated the article with correct info.
Thanks again.
When you block someone on your Insta, are their past “likes” and “comments” on my pics disappear automatically or would I have to do it manually? Meaning “dislike” each pic?
Thanks
When you block someone the likes and comments on your posts from them will disappear automatically.
Hello!
Blocking someone after watching a public story on insta, does it make my name disappear of the story’s views ?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Ella,
Yes, on blocking your name will be removed from the viewer’s list of the story. But as soon as you unblock that person your view will be back again. So, it’s better to unblock that person once their story has expired. I hope this made sense.
What happens when on Instagram you see 12 likes on a post for someone you follow but you can only see 11 users that liked that photo?
It can be one of Instagram’s glitch.
Hi, I blocked someone on Instagram and they blocked me. A few days ago they changed their user name and it seems like the block has lifted. I cannot find them anywhere even when I tap on tags and copy their name they are not coming up.
Hi Maria, this means that person has blocked you on Instagram.
If I have blocked someone and they have multiple accounts and delete some of those accounts will the account name left be displayed in the block list?