Blocking someone on Instagram is a adept mode to take command of your engagements on the social media app, but blocking someone y'all know in existent life can make things pretty awkward—subsequently all, they'll know you've blocked them.

Luckily, Instagram's Restrict feature helps y'all avoid those awkward situations.

This article will aid you lot understand what the Block and Restrict functions do on Instagram and how they differ, then that you can decide which choice is best when trying to avoid someone.

What Does Restricting Someone on Instagram Do?

We know what blocking does—information technology prevents someone from interacting with you on Instagram and viewing your posts. Simply what does restricting someone mean on Instagram and what happens when you restrict an account?

To put it plainly, it helps you lot avoid unwanted interactions with other users without alerting them.

Introduced as an anti-bullying characteristic, restricting on Instagram gives you lot more control over what comments both you and your followers see on your posts by limiting what restricted accounts can mail service on your profile.

When you restrict someone, their comments and messages will be hidden from your profile. It'south like keeping the restricted user behind a privacy window where they can see you lot, but they can't exactly collaborate with y'all as normal and they don't realize that this is the instance.

The tool comes in handy when dealing with echo bullies who leave negative comments on your Instagram posts and who may harass you in your Straight Messages.

Think of it as a soft block—a toned-downwards version that offers similar capabilities, merely in a limited mode.

Block vs. Restrict on Instagram: How It Affects Admission to Your Contour

When you block someone, your feed and Stories are hidden from them. Although they will be able to see and access your profile, they tin simply see the information at the superlative of your profile, such as how many people you lot follow, the number of people who follow you, and the number of posts on your feed.

What they won't be able to run into, however, are your actual posts, even if your profile is open to the public.

But when you restrict someone, not much changes on their end in terms of the visibility of your contour and posts.

They tin still view your Stories and feed, and you can see theirs.

Whereas there are ways to tell if you lot are blocked on Instagram, it's much harder to figure out if you accept been restricted.

Blocking someone prevents them from being able to comment on your posts. Simply when you lot restrict them, yous can both annotate on each other'southward posts.

The difference is that the comments fabricated by the person you've restricted volition merely be visible to them and no one else.

In other words, they will not know their activity has been restricted. Substantially, they volition continue to enjoy the power to annotate on your posts, without these comments impacting you or other followers.

Every bit for your comments on their posts, nada changes. They will still be able to see them.

The restricted person's comments appear along with others under your postal service, but under a protected bulletin. You lot will not receive a notification when they comment on your mail service, so you lot can merely view their comments past opening the mail service and going through the comments section.

To view the annotate, tap Encounter comment. You can so choose to either Approve or Delete it.

If you lot approve it, it'll be visible to everyone, like the rest of the comments. If you lot delete it, neither y'all nor the restricted person will be able to see it.

Either way, they will not be notified of the action you take taken.

Block vs. Restrict: How It Affects Messages

When you cake someone on Instagram, y'all tin't message each other. Just it works differently when you restrict an business relationship.

Hither are the implications:

  • A restricted person can message you. Notwithstanding, their letters arrive in the Requests binder.
  • You will non receive notifications when they message you. You volition only be able to see their messages if you manually view your message requests.
  • If yous do view their message, they will not be notified by the "seen" text in the chat. This means they won't know when y'all've read the bulletin.

To answer to a restricted person'south bulletin, tap Unrestrict at the bottom of the screen. You lot tin can also select Delete to get rid of the message.

If you do not wish to engage with that person further, tap Block.

Other Differences Betwixt Blocking and Restricting Someone on Instagram

There are some other differences betwixt blocking and restricting on Instagram. This applies to seeing action status, tags, mentions, and notifications.

Only like the block option, when you restrict someone, you can no longer encounter each other'south active status, and so you volition not know when they were last online and vice versa.

Unlike comments and letters, a person y'all've blocked or restricted can still tag and mention you. If they're blocked, yous won't exist notified about it, just if they're restricted, you lot will. That means Instagram's restrict function doesn't work with tags and mentions.

Blocks remove all kinds of interactions, so you will non be notified. When you restrict someone, you don't receive notifications about their messages and comments, only you do go notified when they tag yous.

Block vs. Restrict: Will the Afflicted Person Know?

There is no straight mode to know if someone has blocked you lot. Withal, there are ways y'all can find out, like visiting their profile. This isn't the case with the restrict characteristic though.

A restricted person will never know if they take been restricted. Everything appears normal on their end as they can however comment on your posts, send you lot messages, and view your profile like any other user. The departure is simply on your terminate.

How to Block Someone on Instagram

To cake a user, go to their profile, tap the three-dot icon at the top-right of your screen, and select Block.

How to Restrict Someone on Instagram

At that place are three methods to restrict a person on Instagram:

  • Directly from comments.
  • Through your account settings.
  • From their profile.

Nosotros'll explain each of these methods below...

On an Android phone, follow these steps:

  1. Tap and hold the comment from the person you want to restrict.
  2. Tap the information icon (an exclamation point in a bubble) at the top and then the Restrict push button.

On iOS, follow these steps:

  1. Swipe left on the comment.
  2. Tap the information icon (an exclamation point in a bubble) and and so Restrict.

How to Restrict a User From Your Settings

To restrict a user from your business relationship settings, yous can follow these steps:

  1. Become to your contour and tap the iii-bar carte du jour icon in the top-right corner.
  2. Go to Settings > Privacy > Restricted accounts.
  3. Now search for the account y'all'd like to restrict, and then tap the Restrict button adjacent to the chosen account.

How to Restrict a User From Their Profile

You can also restrict an account using their profile page.

To practice this, follow these steps:

  1. Become to the Instagram profile yous want to restrict.
  2. Tap the three-dot menu at the acme-correct corner
  3. Select Restrict.

Which Part to Use to Avoid People

Your decision to either block or restrict someone on Instagram depends on your reasons and on how much access you want to requite that person to your profile.

If you don't want them to interact with you in any way or to see anything on your contour except the basic info at the elevation, you should cake them.

Just ensure yous're okay with them knowing that they've been blocked.

If yous want to avoid someone without them knowing, then restricting is your best bet.

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Almost The Author

Aya Masango (167 Articles Published)

Aya is a freelance author with a passion for brands, marketing and life in full general. When she isn't typing away, she's keeping up with the latest news, pondering on the essence of life, and thinking nearly new business opportunities. Almost productive when working in bed.

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