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- To know if someone blocked you on Instagram, try searching for their account.
- If you can't find their account or see the profile image, you may have been blocked.
- If you can see their profile and posts on another Instagram account, they may have blocked you.
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If you recently noticed that you can no longer see a certain person's posts in your Instagram feed, it's possible they simply haven't posted anything in a while — or they may have blocked you.
Instagram doesn't notify you when you have been blocked, nor is there any comprehensive list of people that have blocked you that you can look at. Even so, if you suspect you have been blocked on Instagram, there are some steps you can take to find out if you've been blocked.
Search the account that may have blocked you
Start by searching within the app for the account that you think has blocked you. Tap the Search icon at the bottom of the screen. Then type the name of the account.
- If the account is private and you can't find it, you've probably been blocked.
- If the account is public, and when visiting their page you can't see their profile image, post count, follower count, or following count, and the photo grid area reads "No Posts Yet," you have been blocked.
You can also perform this search in a browser. Type in the link Instagram.com/username (replacing the word "username" with their Instagram handle, of course).
If you see a page that says "Sorry, this page isn't available," then either the individual has deleted the account or you have likely been blocked.
Instagram users can also be a bit more subtle. Someone might remove you from their followers – this means you won't see their posts, but you're technically not blocked. They may have also muted you; again, you're not blocked, but they won't see your content in their feed and will have less reason to interact with you.
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Look at your own posts to see if they've commented
If the person has ever commented on any of your own posts, tap their username to go to their profile. If this takes you to their profile but you can't see any details, or if you see a page that says "Sorry, this page isn't available," then again, you have likely been blocked.
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Check your direct messages with the person
Just like with comments, if you've been blocked by the other individual, Instagram doesn't delete any messages you've already exchanged. In fact, you can send new messages, though they will not be delivered.
Tap View Profile to go to their profile page. If their page has no posts and you see a brief message that says User not found, it probably means you've been blocked – though it might also be a sign that the individual has deleted his or her account.
It's also worth noting that if you can't see your chat history with the person, it's not always a sign that you've been blocked. In the past, Instagram has experienced a bug in which messages were blacked out. If you see this, there might be a similar software glitch affecting your chats.
If the problem persists, check out our guide to contacting Instagram and see if they can help resolve the issue.
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Ask a friend to see if they can find the account
You have one last method to try to see if their intent was to block you: Ask a friend if they can still see the individual's account.
If they can't either, there's a silver lining here: You may not have been blocked. The person might have instead deleted or temporarily deactivated their account, for example.
If everything above fails, you should follow good social media etiquette – the individual probably doesn't want to interact with you, so respect that person's privacy and don't try to contact them or circumvent the block.
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What happens when someone blocks you on Instagram?
Instagram will remove all your likes and comments on their photo and video posts. You also won't be able to tag or mention them in posts and comments.
When it comes to messaging, the following will happen:
- Your previous direct messages will still be in the person's inbox, but they will not be able to message you again.
- The person will still be able to see anything you send in group messages that you're both a part of — although, Instagram will give them the option to leave said group when they block you.
- Any messages you send to them won't be delivered — it doesn't matter if they unblock you later.
If they go live or create a room, you won't be able to join it.
Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
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