The great use of social media platforms and increasing growth of Instagram in the past five to six years have also created a section where a handful of Instagram users are either harassed, bullied or tremendously annoyed.
Due to this, Instagram had launched 2019 a new feature that was “Restricting” another Instagram user.
You don’t have to think so much about what restriction means, and it simply functions on the concept of “limiting” and “hiding” certain activities from a particular person.
Still don’t know much about the restrict feature? Well, this article will give you an overview of how you can restrict someone and where you can restrict them.
Also, some of the most frequent questions have been answered too. Let’s get started.
What Is The Restriction On Instagram?
Restriction is one of the new features that Instagram has launched, this feature allows instagram users to limit interactions with a particular person, it can be a nosy relative or an annoying friend.
It is a modest way of blocking, it’s not exactly blocking but you disable the person to see few of your activities and online traces. They don’t get to see your stories, messages, etc.
It is similar to blocking. The only difference is you are not completely blocking anyone. It is just limiting their access to you.
They can see your posts, and they can not comment, but if you turn on the restriction function, their comments won’t be visible to you or any of your other friends who are viewing the post.
The same goes with direct messages, they may DM you, but you would not get notifications or see any message on your DM from that person for whom you have turned on the restriction mode.
What Does It Mean To Restrict A User On Instagram?
When you restrict a user on instagram, it disables them to see your stories, if you are online or not, if you have seen their message or not.
And you will not see their comments on your pictures, videos and can also hide them from your feeds too.
Restricting someone should not be misunderstood with blocking and hiding, they may seem similar, but they are not.
Can You Restrict A User On Instagram?
Yes, it is possible to restrict a user on Instagram.
There is no set of requirements set by Instagram to restrict a user on Instagram.
If you are annoyed by a person, or you are not comfortable with someone, just restrict them. It’s not like you are directly blocking them.
How To Restrict A User On Instagram?
Method 1: Enabling Restriction Mode For Profile
Step 1: Type Their Name On The Search Bar
Firstly, visit the search page on Instagram and then type their name(username) on the search tab. You can also click on the username from their posts.
Step 2: Open The Menu
Secondly, you will see the three vertical(it can be horizontal too) dots on the right side of your screen, click on them, and a menu will appear on the screen.
Step 3: Tap On Restrict Account
Once done, you will get to see the option to “Restrict Account” simply click on it to restrict the user.
Method 2: Restricting Via Settings
Step 1: Go To The Profile Page
Open your Instagram account and visit the profile page or click on your profile symbol from the main page.
Step 2: Click On Settings
Next, click on the hamburger menu above on the right side and click on “Settings”, and then click on the option “Privacy”.
Step 3: Select Restricted Accounts
Subsequently, scroll down for a while and then click on ” Restricted Accounts” it is right below the tab “Connections”. And then click on Continue.
Step 4: Pick The Username
And then, from the search tool, type the username whom you are restricting, and you will get the option to restrict their account beside their username.
Method 3: Enabling Restrictions On The Comment Section
Step 1: Open Your Recent Posts
From your Instagram account and click on any of your posts and go to the comments section by tapping on the comment icon right below the picture.
Step 2: Swipe/Hold On To The Comment
Go to that comment of the person whom you are restricting, and if you are an iPhone user, you just have to swipe on top of that particular comment.
For android users, you have to press and hold the comment until you receive the option.
Step 3: Tap On The I Icon
Finally, for both the device users, you will see the ” i” symbol, click on it, and you will be asked if you are restricting or unrestricting someone.
Select “restrict” to restrict the comment of that user.
Also Read: How to Turn OFF Try /silent on Instagram?
How To Restrict A User On Instagram Without Them Knowing?
Steps To Restrict A User On Instagram Without Them Knowing:
Step 1: Visit The General Settings
From your profile page, click either on the three horizontal lines and go to settings.
Step 2: Click On Privacy
After that, go to the option Privacy, click on it and then select the option “Restricted Accounts”.
Step 3: Restrict The User
And then, from the restricted accounts, type in the username and then restrict that user.
If You Restrict A User On Instagram Can They See Your Posts?
Yes, the restricted user can see your post, but you won’t get any notification. Restricting does not mean unfollowing or blocking someone from your feeds and viewing your posts.
Restricting concepts revolve around “hiding” even in this case, the restricted person will see your post.
However, you won’t get any notification that they viewed your posts. They can see your feeds.
What Happens When You Restrict A User On Instagram
When you restrict a user on Instagram, the effect can be seen in the following features of Instagram.
- Comments Section – if a restricted person comments on any of your posts, it won’t be visible to you until you click on the text “See Comments”.
- Stories – A restricted person cannot view your story. Although Instagram provides another feature to limit the viewers for Instagram stories, users can choose the number of people to whom it can be visible.
- Online or not – the restricted person will not be able to see if you are online or not. In addition, they will not also see if you have viewed their message or not.
- Message request – If any restricted person sends you a message, it won’t be stored in your DM’s but will come as a message request similar to the following request.
What Happens When You Restrict A User On Instagram Stories?
There is no option or way to “restrict” someone from viewing their story. Well, you can always hide your story from others.
You can visit the “story controls” settings and choose the people from whom you are hiding it. Hiding here is that they will not see if you posted a story.
If there was a restricting option, then the case would have been different. You would post a story, and the other person will view it, but you won’t get to know.
What Happens When You Restrict A User On Instagram Message?
When a restricted user sends you a message on Instagram, it won’t be stored in your direct message section. Instead, it will come to you as a “message request”.
You can view the message of the person, and the interesting thing is he or she can not check if you saw their message or not.
It’s not like their message will directly go to some spam folder, but it would come in a modest way as a message request.
Also Read: How to Send Silent Messages on Instagram?
How To Restrict Followers On Instagram?
Steps To Restrict Followers On Instagram:
Step 1: Open Instagram
Unlock your device and from your home screen, click on Instagram to open your account.
Step 2: Go To Settings
And then, from your profile, click on the three horizontal lines on the right side of your screen. Tap on Settings
Step 3: Click On Account Settings
Once you have opened the settings, tap on “Account” on the given list of settings.
Step 4: Check Your Account Type
Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and then see if your account type is a Personal Account.
If it’s not, click on “change to personal account”.
Step 5: Go Back To The Profile Page
Get back to your profile page and click on the gear icon on the right side of the page.
Step 6: Toggle To Private Account
Lastly, from the gear icon, click on ” Privacy” and toggle on your account to a private account.
Only you can see the followers and following list, others only see the number of followers, but whenever they click on followers to see the list of your followers/following, they can not access it.
And also, making your account private will not allow outsiders to see your posts and feeds until they send you a follow request.
Other than that, you can’t stop someone wishing to follow you.
Does Someone Know If You Restrict Them On Instagram?
No, the other person does not receive any notification from Instagram if they were restricted by a specific person, nor it won’t be like blocking, being not able to find the other person on Instagram search.
With time, the restricted person can sense that there is something wrong when he or she can not see if you are online, did you read their message or not, made your reply to their comment or not, etc.
What Is The Difference Between Block And Restricting On Instagram?
Blocking a user on Instagram means that you have completely cut off that person from your social media account. With restrictions, it is a similar concept, but it’s not very rigid.
Blocking will not allow you to see the other person’s posts, comments, or any stories they post, and at times, you can not see their profile.
In contrast, when you restrict someone, they can do all the above activities. Only the visibility is restricted.
Both restricted and blocked users can tag you in their posts. With the blocked user, you won’t get any notification, but with the restricted person, you will get to know as you will receive a notification.
Also Read: How to Turn On/ OFF Precise Location On Instagram?
What Does It Look Like When Someone Restricts You On Instagram
You won’t be getting a tag name as “Instagram user” or the name “Instagrammer”. There is no looking profile picture for the restricted person.
Everything will be normal. Your username and followers will still remain the same. Just the restricted person will not if he or she has been restricted.
Can Restricted Accounts See Your Posts?
Yes, the restricted accounts on Instagram can still see your posts.
Do not misunderstand that if you turn on the restriction mode, it will hide all your posts and everything on Instagram from that person(whom you have restricted) because this is not the case.
Their comments and views, and likes will be hidden only for you and, at times, for your other followers too.
It does not mean that the other person can not see your posts. Unfortunately, he or she will see your posts and feeds just so that you won’t get to know that they have viewed them.
Does Restricting A User On Instagram Hide Your Posts?
No, restricting on Instagram will not hide your posts from them. As we have discussed earlier, it will only hide their views and comments and not their visibility to your posts and feeds.
Cannot deny the fact that they are still following you, and it’s a basic feature of Instagram to see what your followers(and who you are following) can see in their posts.
Is Restriction The Same As Mute On Instagram?
No, a restriction is not the same as mute on Instagram.
They are slightly different from each other. Restricting a user on Instagram is like hiding that person’s posts, messages and comments.
Although they can do it, it won’t be visible to you directly, whereas muting someone is not hiding but just keeping other people’s posts, stories and feeds on mute.
Muting is quite similar to how we mute statuses on WhatsApp. Until you scroll down and tap on the muted status, you won’t get to see their status. The same applies to muting on Instagram.
Why Can Not You Restrict A User On Instagram?
Check your internet connection. There are very few chances why you can not restrict a user on Instagram. This is only possible if the other person uses some special software or has some magic.
Just make sure you are following the steps correctly to restrict a user on Instagram and that you have an updated version of Instagram and a stable internet connection.
Also Read: Who You Might Know Is On Instagram Meaning
Conclusion
By now, you must know how you can restrict a user on Instagram. You can restrict them in three ways, as have been discussed above.
Restricting someone will not cut them off from your followers’ lists and other activities. It’s not entirely similar to blocking.
Instagram has given a modest option by launching the restriction feature for its users to avoid other Instagram users who get on their nerves at times or make them feel as if they are in danger.
Although they would be restricted, they Can see your stories, feeds and posts only that they won’t know it’s not visible to you and others if they have commented or left a message.
