Most Instagram users have experienced cyberbullying or negative comments from known or anonymous accounts at least once. It later came into the limelight that Instagram should create a safety measure to protect its users’ mental health while they use their platforms.
Instagram recently developed a new privacy feature called Restrict, which has helped many users from social media harassment. It enables you to limit the number of times you see comments and messages from certain accounts.
Read more to learn how to restrict and unrestrict an account and the difference between restricted and blocked features.
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What happens when you restrict an account on Instagram?
These are the steps to follow if you want to restrict someone on Instagram:
- Search for the username of the account you want to restrict or tap it from their story or Feed.
- Tap on the three-dotted icon on the upper right side.
- Tap Restrict and choose Restrict Account.
When you restrict an account, the owner will not be to see your active status (whether you are online or not) or if you have read their messages. You can also see their new comments on your post by tapping See Comment.
If you want other people to see their comments, select Approve the hit Approve again to confirm. Otherwise, delete or ignore it. Furthermore, you will no longer receive any notifications regarding their new comments.
Does someone know when you restrict them on Instagram?
The restricted account will never know if they are restricted. They will still comment, message you and view your story as usual. The only difference is that you have set the privacy settings to protect you from them.
READ: Fix: Unable to send the message, blocking is active
How to know if someone restricted you on Instagram?
Although you will not be aware that someone has restricted you, there are a few ways to confirm it. However, they are not foolproof.
One of the ways is by enabling your Activity Status using the following steps:
- Tap on Profile.
- Tap on Settings and select Privacy.
- Tap on Activity Status and enable it.
Once enabled, go back to the person’s profile and check their recent post. If it does not appear as recently active, or you cannot see their last seen, it means that you are restricted.
Alternatively, you can create another account or use a friend’s account to check their activity status.
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What’s the difference between Block and Restrict on Instagram?
While they both serve the same purpose of protecting you from cyberbullying, they have a small difference. When you block someone, they will not be able to comment or see your account on Instagram.
On the other hand, when you restrict someone, they will comment and view your posts. They will, however, not see your last seen status, and you can view their comment or make it public.
Does restricting on Instagram hide stories?
A restricted account will still view your stories. The Restrict feature only allows limited interactions with the user without having to block or unfollow them.
How to unrestrict someone on Instagram
Here are the steps for unrestricting someone on Instagram:
- Tap on the username of the account you restricted from their story or feed.
- Tap on the three dots icon on the upper right side.
- Select Restrict, then choose Unrestrict
Now you know all about the Restrict feature on Instagram and the difference between Restrict and Block. You can now use them in a way that suits you best.
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Alex is an IT technician who shares his experiences with Apple devices occasionally. He has a collection of Apple devices (from iPhone 4) and has recently started trying out Android.
IG: @I M_Alex