What muting does and when you'd use it
Muting an Instagram account hides that person's posts and stories from your feed without unfollowing them. They won't know you've muted them. You'll still be connected — they can still see your public posts, message you, and find you through search — but their content stops appearing in your main feed and story tray.
This is useful when you want distance from someone without the social friction of unfollowing. You might mute a coworker whose professional updates clutter your feed, a relative whose posts you'd rather not see, or someone whose content style changed in a way that doesn't interest you anymore.
Muting is different from blocking (which prevents someone from finding or messaging you) and different from unfollowing (which they might notice if they check your follower count). It's a middle ground that keeps the connection intact but removes their visibility from your experience.
Key Takeaways
- Muting hides someone's posts and stories from your feed, but they remain your follower and can still message you and see your public posts.
- The muted person receives no notification that you've muted them, and the action is invisible on their end.
- You can mute posts only, stories only, or both at the same time depending on what content bothers you.
- You can unmute someone at any time by visiting their profile and toggling the mute setting back off.
How to mute someone's posts on Instagram
Open Instagram and navigate to the profile of the person you want to mute. This works whether you're on mobile or desktop. Tap or click the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner of their profile — on mobile it's usually in the upper right, on desktop it appears when you hover over the profile.
From the menu that appears, select "Mute." A submenu will show you options: you can mute posts, mute stories, or mute both. If you only want to hide their feed posts but still see their stories, tap "Mute posts." Their posts will when ready stop appearing in your main feed, but you'll still see their stories in your story tray at the top of the app.
If you change your mind later, return to their profile, tap the three-dot menu again, and select "Unmute" to restore their content to your feed.
How to mute someone's stories on Instagram
You can mute stories separately from posts. Go to the person's profile, tap the three-dot menu, and select "Mute." Choose "Mute stories" if you want to keep seeing their feed posts but hide their stories from your story tray.
Stories from muted accounts won't appear in your story ring at the top of your feed, and you won't get notifications when they post a story. You can still view their stories manually by visiting their profile directly, but they won't interrupt your normal browsing.
Muting from the feed or story tray
You don't have to visit someone's profile to mute them. If you see their post in your feed, tap the three-dot menu on that specific post and select "Mute [person's name]." You'll get the same mute options — posts, stories, or both.
Similarly, if you see their story in your story tray, press and hold on their story ring and select "Mute." This is faster than navigating to their full profile, especially if you're scrolling and want to quickly hide someone's content.
What happens after you mute someone
Once you mute someone's posts, their feed content stops appearing in your main feed. Their likes and comments on other people's posts will still show up in your feed — muting only hides their own original content. If they tag you in a post or comment, you'll still see that notification.
The muted person has no way to know you've muted them. Instagram doesn't send notifications for mutes, and there's no indicator on their profile or in their analytics that you've taken this action. From their perspective, nothing has changed in your relationship.
You can mute multiple people, and mutes stack — if you mute someone's posts and later mute their stories, both settings remain active. You can also unmute at any time by returning to their profile or a post of theirs and toggling the mute off.
Muting versus other account actions
Unfollowing removes someone from your follower list entirely. They might notice if they check your follower count, and it's a more visible action. Muting keeps you as a follower but hides their content.
Blocking prevents someone from finding your profile, seeing your posts, messaging you, or viewing your stories. It's the strongest action and they may receive a notification or figure out they're blocked. Muting is invisible and doesn't restrict their access to you.
Restricting (available on some accounts) limits someone's ability to see when you're active, see your stories, or comment on your posts, but they can still follow you and see your feed. It's another middle ground, but muting is simpler if you just want to hide their content from your view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I muted them?
No. Instagram sends no notification when you mute someone, and there's no way for them to see that you've muted them. They can still see your public posts, message you, and interact with your content normally.
Can I mute someone and still see their posts if I search for them?
Yes. Muting only removes their content from your feed and story tray. If you visit their profile directly or search for them, you can still see all their posts. Muting is about what appears automatically in your feed, not about blocking access entirely.
What if I mute someone by accident?
Go to their profile, tap the three-dot menu, and select "Unmute." Their posts and stories will reappear in your feed when ready. There's no penalty for unmuting — you can mute and unmute the same person as many times as you want.
Can I mute someone without unfollowing them?
Yes, that's the whole point of muting. You stay as their follower, they stay as your follower, but their content stops showing in your feed. Unfollowing is a separate action that removes them from your follower list entirely.
If I mute someone's posts but not their stories, will they know?
No. Muting — whether posts, stories, or both — is completely invisible. There's no notification, no indicator on your profile, and no way for them to discover that you've muted them.