Instagram’s Restrict mode, which is different from block, allows you to limit people on how they interact with you without unfollowing them. When you restrict someone, new comments and activity status are hidden and messages go to the Requests folder. Let’s explore in detail what happens by restricting someone on Instagram.
Note: Whether you restrict a user from messages, profiles, or comments, the following changes will happen in all cases.
Table of Contents
1. New Comments Are Visible Only to the Commentor
Comments are one of the main areas that get affected by restricting someone. When you restrict a person, even though they can comment on your posts, these comments will be hidden and not visible to the public. Only the writer and you can see them. That means the writer would think that the comment is public and everyone can see it but that’s not what happens
Technically, even you won’t be able to see the comment directly. The comment would be hidden behind the Restricted comment text under the post. You will need to tap on See comment to view the comment from where you can either Approve the comment so that everyone sees it or delete it. The safest way is to neither approve nor delete the comment. The comment stays hidden for everyone else except the sender, thus not raising any doubt in their mind.
Other things that happen related to comments:
- You won’t be notified about new comments made from restricted accounts. You will have to check the post manually to view restricted comments.
- The previously made comments from the restricted profile will not be deleted. You must manually delete them if needed.
2. Messages go in the Requests Folder
- The person can still message you, but those messages will go into the Message requests folder instead of landing directly in the chats section. To access the Message Requests folder, open your inbox and tap on Requests at the top-right corner.
- The old chats will not deleted but will move to the Requests folder.
- You will not receive new message notifications from the restricted account. You will have to manually visit the Message requests folder to see the messages.
- Read receipts will not be shown if you open the message thread from the restricted user.
- You will need to Unrestrict the person to reply to the message. If you do so, the restricted person will see the read receipt.
- In the case of group chats, you will be warned that the group consists of a restricted account. You can stay in the group or exit it.
- Restricted accounts cannot voice or video call you.
3. Activity Status Will be Hidden
If the activity status feature is enabled for your account, restricted people cannot see when you are online or the last time you were online in messages.
List of Things That Are Not Affected
- The restricted people can see your posts, stories, and reels.
- The restricted person can like your posts and the likes will be visible to everyone. In other words, restricting someone doesn’t hide their likes from others.
- When you restrict someone and you view their story or they view yours, you can still see each other under the Who viewed my story section.
- Restricted users can see your followers and following lists.
- Restrict works in one direction only. You will continue to see the posts and stories of the restricted user. You can also comment on them. However, you won’t be able to message the user until you unrestrict them.
Does the Other Person Know When You Restrict Them
Fortunately, no. The other person isn’t notified in any way when you restrict them. That’s the beauty of the Restrict mode. You can avoid people silently.
When to Restrict Someone
- If you accidentally accepted someone’s message request, restrict them to send their message thread back to the Requests folder.
- If someone is posting unnecessary comments on your profile, restrict them to hide their new comments automatically.
- To hide online status from a single person.
- To read messages without sending read receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How to Remove Someone From Restrict List
Go to Settings > Privacy > Restricted accounts and tap on the Unrestrict button next to the user. You can also open their profile and tap on the Unrestrict message label. Alternatively, tap on the three-dot icon on their profile. Then choose Unrestrict from the menu.
2. What’s the difference between Instagram Restrict and Block?
Block, as you know, completely cuts the connection between you and the blocked person. The blocked person won’t be able to see your posts, stories, reels, etc. They cannot like, comment, or even send a message. The same happens from your side. On the contrary, Restrict mode only affects comments and messages primarily. They can still see your posts, stories, etc. Moreover, one can easily find out if they are blocked whereas it’s not that easy in case of restricting the accounts.
3. What happens to comments and messages when you unrestrict someone?
When you unrestrict someone, the restricted comments will continue to stay restricted. You can still approve or delete them. On the other hand, the message thread will show in the chat list and you can now send messages to the user.
4. When you unrestrict someone, do you have to follow the person again?
No. Restricting someone doesn’t make you unfollow them. So you don’t have to follow them again.
5. Is There Any Way to Know if Someone Has Restricted You on Instagram
There isn’t any direct way to know if someone has restricted you. However, you can ask a mutual friend to look for your comment under the post. If the person can see it, then you aren’t restricted. However, chances are that the person might have approved the comment. Similarly, you can look for the missing green online symbol in chats. Again, this is not a foolproof way to check as anyone can deactivate the activity status.
Apart from restricting on Instagram, you can temporarily limit unwanted comments on your profile to avoid bullying and trolling.
