Discover how to hide your Instagram likes and comments to safeguard your mental health, avoid the pressure brought about by constantly counting likes, and focus on creating content that makes you happy instead.

The rise of social media in the 21st century is a modern development like no other. Various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram have paved the way for people to connect with each other and access information more efficiently. And these have not only made communication easier but more enjoyable too!

Take the case of Instagram, the fourth most used social network app with an estimated 1.28 billion users globally. The photo and video sharing app is easy to use and has lots of fun features like filters and emoji ratings. But while being on the platform can open up a world of opportunities in terms of social and business connections, there are also underlying dangers.

Aside from greatly facilitating data sharing, Instagram can also capture every user engagement on the app, such as likes and comments. On the surface, this may seem harmless, even desirable, but it poses several risks. In this post, we will discuss why it’s ideal to know how to hide likes on Instagram on Android and on iPhone.  We’ll also share a step-by-step guide so you’ll learn how to hide Instagram comments, should you feel the need to do so.

Why you should hide your likes on Instagram 

Before we continue, let’s talk about why finding out how to hide Instagram likes is essential. Hiding this type of follower interaction is one way to increase control over your Instagram engagements, enabling you to protect your mental health and those who genuinely support your account. For instance, keeping your likes out of sight will allow you to focus more on producing regular, high-quality content instead of obsessing about their running count. 

The next question is this: “Why not just block the Instagram users whose likes you want to hide?” Blocking is a more transparent and upfront way of concealing different types of engagement. When you block someone from Instagram, they may see your profile but won’t be able to like your post, comment on it, or engage with you on your account. They are also sure to be alerted about it, which may affect your relationship with them (if you have one) or cause them to turn against you online. In contrast, restricting or hiding your likes on Instagram may be the more subtle and desirable alternative. 

Reasons people restrict comments on Instagram 

Here are some of the main reasons why people restrict comments on Instagram instead of blocking the people who make them.

• Restricting comments allows you to avoid unpleasant interactions with certain Instagrammers without them noticing.
• Comments that are restricted can still be detected by Instagram’s algorithms, which will help you maintain your engagement score. In contrast, since blocking the individuals who may be the sources of these comments can no longer connect to your account, they can’t perform activities that may bolster your Instagram follower stats.
• You get to control what comments from restricted accounts get to be seen on your posts without cutting ties with anyone.
• With this limiting function, you have the option to approve comments from restricted accounts when they do post something positive or, at the very least, neutral.

How to hide Instagram likes and comments

Here’s the complete step-by-step instructions that you can follow so you can hide likes and comments on Instagram.

How to conceal likes on the posts of other Instagrammers

1. Open your profile and tap the hamburger icon (or the three horizontally parallel lines in the topmost right corner of your screen), then tap “Settings.”

2. Next, choose “Privacy” and  click on “Posts.”

3. From the “Posts” menu, you’ll find the “Hide Like and View Counts” button. Turn it on so that the toggle becomes blue. Now check the like count of other Instagram posts, and you’ll discover you can’t view them anymore. 

How to hide likes on your own posts on Instagram

Now let’s find out how to hide Instagram likes from followers and yourself. 

There are two ways to hide likes on your own Instagram posts: before you publish it and after it’s already been posted.

Before your post goes live 

1. Go about creating your new photo or video as you typically would. When you reach the part of the posting process where you can add a caption, scroll down to the bottom and choose “Advanced Settings” from the options. 

2. You will find the “Hide like and view counts” button, which you would tap to turn on.

After you’ve posted

1. Go to the specific post whose likes you wouldn’t want to see. Click on the three dots in the uppermost corner on the right side of your screen (like how you would delete or archive your posts). Options would appear.

2. Finally, choose “Hide like count,” and you’ll see that the like counts are now turned off. See the before and after below:

How to hide your Instagram comments from followers on your Android or iPhone

Next, we’ll go through a step-by-step guide on how to conceal unsavory comments or words that can lead to emotional or psychological distress. 

1. Go to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the rightmost bottom part of your screen.
2. Next, tap the hamburger icon in the top right, then click on “Settings,” and then “Privacy.”
3. Tap on “Hidden words” from the options.

4. Under the option “Manage custom words and phrases,” you can choose to input specific words or phrases (even numbers or emojis you don’t want to see on your Instagram) by executing the following:

• Click on “Manage custom words and phrases.” Do use a comma to keep each entry apart.

• Tap the button next to “Hide comments” to use the “custom word list” option for comments.

• Tap the button next to “Hide message requests” to enable your custom word list for message requests. 

What comments are not allowed on Instagram?

Every platform has rules and policies to make sure its users are protected. Here are the types of comments that Instagram’s rules and policies don’t permit.

• Spam comments

These are comments that have no relevance or aren’t connected to the blog entry where they are posted. One of the typical objectives of this type of forbidden comment is to drive the clickthrough rate of the spammers or post ads without permission. A more sinister purpose would be to make people click on malicious websites.

• Hate comments

Instagram has also launched safety features to inhibit comments that are prejudicial, antagonistic, or discriminatory against a person or persons who belong to a specific race or ethnicity or have protected characteristics such as disability, religious affiliation, and serious disease.

• Comments offering sexual services

Instagram’s Community Guidelines explicitly forbids soliciting or any such type of sexual comment on its platform, especially those involving minors.

• Bullying comments

Instagram has also disallowed offensive or harassing comments. By using artificial intelligence, the social media platform can detect and restrict them.

• Comments glorifying self-injury

Instagram created  a separate section in its Community Guidelines focused solely on forbidding content or speech that promote self-injury. This shows how serious they are about this concern, vowing to remove or disable any account that is reported to show such comments (and photos or videos). 

FAQs:

If you hide a comment on Instagram does the person know?

When you adjust your settings to hide comments, the person who posted them will not find out about it. 

Can you hide your own comments on Instagram?

You can’t hide the comments you yourself make on your own account, but you can delete them by pressing long on your comment. From the options that will pop up, choose “Delete.”

Does Instagram have a profanity filter?

Yes, the social media app launched a profanity filter to help you protect yourself and also your followers from undesirable comments on your Instagram account. To access this tool, open your profile and click on the hamburger icon on the topmost corner of your screen on the right. Go to “Settings,” then tap on “Privacy.” Then you will see “Hidden Words.” Click on that and choose from the filtering options available. Instagram already has a default list of banned words, but you can also customize it.

Wrap up 

Knowing how to hide likes on Instagram on android or iPhone can help you stay focused on content creation rather than get flustered or distracted by the number of likes your posts receive. In addition, learning how to hide Instagram comments can also protect you from cyberbullying, which may endanger your or your supportive followers’ mental health. With Instagram’s advanced privacy features, you can now eliminate this risk to your overall well-being without the possibility of online reprisal that can come with blocking people. So, smarten up, learn how to hide your Instagram likes and comments, and be on your way to a more successful and enjoyable existence online.