Restricting someone on Instagram cuts them off without telling them. Their new comments on your posts stop being public, their messages land in your requests folder, and they can no longer see when you are online or when you have read what they sent. Unlike a block, it gives them no sign that anything changed.
Why Instagram built it
Instagram rolled Restrict out to every user a few months after testing it with a small group, according to Engadget. The company pitched it as an anti-bullying tool. Its argument was that many people, young users in particular, hesitate to block or report a bully because they fear retaliation. Restrict gives them a way to shut the person out without a visible break.
What happens to their comments
When a restricted account comments on one of your posts, the comment shows only to its author and to you. Nobody else sees it unless you approve it.
WIRED notes that you also stop getting notifications for that person’s comments. If you want a comment to go public, Engadget says you can tap “See Comment” and approve it. You can also ignore it or delete it.
From the restricted person’s side, their comment appears to sit on your post as normal. That is the design. Engadget points out that unlike a block, they have no idea they have been cut off.
What happens to their messages
Direct messages from a restricted account go straight to your Message Request folder rather than your main inbox, and you get no notification when one arrives. You can read them there when you choose. If you accept a request, WIRED notes, that person’s future messages go straight to your main inbox.
Two things the sender loses. They cannot see when you are active on Instagram, and they cannot see whether you have read their messages. So you can open a message without the sender knowing you did.
How to switch it on
WIRED describes the quickest route. Go to the person’s profile, tap the three dots at the top right, and choose Restrict. Engadget lists two other ways in: swipe left on one of their comments, or go through the Privacy section of Instagram’s settings.
The change is reversible. Choosing to unrestrict an account makes that person’s comments public again and sends their messages back to your main inbox, according to Engadget.
When a block or a limit fits better
Restrict does not stop someone liking your posts. WIRED points out that Instagram offers no way to stop a person liking your posts short of blocking them outright. If you want them gone from your profile altogether, a block is the tool.
Making your account private helps less than people expect. WIRED explains that a private account limits who sees your posts and who can comment on them, but anyone who knows your account name can still send you a message. In Settings, under Privacy and Messages, you can choose whether messages from people you do not follow go to requests or never appear at all. The same screen controls whether strangers can add you to group chats, which anyone can do by default.
Comments have their own controls. Under Privacy and Comments, WIRED says you can limit commenting to people you follow, people who follow you, or both, and block named users from commenting.
For a wave of unwanted attention rather than one person, WIRED points to Limits in the Privacy menu. It temporarily blocks comments and messages from accounts that do not follow you or only followed you recently, and it can stay on for up to four weeks.
