Instagram introduced many privacy features over the years.
These privacy features can be used to limit or eliminate your access to user content, messages, comments, and other information.
You can easily identify some of these privacy features (e.g. being blocked) and determine if they are being used to your account.
It is more difficult to determine why a user has restricted your access to their content, messages, and interactions with them.
Let’s look at what you need to do to determine if your account is restricted or blocked.
What does Restricted mean?
Instagram created this privacy feature to allow users to restrict access rather than remove their accounts.
Knowing what the restricted feature does or does not do will help you determine if you’re in restricted mode.
Instagram restrictions are subtler and more difficult to spot than being blocked.
You can still view the content of other users, including their stories and comments, but this restriction won’t affect your rights.
You can still like a posting and it will remain visible to everyone.
The most significant changes are in the areas of comments, messages and their activity status.
1. Restrictions on Comments
Your comments will also be restricted if your account is closed.
You can still view and comment upon posts.
It will appear that nothing is wrong on your part, and you will continue to comment as usual.
You can still view comments within a post but you may not see them.
Your comments are hidden behind a restricted comments button to the user who restricted them.
You can then approve or deny the comment to the user.
If the user does not approve your comment, it will be visible only to you and the person to whom it was sent.
Your comment won’t become public and will not be visible to anyone else.
Comments made before your account was restricted will not be affected.
Please Check Your Comments
Checking your comments can help you determine if your account was restricted.
Your comments will still appear as normal comments on your account. To access a friend’s account or create another account, you will need to have access.
Once you have posted a comment, check immediately to make sure you can view it from your friend’s or secondary account.
You should not wait too long to verify the comment. The user may approve it and make it appear as normal.
Your account may have been restricted if you don’t get to see your comment on the alternate account.
2. Restrictions on Activity Status
If they are restricted, you won’t be able to access any information regarding their activity.
It will be impossible to view the last time they were online.
Also, you won’t be able see their last message.
Check the Activity Status
Although this method is not as effective as the first, it can help you determine if your behavior has changed.
First, ensure that Display Activity Status is enabled.
This can be done by going to your Profile > Settings > Privacy > Activity Status.
You can then enable or disable the feature.
After you’ve enabled the feature, go back to the profile of the person.
You will be restricted if they have recently posted something, but it doesn’t appear as active recently, or if you don’t see their last seen status.
To check activity status, you can also access a secondary account.
It is a further sign that you are restricted if it shows on your secondary account but not your main one.
3. Restrictions on Messages
Although your messages will not disappear, they will be placed in a message request folder.
The restriction user will not be notified about your message. They must manually view it in order to interact with it.
You won’t be notified if a user sees your message.
A warning will be displayed to a user if a restricted user is in group chat. This will let them know that the restricted user is present in the group.
Send a Message
To see if they are restricted, you can send a DM.
Although this method is not easy to use, it can take some time to confirm.
Send a DM and wait.
If the user doesn’t respond after a long time but is still active on their account then they are likely to have been restricted.
What to do if someone blocks you
1. Take a look at your messages
All messages between you, the person being blocked, will disappear.
You may have DMed or blocked someone in the past.
If you cannot see any previous messages between you, that person, or your computer screen is blank, it’s most likely you have been blocked.
You could have been deactivated/destroyed their account. If so, head on over to the group chat that you were both in.
If they are still in the group chat, you will be blocked.
2. Search
Find the person you want to follow on Instagram.
If the content area is empty but posts are displayed on top, you may have been blocked.
If the account says it is private, you will need to request access to view their photos. However, it does not necessarily mean that they are blocked.
If their username is correctly entered but their profile doesn’t appear, they may have deactivated their account or deleted it.
3. Check your Profile
You can check your profile if you have any issues searching for the name of someone you know.
Your previous comments won’t disappear if you are blocked.
You can go to one of their posts and comment on it.
Click on the name to go to their profile page.
If you cannot see the content area but can see the number posted at the top, you’ve been blocked.
4. Use your browser
Every Instagram account can be accessed via your web browser.
Make sure you are logged in and go to Instagram.com/username but replace username with their actual username.
If you see “Sorry this page isn’t available”, then either you have entered the wrong username, or you have been blocked.
5. Follow These People
Follow this person again if you can view their profile.
If you don’t see any changes when you click the Following button, you are blocked.
Blocking your request to follow them will stop you from doing so. They will also not receive notifications about you trying to follow them.
6. You can use a different account
You can either use a secondary account, or ask a friend for their account to search the profile.
If all appears normal on your alternate account, you are blocked.
If the result is not different from your normal account, that person may have set their profile to private or deactivated their account.
What’s the Difference Between Blocked and Restricted Instagram Images?
It is not the same thing as being blocked on Instagram. Also, your access to their account will be different.
If a user has blocked you, then you will only be able to view the top information.
This includes the following, followers, and number of posts.
Restricted users will still have access to all your posts, stories and other content.
An unblocked user cannot comment on posts of others, while a restricted user may comment but is not viewable by the sender or the recipient.
You won’t have the ability to message someone if they are blocked.
An authorized user can still send messages but they are hidden in a request folder, so it may not be visible.
Activity statuses will not be accessible to blocked users or restricted users.
You can be tagged and mentioned by both blocked and restricted users. However, you will only be notified if a restricted person mentions you.
All notifications sent by that user to be blocked are removed
They are still notified of tags even though they have been restricted.
It doesn’t notify them about messages or comments.
Top Practices to Avoid Being Banned or Blocked by Instagram
1. Do not mass follow and like
Instagram may temporarily block you if you try to follow too many people, or give out too much likes.
These guidelines will help you avoid receiving this temporary block.
You can’t exceed 60 likes, 60 followers, or 60 messages per hour if you have an account.
You can not have more than 30 likes, 30 followers, or 30 messages per hour if you create a new account.
You may be subject to a temporary block if you break these rules. This will result in some restrictions being placed on the account.
You will not be able to comment, like or follow Direct Messages for up to two hours.
You may have other issues with following people. Make sure you find out the reason.
2. Pictures and videos that violate the rules should not be shared
You could be banned from Instagram if you post content that is against the rules.
Don’t post videos or photos that show naked people or sexual content.
You will be banned for posting inappropriate content.
3. User complaints
There are many reasons why users may complain.
You can report an account that they consider to be threatening or violates Instagram’s rules.
You will be blocked if you have enough accounts.
Before you post content that might be offensive to others, make sure you are familiar with Instagram’s rules.
Copyright infringement is another way to be banned for a user complaint.
Instagram takes copyright infringement seriously
You must only use pictures that you own or were allowed by the original owner.
When you share a photo of someone else, tag them to give credit.
You should also not use any music you don’t own.
Instagram will block anyone who ignores copyright rules.
4. Do not jump from one device to the next
You may experience a temporary blockage if you log into Instagram from multiple devices, especially if they have different IP addresses.
This could cause Instagram to believe your account was hacked.
You will likely receive an email in this case letting you know there has been suspicious activity on your account.
5. Spammy is not a good idea
Don’t engage in activities that Instagram might consider spammy.
Instagram might consider you a bot if you repeat the same comments repeatedly.
Instagram may block your account if you leave too many comments on the same post in a short time.
Instagram might ban you if you like too many posts at once.
6. Best Judgment
Don’t try to jump from one profile to another if you’re new to Instagram.
Do not try to get people to follow and like all the content you find.
Take it slow, and then you can start to add content to your account.
Instagram will notice that you are active and use your account sincerely and will be less likely restrict your account or block it.
Instagram is all about moderation.
It may feel excessive if it does.
The Best Instagram Practices You Must Follow
To maximize your chances of success, make sure you follow the top Instagram practices.
Post consistently, but keep it between 1 and 3 posts per day.
If you intend to do more, consider putting them in packages. This will allow you to make fewer posts but still have more content.
You should only post quality content that is relevant to you and your brand.
It’s easy to post random content and not tell your story.
Your posts can be used to tell your story, or the story about your business.
Visual consistency is key. Keep your content consistent in color and style.
Instagram Stories is a great way to share lighter content with your followers.
Engage with your followers through their comments
People take the time to follow and engage with you, so don’t ignore them. They will eventually stop following.
Conclusion
It is simple to determine if your Instagram account is blocked. However, it is more difficult to determine if you have been restricted.
Instagram created the restriction mode to be difficult for users to identify.
It is designed to restrict a user from interfacing with the restricted user, without them being aware.
The easiest and most reliable method of checking comments is to do so.
It is less reliable to send a DM or check the activity status than to read the comments.
These can be used as an additional measure to determine if your movement has been restricted.
You can now determine which path is best for you, knowing whether you were restricted.
You can try to remember the events that led to your current situation and not get irritated or restricted.
