Instagram doesn’t notify you when someone blocks you. If you have a nagging suspicion about someone who you haven’t heard from in a while, here’s how you can check if they have blocked you on Instagram.
You might find some third-party tools that advertise that they’ll notify you when someone blocks you, but those almost never work.
So, what does? Some good old-fashioned detective work. Follow the next steps to deduce if you’ve been blocked on Instagram.
Let’s start by searching. Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android handset and then tap the “Search” icon to go to the “Explore” page.
Here, tap the “Search” bar. Try to search for the person’s Instagram account handle. If you can’t find the user, it might mean that they have blocked you.
One sure-shot way of knowing if you’ve been blocked is by finding your way to their profile page in the Instagram app. Now, you clearly can’t get there from search.
But you can do it from old comments or from an Instagram DM conversation. If you can see their Instagram handle or their icon, tap it. This action will open their profile.
Now, if Instagram says something like “This Account Is Private,” it just means that they switched to a private account and they removed you as a follower. You can try to follow them again to get in their good graces.
But if the Instagram app says something like “No Posts Yet” and it doesn’t show the profile’s bio or the follower information, it means you are blocked. It might also just show you a banner saying “User Not Found.”
You can also confirm this by visiting the person’s Instagram profile on the web. If you remember their Instagram ID, add it to the end of the “www.instagram.com/(username)” link.
If Instagram tells you that the page doesn’t exist, they might have blocked you or they might have deleted their profile. If you see that message, try logging out and viewing it — if their profile is visible while you’re logged out, then you can be sure they have blocked you.
Note: Instagram might try to force you to log in instead of displaying their page if you’ve previously logged in to Instagram on the device you’re using. Try using Incognito Mode if that happens.
One piece of information might not be enough to discern, but if you followed all the above steps and you couldn’t access their profile, it probably means that you have been blocked.
If you want to be really sure, you can ask a friend to search for their Instagram handle. If your friend can access their profile (whether it’s public or private) and you can’t, well, it’s pretty clear that you have been blocked.
Want to give them a taste of their own medicine? You can block someone on Instagram as well.
RELATED: How to Block Someone on Instagram
