- To mute: open their profile → tap Following → tap Mute → toggle Posts and/or Stories.
- Muting is silent — they have no way to know you've muted them.
- You stay following them; they stay following you. Their content just stops appearing in your feed and Story tray.
What Does Muting Do on Instagram?
Muting hides someone's content from your feed and Story tray without unfollowing them. Mutual follow remains intact, DMs still work, comments and likes still register. The only thing that changes is you stop seeing their posts and Stories — which is often exactly what you want with a polite acquaintance, a co-worker, or an over-posting friend.
How to Mute Someone Step-by-Step
Open their profile
Tap their username from a comment, DM, or follower list to open their profile.
Tap Following
Tap the Following button below their bio (the same button you'd use to unfollow).
Tap Mute
From the dropdown, tap Mute. You'll see toggles for Posts, Stories and Notes.
Toggle what to mute
Switch on Posts, Stories, or both. The setting saves automatically.
How to Mute Stories Only (Not Posts)
If someone over-posts Stories but their main feed is fine, mute Stories only. Open their Story tray at the top of your home feed, long-press their Story circle, and tap Mute from the menu. The Story disappears from your tray; their feed posts continue showing normally.
How to Mute Posts Only (Keep Seeing Stories)
Reverse — if their Stories are fun but their feed posts are too much. Same path: profile → Following → Mute → toggle Posts on, leave Stories off.
Will They Know I Muted Them?
No. Instagram never notifies, labels, or signals a mute. Their profile, posts and Stories look completely normal from their side. They could DM, like and comment on your posts and never know you don't see theirs.
Can I Mute a Hashtag or Word?
Yes — separately, in Settings → Suggested content → Snooze words and phrases. This is different from muting a user; it filters posts containing certain keywords from anyone in your feed.
How to Unmute Someone
Same path as muting. Profile → Following → Mute → toggle off Posts and Stories. Their content reappears in your feed and Story tray immediately.
Mute vs Restrict vs Block
- Mute — you stop seeing them. They don't know.
- Restrict — they keep seeing you, but their interactions with your account are filtered.
- Block — total cutoff in both directions.
For details, see our Restrict vs Block guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will muting affect my close friends list?
No — muting is independent. Close Friends only affects who can view your Stories, not who can interact with you.
Can I mute a Note?
Yes — same Mute menu has a Notes toggle.
Does muting unfollow them?
No. You stay following each other. Only the content visibility changes.
Can I mute multiple accounts at once?
Not in bulk. Each account has to be muted individually from their profile.
Can business / brand accounts be muted?
Yes. Mute works on any account type.
Key Takeaways
- Profile → Following → Mute → toggle Posts/Stories/Notes.
- Muting is silent — they never know.
- You stay following them; only the content visibility changes.
- For active limiting (not just hiding), use Restrict instead.