How to Mute Instagram Stories and Posts: The Complete Guide (2026)
To mute Instagram Stories and posts, open the person’s profile, tap Following, tap Mute, then switch on Stories, Posts, or both. You keep following them, Instagram does not tell them, and you can undo it any time. Muting only changes what you see. It does not unfollow, block, or restrict the other person, and it does not change what they can see of yours.
This guide covers every mute switch Instagram offers in 2026, including Stories, posts, Notes, messages, and calls, plus how to find your muted accounts, how to unmute someone later, and what muting does not hide.
What Does Muting Someone on Instagram Do?
Muting is Instagram’s quietest feed control. It removes one person’s content from your view without changing the follow relationship and without any signal to them. Instagram gives you separate switches for each type of content, so you can hide exactly what bothers you and keep the rest:
- Posts: their photos, videos, and Reels stop appearing in your feed. You can still see them on their profile page.
- Stories: their Stories stop appearing at the top of your feed in the row of Story rings.
- Notes: their short Notes stop showing at the top of your Direct inbox. Muting posts or Stories does not cover Notes, so switch this on separately.
- Activity bubbles on content: hides their activity on Reels in the Friends tab.
- Notes on the map and Location on the map: hides their Notes and shared location on the Instagram map.
- Instants: hides their disappearing in-the-moment photos shared with close friends or followers they follow back.
Messages and calls are muted separately, from inside the chat thread, not from the profile mute sheet. Nothing on the mute sheet unfollows the person, and your follower count does not change.
How to Mute Instagram Stories
There are three ways to mute someone’s Stories, depending on where you already are in the app. The fastest is from the Story bar itself. Touch and hold the person’s Story ring at the top of your feed, then tap Mute in the menu that appears. Their Story ring moves to the end of your tray, turns gray, and stops auto-playing when you watch Stories. You can still tap the gray ring or visit their profile to watch their Stories manually if you want.
The second way gives you more control. Open the person’s profile, tap the Following button below their profile details, then tap Mute. Switch on Stories alone if you want to keep seeing their posts, or switch on Posts as well to hide both. The third way is from your Following list. Open your own profile, tap your following count, find the person with the search field, tap the three-dot button on their row, and tap Mute. Be careful with the first item in that menu, which is shown in red and unfollows them instead.
How to Mute Instagram Posts
Muting posts uses the same profile route. Open the person’s profile, tap Following, tap Mute, then switch on Posts. Their posts and Reels will stop appearing in your feed, but nothing is deleted, and you can still open their profile to see everything they have posted. Instagram files Reels under the same Posts toggle, so muting posts also quiets their Reels in your feed.
You can also start from a post as it scrolls past. Tap the three-dot options button next to their post, tap Hide, then tap Mute followed by their username. Instagram then offers Mute Posts or Mute Posts and Story. That route is quicker but has fewer choices, with no option for Notes, the map, or Instants. Use the profile sheet when you want the finer controls.
How to Mute Notes, Messages and Calls
Notes have their own switch on the same profile mute sheet. Open the person’s profile, tap Following, tap Mute, then switch on Notes. Instagram’s Help Centre states that muting someone’s messages, posts, or Stories will not apply to the Notes they share, so if their Notes are part of the problem, mute them separately.
Messages and calls are handled inside the chat. Open your chat with the person, tap their name at the top, then tap Mute and switch on Mute messages, Mute calls, or both. The messages still arrive, you just stop getting push notifications for them, and you need to open the app to see them. If you want quiet from everyone for a while rather than from one person, go to Settings and activity, then Notifications, and use Pause all. Sleep mode does the same thing on a schedule, muting notifications at night or whenever you need to focus.
Where to Find Your Muted Accounts
Instagram keeps a list of everyone you have muted, and it is no longer under Privacy, where older guides send you. Go to your profile, tap the menu button in the top right to open Settings and activity, then scroll down to the group called What you see. Tap Muted accounts to open the list. If you have not muted anyone, it reads “You haven’t muted anyone.” To change what is muted for someone on the list, open their profile and use the Mute sheet, where you can see exactly which switches are on.
How to Unmute Someone on Instagram
Unmuting uses the same switches, turned off. Open the person’s profile, tap Following, tap Mute, and switch off whatever you want back, such as Posts or Stories. Each switch is independent, so you can bring back their Stories and keep their posts muted. If their Stories still do not show up after you switch Stories off, scroll to the far right of your Story bar, find their grayed-out circle, long-press it, and tap Unmute story. For messages and calls, open the chat, tap their name, tap Mute, and switch off Mute messages or Mute calls.
If you cannot find the person because their posts no longer show up in your feed, tap Search and type their username, or use the search field at the top of your Following list. Their profile is always reachable, even while muted.
What Muting Does Not Hide
Muting is narrower than most people expect, and knowing its gaps saves confusion later. First, muting has no switch for reposts. Instagram added a repost button in August 2025, but the mute menu still has no repost toggle, so a muted friend who reposts heavily can still fill your feed. Second, muting does not hide your activity status, so the person can still see when you are online unless you turn off Activity Status separately. Third, muting changes nothing about what they see. It does not hide your posts or Stories from them. For that, you need the separate Hide story control or a private account. Fourth, story mute is not available on computers, so use the mobile app for those switches. Finally, muting a chat only silences notifications. It does not stop their messages arriving, so for strangers who keep writing to you, the message request controls work better than muting chats one by one.
Mute vs Restrict vs Block on Instagram
Mute, Restrict, and Block sit in the same menu and get treated as three strengths of the same action. They are not. Mute changes only what you see, and it is the only one of the three that leaves the other person’s experience completely untouched. Restrict changes what the other person can do to you, quietly: their new comments are visible only to them until you approve them, their messages move to Message Requests, and they cannot see when you are online or whether you have read their messages. Block cuts the connection in both directions: they cannot see your profile or posts, their old likes and comments are removed, and their messages never reach you.
Instagram says it does not notify the person for any of the three. A mute is the hardest to detect, because nothing changes on their side at all. A block is the easiest to spot, because your profile disappears from their view.
Frequently Asked Questions About Muting on Instagram
Will they know I muted them?
No. Instagram states plainly that it will not let them know you muted them. There is no notification, no badge, and no icon change on your profile from their side. You keep following them, which is the difference between muting and unfollowing.
Why do I still see their reposts after muting them?
Because the mute menu has no toggle for reposts. Muting covers their original posts, Stories, Notes, and the newer map and Instants switches, but reposts slip through. Until Instagram adds a repost toggle, hiding individual reposts or unfollowing is the only way to stop them.
Final Thoughts on How to Mute Instagram Stories and Posts
Muting is the simplest way to clean up your Instagram feed without the awkwardness of unfollowing or blocking someone. Pick the exact switches that match what bothers you, remember that Notes, messages, and calls need separate steps, and keep the Muted accounts list in Settings in mind for later changes. A cleaner feed also makes Instagram more enjoyable, and it helps you notice the accounts worth engaging with. If you want your own posts to reach more people, our guide on how to get more followers on Instagram covers the organic habits that grow a real audience, and our Instagram caption generator can help you write captions that earn saves and shares. You can also explore the free Instagram growth tools on BigFollowers to support your overall growth.
