BEST INSTAGRAM GROWTH TOOLS
Social media bullying can be extremely challenging, and it’s hard to get rid of the bullies, particularly because they can come up with multiple accounts.
However, Instagram has taken the initiative of protecting its users by launching the restrict feature, which allows the users to limit how often they see messages and comments from specific accounts.
Restrict Feature
This feature was designed to protect the users from annoying, harassing, and abusive messages and comments on their Instagram profiles.
In the majority of cases, social media users deal with embarrassing acquaintances or threatening cyberbullies, but they don’t want to move forward with the situation by confronting them.
In such cases, restrict feature plays an important role as it allows the users to protect their account from such negative messages and comments.
When a user restricts someone on Instagram, they will be able to see the stories and posts, but their messages will be automatically moved to the message request inbox.
The restricted person will be able to leave comments under your posts, but they will be hidden from your other followers, which helps you prevent embarrassing situations in front of others.
In addition to preventing bullying, it’s also a good choice for influencers and business pages that want more control over the comment section.
As compared to blocking, which hides your account from the other person, restrict feature is a more subtle way of limiting unwanted interactions without limiting anyone from seeing the content.
In addition, you won’t receive any notifications regarding their messages and comments either.
Restrict Feature For Instagram Stories
In case you want to know what does restrict mean on Instagram stories, the restricted user will still be able to view your stories.
However, if you don’t want them to see your stories, you can use the “hide story” option. For enabling the hide story feature, you have to open your own profile, choose the “more choices” button, and open settings.
From the settings, open the privacy tab and scroll down to “story.” From here, you can select the accounts that you want to hide the stories from and press the “done” button.
You can follow the same instructions and unselect the accounts if you want them to see the stories.
What Happens When An Instagram Account Is Restricted?
Now that you know what does restrict mean on Instagram, you must remember the two things that happen when an account is restricted;
The Restricted User’s Comments
Whenever the restricted user leaves a comment under the post, Instagram will hold the comment for you to review.
If the comment is allowed by you, it will be visible to the public. However, if you don’t like the comment, you can leave it hidden or delete it.
On the other hand, the other person (the commenter) will know that his/her comment has been posted, but it won’t be visible to the public.
In simpler words, their comments will be hidden, and other followers in your list won’t be able to see negative comments about you.
You will still be able to check the comment by using the “see comment” option and choose the suitable option from the three available options.
The first option is “approve” if you intend to make a comment visible to everyone, the second option is “delete” if you would like to erase the comment, and the third option is “ignore” if you don’t want to see the comment.
If you choose the delete option, the comment won’t be visible to the restricted user either.
The Direct Messages
If the restricted user sends a direct message, it will directly go to the message requests section on Instagram.
As a result, they won’t know that you’ve read the message, and the read receipt will only show if you approve the message manually from the message requests section.
In addition, restricting the user means that they won’t know if you are online or active, and you won’t receive a notification of the message either.
On the other hand, if you are in a group chat with a restricted account, you will receive a notification whenever they leave a message in the group chat.
In such cases, your only option is to leave the group chat if you don’t want to interact with them.
How To Restrict An Account On Instagram
You can easily restrict any Instagram account through the Instagram website and app and there are different methods of using this restrict feature.
Restricting Through The Account’s Profile
When you want to restrict someone, open the other person’s profile page, click on the three-dot option on the corner of the screen and choose the restrict option.
If you are restricting someone for the first time, there will be an explanatory animation, and you will need to press the “restrict account” option for confirmation.
After this, a box/pop-up will appear showing that the account is restricted, and you can use the dismiss button to go back to scrolling.
Restricting An Account Through The Comment Section
If you are an Android user, you need to hold the comment, press on the exclamation icon, and choose the restrict option.
On the other hand, if you are using an iOS device, you can swipe the other user’s comment on the left side, click on the exclamation (!) point, and choose the restrict option.
To take them off the restricted list, swipe left the same comment on iPhone or press on Android phone, click on exclamation point, and choose the un restrict option.
Restricting An Account Through Direct Messages
In addition to restricting through comment section and profile, you also have the option of restricting an account through direct messages.
For this purpose, you have to open the message option on the screen’s top-right corner and click on the chat that you would like to restrict.
When their chat is open, click on their name and choose the “restrict” option on the new screen.
You will be asked for a confirmation, so click on the confirm button to restrict the account.
Restricting An Account Through Settings
The last method of restricting an account on Instagram is through the settings.
For this method, you have to open your account’s account settings, scroll down to privacy and click on the restricted accounts, and tap on the continue button.
You will need to search for the account that you want to put in the restricted account list by typing in the account name.
When the desired account appears, click on the approve button, and the account will be restricted.
How To Remove Someone From The Restricted List
If you don’t want to keep someone restricted anymore, you only need to open the profile page of the restricted user, open the menu with the three-dots option, and choose the unrestrict option.
You can also use settings for unrestricting the account.
For this purpose, open your profile, open the three-bar menu button, and go to the privacy tab from the settings.
Then, click on the restricted accounts, write down the account name that you want to unrestrict, and click on the un restrict button.
How To Check If Someone Has Restricted Your Account On Instagram?
In addition to knowing what does restrict mean on Instagram, it’s equally important to determine if someone has restricted you.
First of all, you should check if you can look at the “active now” or “active x hours ago” status on the profile picture.
Secondly, you can comment on the Instagram post and ask your mutual friend to check if the comment is available.
In case the comment is not visible to them, there are high chances that your account is now restricted.
You can also ask the mutual friend to check if they can see the online status in the message section – if they can see the active status and you cannot, you are on the restricted list.
Does The Other Person Know If They Are Restricted?
No, the other person won’t receive any notification if you restrict their account.
Similarly, there won’t be any special icon or message to show that a user has restricted the account.
In simpler words, the restrict feature is a silent action and was particularly designed to prevent any escalation in the situation by confrontation.
Having said that, you have the option to restrict anyone you want without alerting them.
Why Should You Use The Restrict Feature?
Restricting an account is better than blocking, particularly when you don’t want them to see that you are trying to limit the interaction.
It is a suitable choice for gaining more control over who gets to comment under your post and send you a message.
The restrict feature is a great way of personalizing the Instagram experience and preventing unwanted attention.
Even more, it’s a suitable option for influencers who cannot block the followers to maintain their follower count but want to restrict their activity.
The Bottom Line
Knowing what does restrict mean on Instagram and the right way of using it will surely help you keep unwanted interactions at bay.
While many people choose to block the person right away, restricting them is a much better choice as it doesn’t let the other person know that they’ve been blocked and is suitable for Instagram influencers as they need to be careful about their follower count.
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Written by Jason Wise
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