Can You Block People from Seeing Your Instagram Story?
Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Aug 11, 2024
Yes, you can block people from seeing your Instagram story. This feature is essential for maintaining privacy and controlling your audience on the social media platform. Whether you're looking to hide your stories from specific followers for personal reasons or simply wish to curate who can see your content, Instagram provides a straightforward solution. It ensures that your Instagram experience remains enjoyable, secure, and tailored to your preferences.
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How to Use Instagram Settings to Control Story Viewers?
To control who views your story on Instagram, you can effectively utilize Instagram's built-in privacy settings, often considered so genius by users. This process involves adjusting your story settings within the Instagram setting to specifically block or allow certain users from accessing your content. By customizing these settings, you can easily hide your story from certain individuals, ensuring that your stories are visible only to people you choose.
This feature is particularly useful for managing your Instagram account, maintaining privacy, and managing your personal space on the social platform. By using the story option under the profile icon, you can create a more controlled and intimate environment where you can share moments with mutual friends without worrying about unwanted views. Additionally, this level of control can enhance your overall user experience, making Instagram a more enjoyable and secure platform for personal expression and interaction. So, next time you see the story icon, remember you can easily hide Instagram stories from specific viewers with just a few taps.
Privacy Settings
Instagram offers robust privacy settings that allow users to manage who can see their story on Instagram. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining privacy and ensuring that your Instagram story content is shared only with people you trust. By accessing the story settings icon from within the Instagram app, you can easily customize your viewer list.
To begin customizing who sees your Instagram stories, you need to navigate through a few simple settings. Whether you want to hide your stories from certain followers or create a special list of close friends, Instagram's privacy settings provide all the necessary tools to control your user's profile and story visibility. Here’s how you can adjust these settings:
Open Instagram and navigate to your profile by tapping on your avatar.
Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to access the menu.
Select 'Settings' and then choose 'Privacy'.
Under 'Privacy', find and tap on 'Story'.
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Here, you can utilize various options to manage your story viewers:
Choose 'Hide Story From' to block specific people from seeing your stories.
Enable 'Close Friends' to share stories only with a select group.
After adjusting your settings, ensure you save any changes.
These settings allow you to restrict story visibility effectively, ensuring only desired audiences have access.
Story Controls
To control who views your live videos on Instagram stories, you can adjust the Story Controls in your settings. These settings offer a straightforward way to manage viewer access, ensuring that only selected individuals can see your content.
Instagram provides a feature called 'Close Friends' which allows you to share stories with a smaller group. This can be used to restrict visibility without blocking users completely. Additionally, you can block specific people from viewing any of your stories, effectively maintaining your privacy.
Steps to adjust your Story Controls:
Access Settings: Go to your profile, tap the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner, and select 'Settings'.
Navigate to Privacy: From the settings menu, choose 'Privacy', then tap on 'Story' to access story-specific settings.
Manage Story Visibility: Use the 'Hide Story From' option to block specific users from seeing your stories. Simply search for and select the usernames you want to block.
Use Close Friends List: Manage your 'Close Friends' list by adding people you trust. Only those on this list will see the stories you post specifically for them.
Automatic Hiding: For added privacy, consider enabling automatic hiding from certain followers, like those you do not follow back.
How to Hide Stories from Specific Users on Instagram?
To hide stories from specific users on Instagram, you can use the app’s story controls. This feature is part of Instagram’s privacy settings, allowing you to selectively block certain users from viewing your stories. It ensures your content is visible only to people you choose, enhancing your control over privacy without completely blocking someone from your profile.
Setting this up is straightforward. Instagram has integrated these options within a few taps away from pop up your profile settings, making it accessible and easy to manage who sees your stories. Here’s how you can configure your story visibility:
Open your Instagram profile: Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to access your menu.
Navigate to Settings: From the menu, select 'Settings', then proceed to 'Privacy' to adjust who can see your content.
Access Story Settings: Choose 'Story' from the list of options. Here, you will find various settings related to story visibility and interaction.
Select 'Hide Story From': This option allows you to search for and select the users from whom you want to hide your stories. Simply type their name and check them off the list.
Confirm your settings: Once you have selected the users to hide your stories from, Instagram will automatically save your preferences. You can revisit and modify these settings anytime to update your privacy choices.
How to Block Users Entirely from Seeing Instagram Stories?
Blocking users entirely from seeing your Instagram stories is a straightforward process. Here are the steps to do it:
Open Instagram: Launch the Instagram app on your mobile device.
Go to Profile: Tap on your profile icon located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Access Settings: Tap on the three horizontal lines (menu icon) at the top right corner, then select "Settings" at the bottom.
Privacy Settings: In the settings menu, tap on "Privacy."
Story Settings: Under Privacy, tap on "Story."
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Hide Story From:
Tap on "Hide Story From."
A list of your followers will appear. Select the users you want to block from seeing your stories by tapping on the circles next to their names.
You can search for specific users using the search bar at the top.
Confirm Selection: Once you have selected all the users you want to block, tap on the back arrow (or Done) at the top left corner.
Alternative Method Using Story Viewers
View Your Story: Post a story and then tap on your story to view it.
View Story Viewers: Swipe up on the story to see the list of people who have viewed it.
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Block Individual Users:
Next to each viewer’s name, you will see three dots (more options).
Tap on the three dots and select "Hide Story" from [username].
Implementing these steps ensures that selected users are completely blocked from accessing your stories, helping you to manage your online presence and interactions more securely and effectively. This method is ideal for keeping your Instagram stories private and visible only to a curated audience, aligning with your personal or professional branding needs.
How to Use a Close Friend List To Manage Instagram Story Views?
To manage who sees your Instagram stories, you can utilize the Close Friends list feature on your Instagram account for enhanced story controls. This feature allows you to selectively share personal moments through your story on Instagram with a smaller circle, ensuring that your content is visible only to those you trust the most. It's an effective way to block certain people from seeing your story on Instagram without blocking them entirely from your account.
Creating a Close Friends list on Instagram is straightforward and gives you the power to customize your audience for each story you post. This approach is particularly useful for maintaining privacy and keeping your broader follower list from viewing more personal or selective content.
Here's how to use the Close Friends list to manage your Instagram Story views:
Open Instagram: Begin by launching the Instagram app on your smartphone or tablet. Make sure you are logged into your account.
Go to your profile: Tap on your profile picture at the bottom right corner of the screen. This action takes you directly to your main profile page where you can manage various settings.
Access the menu: Look for the three horizontal lines, often referred to as the hamburger menu, located in the upper right corner of your profile page. Tap on this icon to open a sidebar menu with more options.
Select 'Close Friends': In the sidebar menu, scroll until you find the 'Close Friends' option. This section is dedicated to managing the list of people you classify as close friends. Tap on it to proceed.
Add friends to your list: Inside the Close Friends menu, you’ll see a list of suggested friends and a search bar to find specific people. To add someone to your Close Friends list, tap on the green 'Add' button next to their name. You can add as many people as you like, and they will not be notified of their status as a Close Friend.
Post a story to Close Friends: When you create a new story, you’ll see the option to share it either with all your followers or just with your Close Friends. To share with your Close Friends, tap on the green star icon that appears on the story screen before uploading. This ensures that only those on your Close Friends list can view the story.
By following these steps, you establish a tailored audience for your more personal story Instagram posts, enhancing your control over your privacy and the content you share on the platform. This method is a discreet and efficient way to ensure that only selected individuals have access to specific stories on Instagram, without having to block or restrict others from seeing your story or overall profile.
FAQs On Can You Block People from Seeing Your Instagram Story?
1. Can you block people from seeing your Instagram story?
Yes, you can block people from seeing your Instagram story. You can do this by adjusting the privacy settings in your Story controls. This feature allows you to hide your stories from specific users without blocking them entirely on Instagram.
2. How do you block someone from viewing your own story from someone else on Instagram?
To block someone from viewing your story, go to your profile, tap the menu icon, select 'Settings,' then 'Privacy,' and 'Story.' From there, you can enter the names of people you want to hide your story from in the 'Hide Story From' section.
3. What happens when you block someone from seeing your Instagram story?
When you block someone from seeing your Instagram story, they will not be able to view any stories you post. This restriction applies until you decide to remove them from the blocked list, and they will not be notified of this action.
4. Can blocked users see your past Instagram stories?
Blocked users cannot see your past Instagram stories once you've added them to your 'Hide Story From' list. Only new stories posted after they are unblocked will be visible to them.
5. Is there a limit to how many people you can block from seeing posts on your Instagram story?
There is no limit to the number of people you can block from seeing your Instagram story. You can add as many users as you wish to your 'Hide Story From' list to ensure your privacy.