Instagram is no longer the same small app it was in early 2010. It currently has over 500 million active users daily and has developed into a platform where interactions can have a significant influence on privacy and mental health.
Therefore, effective interaction management is crucial for establishing a secure and satisfying platform experience. Here is where knowing what happens when you restrict someone on Instagram is important.
Instagram’s restricted features made a big difference for many accounts on the platform. In contrast to blocking, which can seem excessive, restricting enables users to subtly handle potentially harmful interactions, even if they try to view your stories anonymously.
Let us go through every detail on this matter and see how restricting Instagram users can affect your experience with this platform.
What Does Restrict Mean on Instagram?
Restrictions on Instagram were created to assist you and me to control our interactions without completely preventing others from seeing or following our material. For instance, when you limit someone, you can still view their comments on your posts, but others cannot see them.
You have complete authority over what is shown to the public by choosing to accept or reject certain comments. Restricted users’ direct messages will also be moved to your Message Request folder, and you won’t be notified unless you decide to view the message.
In other words, restricting is less confrontational than blocking, which totally stops someone from communicating with you or viewing your stuff. Additionally, it differs from muting, which does not conceal user interactions but only disables notifications for posts or stories. It is a valuable asset that can be quite useful in many cases.
Also read: How to get more followers on Instagram?
Can Someone Know If They Have Been Restricted or Not?
This may be one of the most common things on all of our minds. Will they figure out that we have restricted them? Well, thankfully, the answer is no. Instagram won’t send any notifications to those you have restricted. However, there are some tricks that they can use to determine their restriction. Checking comments with friends, not seeing active status, and some other ways can show them that they have been restricted.
What Does Restricting Someone on Instagram Do?
Well, now you’re curious about what happens when you restrict someone on Instagram. When you restrict an Instagram account, the following occurs:
1. No Active Status
Without turning off active on Instagram, your last active status and current active status are visible to the people you are DMing. However, after restricting someone, even though your Instagram active state is enabled, they won’t be able to see whether you’re online or active on the platform. This is a great security measure for annoying people who are watching you all the time.
2. Direct Messages Go to Request Inbox
Another answer to “What happens when you restrict someone on Instagram” is that messages from the restricted account will not show up in your inbox or main feed. The process is like that all messages from restricted accounts end up in the “Requests” inbox and are tagged as “Restricted.” You will not receive a message notification and will not be able to select whether or not to view them.
Furthermore, they can’t see the “seen” sign when you view their messages. It is the ultimate safe option for anyone who wants to use this feature and see what happens when you restrict someone on Instagram for themselves.
3. Hidden Comments
The Instagram accounts that are restricted will be able to leave comments on your posts, but the difference is that only you will be able to see them.
You have to select “See comment” in the comment field to access what appears to be buried messages.
Additionally, the restricted user won’t be aware that their comments are private and no one else can see them. You have the option to approve the message publicly, hide it, or remove it forever.
What Are The Benefits of Using Restrict on Instagram?
This subject can be approached from many angles. For example, if you are from those types of influencers with lots of followers, restricting is a lifesaver feature. However, the main approach is the usual Instagram restrict vs block and how they are different from each other. So let’s start:
1. Privacy Without Blocking
By restricting someone, you can protect your privacy and security without blocking them. This is perfect for circumstances in which you need to restrict someone’s access to your material and interactions without blocking them, which is a complete cut-off process.
2. Monitoring of Interactions
Restricting, as opposed to blocking, lets you monitor Instagram restricted accounts’ messages and comments without telling them that you’re watching them. This tactful strategy guarantees that you can control undesirable interactions without creating needless controversy.
3. No Confrontation
Restricting feature is the best method to deal with unpleasant interactions without starting a public argument. When interacting with potentially hostile, critical, or disruptive users, it can be helpful to reduce their influence without resorting to open confrontation.
4. No Notification
Another important benefit that restricting will grant you is that Instagram won’t send any notifications to the restricted person. This is exactly the opposite of blocking. In most cases, we don’t want to darken our relationship with someone that obvious, so restricting is the better choice.
Must read: How to mass unfollow on Instagram?
How to Restrict Someone on Instagram?
Now that we have learned what happens when you restrict someone on Instagram, it’s time to learn how to do this easily:
- Open Instagram and go to your profile by tapping on your profile pic at the bottom right.
- Tap on the three lines at the top right and go to “settings.”
- Under the part of “How others can interact with you,” tap on “Restricted.”
- Search for the person you want to restrict.
- Tap on the “Restrict”.
This is the way to restrict anyone on Instagram and free yourself from toxic or harassing comments or direct messages.
Conclusion
We have 3 options of block, mute, and restrict for more control over our interactions with people on Instagram. While muting only silences notifications and blocking stops all interactions, restriction is the middle ground we all need. We went through what happens when you restrict someone on Instagram and saw that it offers a sophisticated method of online interaction by enabling you to uphold boundaries while keeping an eye on messages and comments. Because of this, it’s the perfect option for handling potentially disruptive or troublesome people without taking drastic steps.
FAQs
It’s time for some of the most common questions about “What happens when you restrict someone on Instagram?”:
1. How to Know if Someone Restricted You on Instagram?
Here are some of the ways you can figure out that if you had been restricted or not:
- Comment on one of their posts. Check it with one of your friends. If they are unable to see it, you are restricted by the user.
- If you have DMed them before and you never see “Seen” in the chat, it’s most likely that they have restricted you.
- Despite seeing their activity with posts or stories, you are unable to see their active status, and it won’t show you anything.
2. What Does a Restricted Profile Look Like on Instagram?
A restricted profile appears to be an ordinary profile with nothing unusual. Only the interaction between the two sides will be different, and with more restrictions for security reasons.