How to become invisible on Instagram

Instagram is a great way to connect with friends and share your life, but sometimes you just want to disappear. Maybe you’re taking a break, want to avoid certain people, or just want to keep your online life private. Whatever your reason, there are ways to make yourself “invisible” on Instagram without deleting your account. Let’s dive in!

1. Turn Off Your Activity Status

Instagram lets your followers and people you message know when you’re online. To go incognito, the first step is to turn off your activity status.

How to Turn Off Activity Status:

1. Open Instagram and go to your Profile.

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2. Tap the Menu (three lines) in the top right corner.

3. Select Settings and Privacy.

4. Scroll down to How Others Can Interact With You and select Activity Status.

5. Toggle off Show Activity Status.

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Now, you’ll be a ghost online! No one will know when you’re active.

2. Hide Your Story from Specific People

Want to post a story but keep it from certain people? You can hide your story from specific users.

How to Hide Your Story:

1. Go to your Profile and tap the Menu.

2. Select Settings and Privacy > Who Can See Your Content > Hide Story and Live.

3. Tap Hide Story From and select the followers you want to hide your story from.

4. Tap Done.

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Now, only the people you want to see your stories will have access. Those on your hidden list won’t even know you posted!

3. Read Messages Without Sending a Read Receipt

Instagram sends read receipts in direct messages, letting people know when you’ve read their message. If you want to read messages without letting the sender know, try the Airplane Mode Trick.

How to Read Messages Without Sending a Read Receipt:

1. Open Instagram and go to your Direct Messages (DM) section, but don’t open the message you want to read.

2. Turn on Airplane Mode on your phone. This will disconnect your internet.

3. Now, open the message. Since you’re offline, the sender won’t get a read receipt.

4. Close the Instagram app completely (force close) before turning Airplane Mode off.

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When you reopen Instagram, the message will still appear as unread to the sender. Sneaky, right?

4. Use Close Friends for Selective Sharing

Want to keep a low profile and only share content with a select group of people? Use Instagram’s Close Friends feature. This lets you share Stories with a private group without the rest of your followers seeing them.

How to Set Up Close Friends:

1. Go to your Profile, tap the Menu, and select Close Friends.

2. Add the followers you want to your Close Friends list.

3. When posting a Story, select Close Friends instead of sharing with all followers.

Only those on your Close Friends list will be able to see the Stories you post.

5. Block or Restrict Problematic Users

If you want to be invisible to specific users, you can either block or restrict them. Blocking someone will prevent them from seeing your profile, posts, and stories completely. Restricting a user limits their interactions without them knowing.

How to Block a User:

1. Go to the user’s profile.

2. Tap the three dots in the top right corner.

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3. Select Block and confirm.

The user will no longer be able to find or interact with your account.

How to Restrict a User:

1. Go to the user’s profile and tap the three dots.

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2. Select Restrict.

Once restricted, the user’s comments on your posts will only be visible to them, and their direct messages will go to your Message Requests instead of your inbox.

6. Set Your Profile to Private

The most effective way to become invisible to anyone not following you is to switch to a private profile. When your profile is private, only your approved followers can see your posts, stories, and profile information.

Steps to Make Your Profile Private:

1. Go to your Profile and tap the Menu.

2. Select Settings and Privacy > Who Can See Your Content.

3. Toggle on Private Account.

This is the best option if you want to keep your activities on Instagram hidden from the public and random users.

7. Deactivate Your Instagram Account Temporarily

If you need a complete break from Instagram but don’t want to delete your account permanently, you can temporarily deactivate it. When you do this, your profile, photos, comments, and likes will be hidden until you reactivate your account.

How to Temporarily Deactivate Your Account:

1. Open Instagram in a web browser (you can’t deactivate your account through the app).

2. Log in and go to your Profile.

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3. Click Edit Profile, then scroll down and select Temporarily Disable My Account.

4. Choose a reason for disabling your account and enter your password.

5. Click Temporarily Disable Account.

You can log back in anytime to reactivate your account, and everything will be restored as it was.

Conclusion

Becoming invisible on Instagram can be as simple as turning off your activity status, hiding your story, or as comprehensive as deactivating your account. By using privacy features like Close Friends, blocking or restricting users, and going private, you can maintain control over who sees your content and interactions. Whether you’re taking a break or just want to keep a low profile, these tips will help you stay hidden on Instagram while still using the platform on your terms.