How To Stop Spam on Instagram

You get a DM. Could it be your crush? The person you’ve been secretly pining over but will never actually admit you like? You check your DM. Could it be? 

It’s…it’s…a spam account. Spam on Instagram comes in all shapes and sizes. And it all adds up to be inconvenient and annoying. 

You open Instagram to see how your friends are doing, not to be bombarded with spam posts and notifications. Following these quick tips and tricks will help you keep your Instagram feed clear of unwanted followers, posts, DMs, and more. 

What Is Instagram Spam? 

Instagram spam can be a variety of different types of spam. But they all have one thing in common: They’re unwanted and/or frequently occurring. 

Instagram spam can include:

• Excessive posting in a short amount of time
• Excessive or inappropriate comments or messages
• All scams, including phishing scams
• Fraud messages asking you to buy something outside of Instagram Shop
• Outside requests for inappropriate images 

All this and more is considered spam on Instagram. Luckily, Instagram has an extensive reporting and blocking system to address each of these issues. 

If you have more questions about what counts as spam, you can check out Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use. Anyone found to be violating these agreements likely falls under the spam umbrella. 

How Can I Block People? 

If someone is harassing you or contacting you frequently through Instagram, you may want to block them. When you block someone, they aren’t alerted and will only know if they search your profile. You can unblock them at any time. 

There are two ways to block accounts. You can either: 

• Click on their profile
• Click the three dots in the top right corner
• Click Block, and Block again when asked to confirm 

Or: 

• Go to your profile
• Click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner
• Scroll down to “Blocked” 
• Click the plus button and search for the account you want to block
• Follow the steps in the first option

The “Blocked” section in your Settings is also where you can see and manage all of the accounts you’ve blocked.

The Mute Option

If you want to stop seeing someone’s content or receiving their messages but don’t want to block them, you can always mute them. Muting just means your feed won’t include their content anymore. It’s the perfect way to take a break from someone who’s spamming their story, even if what they’re posting isn’t harmful. Your annoyance is valid, and we support you. 

To mute someone’s messages, posts, and stories:

• Select the chat with the person you wish to mute
• Click their name at the top some text
  • On a computer, click the Information button
• Click the Mute button (you can select calls, messages, or both)

To mute only someone’s story: 

• Press and hold down on their profile in the story feed
• Select mute 

In your Settings, under “Muted,” you’ll be able to view and manage the accounts you’ve chosen to mute. Muting is ideal because you don’t have to unfollow someone, but you also don’t have to view their content. This way, if you change your mind and want to follow them later, you don’t have to re-request. 

When Should I Report Someone? 

Reporting an account, comment, or post is more extreme than blocking someone. When you report something, Instagram will investigate and possibly take action to remove or hide that content. Reporting is not a failsafe way to stop a spammer or spam account, but it can help draw Instagram’s attention to the issue. 

You should report anyone who is: 

• Harassing you 
• Asking for pictures 
• Asking for account information 
• Asking for personal information 
• Posting something that makes you uncomfortable 

Don’t run to the report button because you don’t like someone’s outfit, but also don’t be afraid to use this option. And again, it’s completely anonymous. 

When reporting a story, post, or profile, always click the three dots in the top right corner and click report. You’ll be asked to confirm, and from there, you can hope the Instagram spammer is dealt with accordingly. 

How To Manage Comments

Comments can be a major hub for spam accounts looking to gain interest. If you’ve seen comments offering money, promising discounts or more followers, or asking for inappropriate content, you’ve seen spam. 

Instagram has comment controls that allow you to manage who’s allowed to comment on your posts. For comments that have already been posted, you can simply click “Hide” under the text. The commenter won’t be notified, and you can always decide to unhide the note later. 

To set comment controls for spam prevention, go to “Settings,” “Privacy,” and “Hidden Words.” You can type keywords you want to ban from your comments there. 

Here’s a tip: A good keyword to ban when preventing scams is “DM.” A lot of spam accounts will ask you to DM them so a more personal conversation can begin. The same goes with “follow.” People you know likely won’t be asking for followers in your comment section. 

Make sure “Hide Comments” is turned on, as this is what allows the function to work. You can also click “Hide Message Requests,” which keeps messages with those keywords out of your inbox. 

What Are Instagram Bot Accounts? 

Though there are some beloved robots we all know and love from movies, these robots are, sadly, digital villains. Spam bot accounts are automated accounts that are designed to create fake likes, followers, comments, and more to make a user seem more successful. They are one of Instagram’s more common forms of outright spam. 

These accounts will try to follow you and promise 10,000 new followers, access to inappropriate photos, discounts and giveaways, and more. They will usually be overly direct and persistent in how they ask and seem robotic.

There are around 1.5 billion Instagram users worldwide, and only 15,000 people working to moderate the platform. While Instagram tries to keep bot activity under control, the creativity and persistence of scammers make it impossible to completely eliminate bots. 

The best thing to do when dealing with a bot account is to report and block the same way you would a regular account. By reporting, you’re hopefully saving others from dealing with the same account, and by blocking it, you’re protecting yourself from future harassment. 

What About Preventing Instagram Phishing Attacks?

An Instagram phishing scam occurs when someone online asks for information to get access to your account username and password. This usually occurs in the form of an email or text that claims if you don’t send your username and password back, you’ll lose access to your account. Or you’ll get banned. Or the world will explode. Something dramatic, usually. 

The best thing to do is not even open the email or text. But if you do, just make sure you don’t click on any links. And definitely do not send back your account information. 

If you think you have given your account information out to the wrong person, you can log in to Instagram and quickly reset your password. Be sure to log out of all additional devices like laptops or tablets. 

If you get locked out of your account, check out the Instagram help page about account recovery. Or you can always start a new account. Turn over a new leaf. Enjoy the challenge of coming up with a cool username that hasn’t been taken yet. 

Set Up Instagram With a Second Number

A great way to boost protection from spam is to use a second phone number app like Burner when signing up for social media. This way, if your account information is hacked or someone gains access to your number, your primary number is safe. In the event of phishing scams or good ‘ole regular spam, your primary number will stay free of clutter and dangerous links.

Setting up Instagram with a second number is a simple way to protect your identity online. Try Burner today and post to your heart’s content. We love those dog photos. 

Managing Spam Accounts in the Instagram App

Guess what’s even better than taking measures to get rid of individual spam posts and accounts on Instagram? Chocolate cake. Okay, no, it’s not chocolate cake. What’s even better is getting rid of all flagged spam accounts at once. 

If you open Instagram and click on your followers, you can click the “Potential Spam” button. From there, either click “Remove All Spam Followers” to take every flagged account out at once or click “Confirm” or “Deny” to pick and choose which accounts you allow. 

In account settings under the “Followers” tab, you can also choose whether the “Filter Spam Followers” button is off or on. This will help prevent spam accounts from ever following you in the first place. It’s the ultimate first step in spam defense. 

Stop Spam Today!

Report, block, hide, mute…these are the words of a spam-free Instagrammer. Instagram itself has a lot of protective measures in place, so use them effectively along with your common sense and post away. Your aesthetic beach photos with poetic captions await.

Also, don’t forget to get a second phone number with Burner. Protect your primary phone number from unwanted calls and texts. Your future self will thank you.

Sources: 

What happens when you report a post or profile on Instagram | Instagram

Why the heck are there so many bots on Instagram at the moment? | Cosmopolitan

Remove potential spam accounts from your list of Instagram followers | Instagram

Protect yourself from phishing on Instagram | Instagram

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