So your crush has blocked you on Instagram? Heartbreak seems inevitable until you consider that you haven’t actually been blocked—and that there are plenty of other reasons why someone would deactivate their Instagram account or simply stop using it. There are various reasons why you could be having an issue with Instagram, and knowing them could help you decide how to proceed. Here are six tell-tale signs that someone has blocked you on Instagram and what to do about it if they have.
They aren’t following you back
If your account is public, then the only way to know for sure if someone blocked you is to follow them and then see if they unfollowed or don’t like your posts. If it’s a private account, though, there are other ways to figure out if they blocked you. One way is when their username no longer appears on posts in your feed. Another sign is when their pictures disappear from your Story notifications. You can also try checking in with them – maybe respond to one of their stories or check out their newest post and see what happens. Even if all the hints point to yes, it can still be worth reaching out directly by commenting on one of their pics and asking about it.
Their profile picture is missing
The easiest way to know if somebody has blocked you is to check their profile picture. Every person’s profile picture should be visible in the top left hand corner of their feed. If it is missing, then this person either deleted the account or switched to a private account, so it is possible they blocked you. This can also be a sign that they have taken your picture down and are preventing people from viewing the content.
How to know if someone is hiding their profile picture. People can hide their profile picture for two reasons: either because they have created a private account, or because they are trying to hide from somebody who is bothering them. It is impossible to know which one it is, so you will need to look for other clues as well. If you haven’t interacted with each other recently, but then somebody unfollows all of your posts and starts removing your pictures from their story, there’s a good chance that it’s because they’re hiding from you and are trying to avoid interaction.
Their bio has changed
If you go to the person’s Instagram profile, it will say Account disabled instead of their name. If this happens, then it means one of two things: either the account was hacked and deleted by the hacker, or the owner disabled it. The former is easier to fix than the latter.
Their posts look different now
When an account changes in some way, people tend to wonder what happened. The most obvious change is their posts now only show up as private instead of public. Before reaching the conclusion that someone has blocked you on Instagram, check these six tell-to-signs first:
1) Check if they are posting at all – Blocking a person will cause them to stop using the app. If their account isn’t being used, it’s possible they just forgot or lost interest.
2) Check for missing posts – If you notice a lack of recent posts from your friend or family member, it’s likely he or she has stopped using the app.
They no longer appear in your explore feed
When the explore tab pops up, this person is nowhere to be found. If it’s an account with a large following, you’ll know for sure as soon as you search their username. On smaller accounts though, it may take a bit more sleuthing. Here are six reasons why your follower might have blocked you.
1) They’re looking for something different: There are a ton of people on Instagram who want something fresh and different from what the average user sees. And if the content isn’t trending in their newsfeed anymore (think old food trends), they might start browsing through various other pages to find something new.
You can no longer search them
When a person blocks you, it not only blocks your ability to message them, but also prevents them from seeing your stories or liking any of your posts. One way to see if the person has blocked you is by searching their username in the app. If their profile pops up, then it’s possible that the person hasn’t blocked you. However, if there are no search results for their username and a message pops up saying Account does not exist, then it’s likely that the user has blocked you