Instagram stories are a great way to share quick updates and other people’s posts with friends and followers without cluttering their feed, having a dedicated post on your profile, or appearing aggressively salesy as a brand. Stories are often personal or time-sensitive, like a tidy place off to the side of your main feed.
For businesses, they allow you to show your human side authentically, enhancing your brand appeal and engagement rate. A Meta-commissioned survey shows that 33% of Instagram users were interested in a product or service after seeing its Instagram story. This statistic demonstrates just how powerful Instagram stories can be for your marketing strategy.
However, not everyone should see your story. Businesses may want to restrict certain followers from viewing their stories if those people tend to cause trouble or steal content. For everyday users, you may want to share a story without getting a view from a particular individual, whether for privacy reasons or to avoid drama.
The good news is you can hide your story on Instagram, allowing access only to a selected few. Read on to discover how to hide your stories from someone on Instagram.
What is Hide Your Story on Instagram?
Hide Your Story is a privacy setting that lets you conceal your Instagram stories from specific users. You can hide your story on Instagram from one person, multiple people, or everyone.
If you have a public account, everyone can see your stories. However, you may want to hide your stories from non-followers or specific followers without blocking anyone. Here’s where knowing how to hide Instagram stories from someone comes in.
It is important to note that the person you restrict from viewing your stories can see your Instagram profile and posts. The setting only prevents them from seeing your stories until you remove them from the hidden list.
How to Hide Stories on Instagram
Hiding your story is a useful tool to help you cultivate the exact sharing experience you want on Instagram. Here’s how to hide Stories from someone on Instagram:
Android Instagram App
- Open the Instagram app on your Android
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the bottom-right
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Tap Settings And Privacy
- Scroll to Who Can See Your Content
- Tap Hide Story And Live
- Tap Hide Story And Live From
- Select the people you would like to hide your stories from
- Tap the back arrow at the top-left
iPhone Instagram App
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the bottom-right
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Scroll to Who Can See Your Content
- Tap Hide Story And Live From
- Tap Hide Your Story And Live Videos From Specific People
- Select the profiles you would like to hide your stories from
- Tap Done
Instagram Lite App
- Open the Instagram Lite app on your device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the lower-right corner
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Tap Settings
- Tap Privacy
- Tap Story
- Scroll to Hide Story From
- Tap people
- Select the profiles you would like to hide your stories from
- Tap the back arrow at the top-left
How to Block People from Instagram Stories Using the Story Settings
Instagram offers you several options to hide stories from someone. Another way to conceal your stories on Instagram is through the Story Settings. Here’s how to go about it:
- Open the Instagram app on your Android or iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the plus (+) icon at the top-right
- Tap Story
- Tap the gear icon at the top left to go to the camera roll settings
- Tap Story
- Tap Hide Story From
- Tap People under Hide Story From
- Select the people you would like to hide your stories from
- Tap Done on iPhone or the back arrow on Android
How to Hide Instagram Stories from Non-Followers
Everyone, including non-followers, can see your Stories if you have a public Instagram account. You may be interested in knowing how to hide stories on Instagram if you don’t want non-followers to see them.
Unfortunately, you cannot prevent non-followers from viewing your stories unless you change your account to private or block them individually.
Here’s how to block someone from seeing your Instagram stories if they don’t follow you:
Switching Instagram Account to Private
- Open the Instagram app on your Android or iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the bottom-right
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Scroll to Who Can See Your Content
- Tap Account Privacy
- Tap the toggle next to Private Account
- Tap Switch To Private
Restricting Individual Non-Followers
- Open the Instagram app on your Android or iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Create and post a story
- Wait for a while for people to view your story
- Tap Your Story at the top left to go to your story
- From your story, swipe up to see who has viewed your story
- Check the viewer list to identify non-followers
- Tap the three dots next to the name of the viewer
- Tap Hide Your Story
- Tap Hide
How to Unhide Your Instagram Stories
You may want to unhide your Instagram stories and allow people to see them again. Fortunately, the process is equally easy. Here are the steps:
Android Instagram App
- Open the Instagram app on your Android
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the bottom-right
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Tap Settings And Privacy
- Scroll to Who Can See Your Content
- Tap Hide Story And Live
- Tap Hide Story And Live From
- Unselect the people you would like to unhide your stories from
- Tap the back arrow at the top left
iPhone Instagram App
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the bottom-right
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Scroll to Who Can See Your Content
- Tap Hide Story And Live From
- Tap Hide Your Story And Live Videos From Specific People
- Unselect the profiles you would like to unhide your stories from
- Tap Done
Instagram Lite App
- Open the Instagram Lite app on your device
- Log into your Instagram account
- Tap the profile icon or photo at the lower-right corner
- Tap the More button (three horizontal lines) at the upper-right corner
- Tap Settings
- Tap Privacy
- Tap Story
- Scroll to Hide Story From
- Tap people
- Unselect the profiles you would like to unhide your stories from
- Tap the back arrow at the top left
FAQs
Can people see my Instagram highlights if I hide my stories?
If you hide your story from someone, they won’t be able to see your Instagram highlights. Your Instagram highlights are a saved version of your Instagram stories. However, the setting applies to upcoming stories only. The restricted person can see your Instagram highlights from previous unhidden stories.
Can you hide a story from someone after posting?
No. You cannot hide a current story from someone after posting. The changes only apply to your future stories. The only way to prevent them from seeing your story after posting is to block them from your profile. Alternatively, you can delete the story and repost it after hiding it from them.
What happens if I unhide a story after posting?
If you unhide a story after posting, the people you restricted from seeing it still won’t see it. After removing them from the hidden list, they can only see your future stories. The current story remains hidden from them.
Do people get notified when I hide my story from them?
Instagram does not notify people when you hide your stories from them. There’s no way they can tell you’ve blocked them from seeing your stories. They can only know if you or a friend with access to your stories informs them.
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