Instagram's mute feature lets you hide posts, stories, or DMs from specific accounts without unfollowing or blocking them. Unlike blocking or restricting, muting keeps things subtle. In this guide, drawn from hands-on experience with the app on Android and iPhone, we'll walk you through every step to unmute accounts reliably.
When you mute stories, they shift to the end of the Stories bar and stop autoplaying at the top. Unmuting restores them to normal: they'll appear with a colored ring and autoplay as usual.
For posts, muting removes them from your feed. Unmuting brings their new content back into view.
Important: Unmuting sends no notifications—the account owner won't know.
Ready to unmute? Here are the methods.
Muted story icons appear at the end of the Stories bar. Scroll to the end, tap and hold the profile you want to unmute, then select Unmute.
On Android or iPhone:
Step 1: Open the muted profile.
Step 2: Tap the Following button to open the menu, then select Mute.
Step 3: Toggle off Stories or Posts (blue means muted).
Tip: Learn about Close Friends on Instagram and how to use it.
Perfect for bulk management or accidental mutes.
Step 1: Go to your profile, tap the three-line menu, and select Settings and privacy.
Step 2: Tap Muted accounts under Privacy.
Step 3: See all muted accounts and what you've muted. Tap one.
Step 4: Follow Method 2 to unmute.
Tip: See what happens when you block someone on Instagram.
Muted chats skip notifications but still appear in your inbox. To unmute:
Long-press the conversation in Messages, then tap Unmute messages or Unmute video chats.
Tip: Discover 14 Instagram DM tips and tricks for daily use.
Unmuting is discreet—no one knows. Unfollowing is visible since follower lists are public. For more, read what happens when you unfollow on Instagram.
