Instagram is no longer merely a colorful, visual platform that it was launched as initially. Today, the scope of growth on this platform is exponential today, which is exactly what’s driving crowds of users toward it on a daily basis. As the user base of Instagram grows, so does the likelihood of more strangers meeting, connecting, and forming substantial relationships online. While a majority of them might be a hit, there are bound to be some misses as well.
A common instance that best exemplifies this situation is where you meet someone new based on the mutual connections between you two. But after a while, you figure out that they’re probably too snobbish, rude, or bothersome in their demeanor, which leads you to block them.
How does this action affect your dynamics with your mutual friends? Will they be able to check posts uploaded by mutual friends in which you are tagged? What about your comments on their posts? In today’s blog, we’ll do our best to answer all these questions for you. Ready to get started? Let’s begin!
If You Block Someone on Instagram Can They See Your Comments on Mutual Friends?
Before we answer your question here, we have one of our own that we’d like to ask you: How well do you understand the concept of mutual friends on Instagram? Or mutual friends in general, for that matter?
For those of you who are new to the term, let us explain how it works:
A mutual friend is someone whom both you and the next party are friends with; in many cases, this friend also acts as a link between the aforementioned parties. On Instagram, the meaning remains pretty much the same. Any user who follows – and is followed back by – both you and the next party in question is a mutual friend of you both.
Now, coming back to the matter at hand: if you block a user on Instagram but happen to have mutual friends, will your comments on the posts of said friends be visible to that person? Yes, they will be.
Remember that while blocking severs all ties between you and this user on Instagram, its scope is limited to your respective profiles only. As soon as a third user comes into equation, things will remain as they were previously; just as in a group chat.
This means that both of you will be able to see each other’s likes, comments, tags, and mentions on the posts and stories of mutual friends.
Furthermore, this user will also be able to see your comments on posts of a public profile without any issues.
Even if you have a problem with that, we’re afraid there’s nothing that you can do about it on the platform. All you can do is avoid commenting on mutual friends’ posts altogether, which might seem a bit extreme, but is the sole solution to your problem.
What about the old comments and likes of this user on your Instagram posts? Are they removed or continue to stay?
Now that we’ve decoded the scope of visibility of your comments on a mutual friend’s post for someone you’ve blocked, let’s come back to the dynamics between you two.
Since you’ve blocked this user, it’s obvious that they would no longer be able to view your posts or stories, much less like or comment on them. However, have you ever wondered how blocking affects their older comments and likes on your posts?
If they were your friends at some point, it’s natural for them to have double-tapped your posts and left comments here and there. What happens to these comments once you choose to block them? All these likes and comments are removed from your profile as soon as you block this user. In fact, they’re not just removed but deleted permanently, so you can’t hope to get them back even if – and when – you unblock them.
How to block someone on Instagram: A step-by-step guide
Having talked about blocking for so long, we find it essential to guide our readers with this particular action if they wish to take it for someone who is bothering them on Instagram.
The step-by-step guide that follows will walk you through the process. Take a look:
Step 1: On the app grid of your smartphone, look for a pinkish-purple camera-like icon – Instagram’s official app icon – and give it a tap to launch the app on your device.
Step 2: As Instagram opens on your device, what do you see first? Posts from people you follow? It means you’re on your Home tab right now.
If you scan the lower-most section of the tab, you’ll find a column of five icons arranged at the bottom, with home being the left-most icon.
Towards its right, there’s a magnifying glass icon; give it a tap.
Step 3: Doing so will take you to your Explore tab, where posts and reels are displayed based on your general preferences and likes on the platform.
If you look toward the top of this tab, you’ll notice a search bar displayed there.
Tap on this bar, enter the name – or username – of the person you want to block here and hit search from your mobile keyboard.
Step 4: You’ll find their profile appearing in the search results next. Give it a tap to view it in full display.
Step 5: As you land on their Profile tab next, navigate a bell icon towards the top right corner. Can you find an ellipsis (three dots arranged in a horizontal line) icon next to it? When you do, give it a tap.
Step 6: As soon as you do it, a menu will appear on your screen, with the first three options -written in red letters – being these:
Restrict
Block
Report
It’s obvious that you need to select the second option here. Upon doing so, you’ll see a confirmation message, where you’ll be asked whether you want to block any new account they may have or create.
Select your preference, and hit the blue Block button displayed at the bottom. Your job will be done!
The bottom line
As we come to the end of our blog, let’s do a quick recap of all that we’ve learned today. Our topic of discussion today was the action of blocking on Instagram and how it affects the dynamics of your mutual friends with the person you blocked.
We found out how there’s little to no effect on these dynamics; if you add a comment to a post uploaded by a mutual friend, the person you blocked will be able to see it just as any next user.
Towards the end, we’ve also added a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process of blocking someone on Instagram. For more Instagram-related queries, check out this page!
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