Can you view a blocked Instagram account?

Marissa Perino

Marissa Perino is a former editorial intern covering executive lifestyle. She previously worked at Cold Lips in London and Creative Nonfiction in Pittsburgh. She studied journalism and communications at the University of Pittsburgh, along with creative writing. Find her on Twitter: @mlperino.

If you recently noticed the absence of a certain person's posts in your Instagram feed, it's possible they simply haven't posted anything in a while — or they may have blocked you.

Note: Instagram doesn't notify you when someone has blocked you — there's also no list of people that have blocked you that you can look at.

If you think you have indeed been blocked on Instagram, it's not hard to find out for sure. There's an easy way to know, no matter which version of the Instagram app you have.

How to know if someone blocked you on Instagram

First, simply search for the account that you think has blocked you in the app.

• If the account is private and you can't find it, you've likely been blocked.
• If the account is public, and when visiting their page you can't see their profile image, post count, follower count, or following count, and the photo grid area reads "No Posts Yet," you have definitely been blocked.

On a computer, if you type in the link Instagram.com/username (replacing the word "username" with their Insta handle, of course) and get a page reading "Sorry, this page isn't available," then you have likely been blocked, assuming they didn't delete their account.

You can double-check by searching for this person's likes or comments on an Instagram account they follow (if it's a private account, make sure you both mutually follow it). If you come across any, that means they haven't deleted their account and did actually block you.

Another way to verify you've been blocked is by using a friend's account to search for the person in question, or you could create another Instagram account. It's confirmed you're blocked if you can find their profile and see photos and additional info once you search from a different account.

Note: When blocking you, Instagram also gives the person an option to block your account, as well as any future accounts you may create.

What happens when someone blocks you on Instagram?

Instagram will remove all your interactions (likes and comments) on their photo and video posts. You also won't be able to tag or mention them in posts and comments.

When it comes to messaging, the following will happen:

• Your previous Direct messages will still be in the person's inbox, but they will not be able to message you again.
• The person will still be able to see any messages you send in group messages that you're both a part of — although, Instagram will give them the option to leave said group when they block you.
• Any messages you send to them won't be delivered — it doesn't matter if they unblock you later.
• If they create a room, you won't be able to join it.