We all know trolls love Instagram. Take a look at any post from a user with over 10,000 followers, and you'll almost certainly stumble across at least one very mean comment.
Instagram allows users to hide inappropriate comments by filtering on certain customizable keywords. To use this feature, click on your profile and then click on the menu (three lines) in the upper right corner. Tap Settings > Privacy > Comments , then turn on Manual Filtering to set specific words and phrases to block.
You can also use the hidden words feature to filter specific words, phrases, and emojis from direct messages. To use it, go to Settings > Privacy > Hide Words and select Add to List to specify content to flag. Any content containing hidden words will go to a separate folder in the message.
02/13
For Instagram, launching Stories is a very bold move. Just like Snapchat, they're over in seconds. If you turn your head or zone out while watching, you may miss content.
Luckily, if you miss a story, you don't have to watch it again. To pause a story, tap and hold on the screen. To rewind, tap the upper left corner of the screen (below the user's profile photo and username). To fast forward through a user's multiple stories, tap the screen. To skip an entire user's story, swipe left.
You can also repost Instagram Stories to your own audience.
03/13
The problem with Instagram is that it’s too easy and too tempting to follow hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of users, making it difficult to find stories worth watching. But what do you do if you don’t want to unfollow people whose stories don’t interest you?
Instagram allows you to mute anyone’s Stories so they don’t appear in your feed. To do this, tap and hold on the user's story bubble and select Mute . This action will dilute their bubbles and push them to the end of the feed. Navigate to their Stories and unmute them at any time if you change your mind.
04/13
By default, Instagram allows all of your followers to reply to your Stories. However, if you have a very popular account and don't want to be bombarded with messages from a bunch of complete strangers, you can change this setting.
Go to your profile and tap Menu (three lines) > Settings > Privacy > Stories . Under "Allow replies to messages ," click "People you follow." Or, turn off message replies entirely.
05/13
If your Instagram account is public, anyone can see your story simply by navigating to your profile and clicking on your photo. If you don't want your followers to have access to your Stories, you can easily block this access.
To hide your Stories, go to your profile and tap Menu (three lines) > Settings > Privacy > Stories . Click Hide Story and select the specific people you want to hide your story from.
06/13
Boomerang is an Instagram app that lets you create GIF-like posts with short, subtle movements (but no sound). Layouts allow you to combine multiple photos into one post as a collage.
If you have Boomerang or Layout on your phone, access them from Instagram. Click Add Post (plus sign), then click Stories on the bottom menu. Click Boomerang or Layout and create your Boomerang or layout. Click "Send to," then click "Share" next to "Your Story."
07/13
Instagram has many different filters to choose from. Many users tend to like only a few of them, and when you're in a rush to post something, scrolling through them all to find your favorite can be a pain. It's easy to sort the filters so the ones you use most are at the beginning.
In the filter box, click and hold the filter to drag it to the beginning of the list. Tap and hold on any filter to move it and personalize your list with easy access to all your favorite content.
08/13
When you follow too many Instagram accounts, you might miss some of your favorite people's posts. When an account posts, you can easily set up notifications so you see it as soon as possible.
To turn on post notifications, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of any user's post or that appear on their profile and select "Turn on post notifications." You can turn it off at any time.
09/13
When letting your friends know about other users' posts, the general trend is to tag them in the comments. The friend receives a notification saying they were tagged in the post so they can view it.
The problem with this is that friends who receive a lot of likes, comments, and follows may not see that you tagged them in the comments on the post you wanted them to see. A better way to share your posts with other people is to send them a direct message.
To send a post via private message, click the arrow button below any post and select the person you want to send it to.
10 out of 13
Like Facebook Pages, Instagram now has business profiles where you can market to and interact with your audience. If you already use a regular Instagram profile to market your business or organization, there's no need to create a brand new account. Instead, change it to a business account.
Click on your profile , then Menu (three lines) > Settings > Account . Scroll down and click Switch account type , then follow the prompts.
11 out of 13
One of the main interactive features of Instagram is of course the heart button. Click on that heart (or double-click on the post) to let the person who posted it know you like it. But what if you want to go back to a post you liked but can’t remember where to find it?
To see your liked posts, go to your profile > Menu (three lines) > Settings > Account . Click on a post you like , then scroll to find the post you're looking for.
As of May 2021, Instagram users can choose to hide all likes on their feed, as well as hide likes on individual posts they publish. Go to the Posts section of Settings to hide the like count. Click the "More" icon (three vertical dots) within a post and select "Hide Like Count" to disable likes for that post only.
Instagram is primarily meant for mobile devices, and sometimes those small screens really don't display photos and videos properly. That's what the zoom feature is for. Just pinch your index finger and thumb over the area of the post you want to enlarge and spread them apart on the screen.
You can also do this to zoom in on Boomerang posts and videos.
13 out of 13
This tip is only for iOS users. If you find a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) that you really like, you can easily share it to your Instagram Story. Just click on the Tweet, then click on the Share icon and select Instagram Stories . The Tweet will appear on your Instagram Story just like the photo.
