IG Comments: Reply, Hide, Filter and Turn Them Off
IG comments are handled in two places: on the post, where you reply, like, delete, hide or turn commenting off, and in your settings, where you filter words and choose who can comment. To delete in the app, Instagram documents tap and hold on iPhone and Android; it doesn’t document the swipe left some guides describe.
Pinning is the exception: Instagram announced pinned comments in 2020, but its Help Center gives no steps or limit, and the “pin up to three” figure isn’t Instagram’s (details below). Likes, messages and the rest of the app have their own sections in how to use Instagram.
Table of Contents
- Every IG comments control at a glance
- How to reply to a comment on Instagram
- How to like a comment on Instagram
- How to delete comments on Instagram, one or many
- How to hide or filter comments (Hidden Words and hidden comments)
- How to choose who can comment, or turn comments off
- Can you pin a comment on Instagram?
- How to respond to Instagram comments as a brand
- Can Outfeed manage Instagram comments?
- IG comments: FAQ
Every IG comments control at a glance
Replying and liking aren’t limited to your own posts; deleting anyone’s comment, hiding and filtering are for comments on your posts. The sections below give Instagram’s steps and source for each row.
| Task | Where it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Reply | Reply, below the comment | The person is mentioned and notified |
| Like a comment | The heart to its right, or a double tap on the comment | Tap the like count below it to see who liked it |
| Delete one comment | Tap and hold, then Delete. On a computer: Options, then Delete | Any comment on your posts; only your own elsewhere |
| Delete several | On your own post, or Your activity > Comments for ones you wrote | Up to 25 at a time on your posts |
| Hide one comment | Hide, below the comment | App only. Seen by you and the commenter |
| Filter automatically | Menu > Comments > Hide unwanted comments | On by default |
| Filter your own words | Menu > Hidden words | Also applies to message requests |
| Choose who can comment | Menu > Comments | Everyone, by default |
| Limit comments from groups | Menu > Limit interactions | Up to four weeks at a time, extendable |
| Turn off comments on a post | Options > Turn off commenting | Existing comments are hidden too |
| Pin a comment | Announced as a test in 2020; steps documented only for Live | No post or reel steps or limit in the Help Center |
How to reply to a comment on Instagram
Tap Reply below the comment, write your reply and tap Post. Your reply mentions the person, and Instagram sends them a notification to view it. The steps match on iPhone, Android and the web, where you click:
On iPhone:
- Go to the post.
- Tap Reply below any comment and add your comment.
- Tap Post.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Reply to a comment on Instagram.
Keep slang replies brand-safe: say less means “I understand”, but Dictionary.com notes it can come across as rude to some people.
How to like a comment on Instagram
Tap the heart to the right of a comment, or double tap the comment itself. Tap the heart again to unlike it. On a computer, click the heart or double click the comment. To see who liked a comment, tap the number of likes below it.
On iPhone:
- Tap Like to the right of the comment, or double tap on the comment.
- To unlike, tap Like again. Tap the number of likes below the comment to see who's liked it.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like a comment on an Instagram post.
For likes on your posts and Reels, see how to see who liked your Instagram post.
How to delete comments on Instagram, one or many
On a phone, open the comments, tap and hold the comment and tap Delete. On a computer, hover over it, click Options, then Delete. On your own posts you can delete anyone’s comment; on other people’s posts, only the ones you wrote. Both phones use the same steps:
On iPhone:
- Tap Comments below the post or tap any comment.
- Tap and hold the comment you'd like to delete.
- Tap Delete.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Delete a comment on Instagram.
If you delete your comment on a reel that was shared to Facebook, it’s removed from both apps.
Deleting several comments at once
On your own posts, you can delete up to 25 comments at a time, and block or restrict several of the accounts behind them at once. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Manage multiple comments on your Instagram posts
Comments you’ve left on other people’s posts can be filtered, selected and deleted together in Your activity:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity.
- Below Interactions, tap Comments.
- Tap Select in the top right, then tap Select on the comments you'd like to delete. To filter first, tap newest to oldest, All dates or All authors.
- Tap Delete at the bottom, then tap Delete to confirm.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Delete comments you've made on Instagram posts.
Comments on your story are removed from that story’s Activity instead:
In the Instagram app:
- Tap your profile picture to view your Story.
- Tap Activity in the bottom left.
- Tap Options next to the comment you want to delete.
- Tap Delete comment.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Delete comments on your Instagram Story.
How to hide or filter comments (Hidden Words and hidden comments)
Instagram has three tools made for hiding comments on your posts: an automatic filter for common offensive words, your own Hidden Words list, and a Hide button for single comments on your posts. Hidden comments still count toward the post’s total, and the person who wrote one isn’t told it was hidden.
Hide unwanted comments (automatic)
On by default, it hides comments with common offensive words, phrases or emojis, at a level you choose: None, Some or More.
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How others can interact with you, tap Comments.
- Below Types of comments, tap Hide unwanted comments.
- Tap next to None, Some, or More to choose the amount of comments you want to hide.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram.
Teen accounts have these filters on automatically, and teens under 16 need a parent’s or guardian’s permission to change them. Turning a filter off restores the comments it hid. On instagram.com, Instagram says comment filtering options may vary and may not be available in all experiences.
Hidden Words (your own list)
List any words, phrases, numbers or emojis, separated by commas, and Instagram hides comments on your posts and message requests that contain them. Instagram notes that Hidden Words for message requests isn’t supported in web browsers.
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How others can interact with you, tap Hidden words.
- Tap Add words separated by commas..., then enter specific words, phrases, numbers or emojis you don't want to see. To remove one, tap Delete next to it.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram (Manage custom words and phrases).
On a computer, the list is under Settings:
On the web:
- Click More in the bottom left, then click Settings.
- Below How others can interact with you, click Hidden Words.
- Click Manage custom words and phrases at the bottom.
- Enter specific words, phrases, numbers or emojis you want to hide in the text box, separated by commas. Click Submit to save the list.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram (Manage custom words and phrases).
Hide one comment yourself
A Hide button under each comment on your post hides just that one, and View hidden comments lets you undo it. Instagram’s computer article tells you to use the iPhone or Android app for this.
On iPhone:
- Go to the comment you want to hide and tap Hide under the comment.
- To unhide: go to the post, tap View hidden comments at the bottom of the comment section, then tap Unhide under the comment.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram (Manually hide comments).
Who still sees a hidden comment?
It depends on how it was hidden. A comment you hide by hand is visible only to you and the person who wrote it, and they can’t see that it’s been hidden. A comment caught by a filter is different: other people can still choose to see it by tapping View hidden comments. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram (Manually hide comments)
How to choose who can comment, or turn comments off
Everyone can comment on your posts and stories by default. Under Menu > Comments (below How others can interact with you), a public account can allow comments only from people you follow, your followers or both, or turn commenting off for posts, reels and stories. A private account can allow comments from your followers, or only from followers you follow back. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide comments or message requests you don't want to see on Instagram ("Choose who can comment on your posts")
Turn off comments on one post
Choose Turn off commenting from the post’s Options menu, or switch it off before you share. Advanced settings sits on the screen where you write the caption and add a location to your post. Comments already on the post are hidden while it’s off and come back when you turn it on again.
On iPhone:
- Tap Options above your post.
- Select Turn off commenting or Turn on Commenting.
- Before sharing: on the screen where you add a caption or location, tap Advanced settings, then tap Turn off commenting.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Turn comments on or off for Instagram posts.
On a reel, Turn off commenting is under Options, then Manage. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Manage reels on Instagram
Limit comments from groups, or from one person
For a pile-on, Limit interactions hides new comments and chats from accounts that don’t follow you, recent followers (accounts that started following you in the last week) or everyone except your Close Friends. It runs for up to four weeks at a time, you can extend it, and the people limited aren’t told. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Temporarily limit people from interacting with you on Instagram
For one person, Restrict keeps their new comments on your posts visible only to them unless you approve them. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Restrict or unrestrict someone on Instagram What restricting someone on Instagram does covers the rest.
Can you pin a comment on Instagram?
Instagram announced Pinned Comments in 2020, but its Help Center doesn’t say how to pin one on a post or reel today. No current Help Center article gives those steps or says how many you can pin, and what the app shows can differ between versions. The “up to three pinned comments” figure, and the swipe or pin-icon steps that come with it, come from press and blogs, not from Instagram. Checked against Instagram Help Center: comment articles (no pin-comment steps or limit found)Not verified
What Instagram has said about pinned comments
- 12 May 2020: Instagram said it would “soon” begin testing Pinned Comments, so people could pin “a select number of comments” to the top of a comments thread. It gave no number and no steps. Checked against About Instagram: Continuing to Fight Online Bullying on Instagram (12 May 2020)
- Live: the one Pin comment option Instagram documents. A host can pin a comment during a broadcast so viewers can see it more easily. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Start a live video on Instagram
- A different feature: you can pin up to 3 posts to the top of your profile. That’s posts, not comments. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Pin a post to the top of your profile on Instagram
The broadcast steps, pinning included, are in how to go live on Instagram. TikTok works the same way: LIVE chat is the only place its Help Center documents pinning comments on TikTok.
How to respond to Instagram comments as a brand
Answer with Reply rather than a new comment, so the person is mentioned and notified, and let Instagram’s filters keep the thread readable. A few habits:
- Answer where others can read it. If one person asks about price, sizing or opening hours, others may wonder too, so reply in the thread and keep messages for order or account details.
- Add recurring spam phrases to Hidden Words instead of deleting the same comment every day.
- Restrict rather than argue. The person’s new comments stay visible only to them unless you approve them.
- Turn comments off on a post that’s drawing abuse. Existing comments come back when you switch them on.
Can Outfeed manage Instagram comments?
Plan your next Instagram feed post in Outfeed AI
IG comments: FAQ
How do you pin a comment on Instagram?
Instagram announced Pinned Comments in May 2020 as a way to pin “a select number of comments” to the top of a comments thread, starting with a test. Its Help Center gives no current steps for pinning on a post or reel and no limit on how many, and the “up to 3 pinned comments” figure comes from press and blogs, not Instagram. The Pin comment option Instagram does document is in Live.
Who can see a hidden comment on Instagram?
It depends on how it was hidden. A comment you hide yourself is visible only to you and the person who wrote it, and they can’t see that it’s hidden. A comment hidden by a filter can still be seen by other people who tap View hidden comments. Hidden comments still count toward the post’s total comment count.
Can you turn off comments on an Instagram post?
Yes. Open the post’s Options menu and choose Turn off commenting, or turn it off before sharing under Advanced settings. On a reel, it’s under Options, then Manage. Comments already on the post are hidden while commenting is off, and turning it back on restores them.
Can you delete someone else’s comment on Instagram?
Only on your own posts. Instagram says you can delete both your and other people’s comments on your own posts, but on other people’s posts only the comments you’ve written. In the app, tap and hold the comment and tap Delete. On a computer, hover over it, click Options, then Delete.
Why can’t I comment on someone’s Instagram post?
The account’s comment settings may not include you. Everyone can comment by default, but a public account can allow comments only from people it follows, its followers or both, or turn commenting off for posts, reels and stories. A private account can allow only its followers, or only followers it follows back. Any account can turn comments off on one post.