Double Tap on Instagram: What It Does and How to Undo It
Double tap Instagram photos or videos and you’ve liked them: two quick taps on the post do the same as the heart below it, and on a computer it’s a double click. Tap the red heart to undo it. The poster may already have a push notification by then, and unliking doesn’t take that back.
Instagram documents the same double tap for liking comments, while message reactions use a different gesture. The app’s other gestures and settings start from the Instagram basics guide.
Table of Contents
- What does double tap mean on Instagram?
- Where double tap works on Instagram, and where Instagram doesn’t document it
- How to undo an accidental double tap
- Can you turn off double tap to like?
- Who can see the posts you double tap?
- Double tap Instagram slang: “double tap if…” and “double tap for a tbh”
- Does Outfeed like posts for you?
- Double tap FAQ
What does double tap mean on Instagram?
A double tap is the shortcut for a like. Instagram’s help article says to double tap a photo or video to like it, or tap the heart icon below the post. Either way the result is one like, and the heart turns red. Undoing it is a tap on that red heart:
In the Instagram app: like a post:
- Double tap a photo or video to like it or tap the heart icon below the post.
In the Instagram app: unlike a post:
- If you've accidentally liked a post, tap the red heart icon to unlike it.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like or unlike a post on Instagram.
On instagram.com, a double click does the same job:
On the web: like a post:
- Double click a photo or video to like it or click the heart icon below the post.
On the web: unlike a post:
- If you've accidentally liked a post, click the red heart icon to unlike it.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like or unlike a post on Instagram.
Where double tap works on Instagram, and where Instagram doesn’t document it
Instagram documents double tap for liking photos, videos and comments. For messages, its steps use tap and hold instead. Here’s each surface, from Instagram’s own help:
| Where | What Instagram documents |
|---|---|
| Photos and videos in posts | Double tap or tap the heart to like; double click on a computer |
| Comments | Double tap the comment or tap the heart to its right; double click on a computer |
| Reels | The like article says “photo or video”; no separate article covers double tap on reels |
| Messages | Tap and hold a message, then tap an emoji; on a computer, hover and click Emoji |
- Comments: Instagram’s article on liking comments says “You can also double tap on the comment to like it.” Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like a comment on an Instagram post Everything else you can do with comments, from replying to Hidden Words, is in IG comments.
- Messages: Instagram’s message-reaction steps have no double tap. You tap and hold a message you receive and pick an emoji. Checked against Instagram Help Center: React and reply to messages on Instagram Instagram’s help doesn’t describe double tapping a message, so this page doesn’t list it as a feature. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like a comment on an Instagram post (double tap)
- Reels: the like article covers “photo or video”. Reels are videos, but no separate Instagram article covers double tap on them. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like or unlike a post on Instagram
How to undo an accidental double tap
Tap the red heart below the post (click it on a computer) and the like is gone. Instagram says the like alert soon disappears from the other person’s Activity. A push notification is different: if they have push notifications turned on, they still get one, even after you unlike. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like or unlike a post on Instagram
Liking a post again after unliking it doesn’t multiply the alerts. Instagram says the poster gets one Activity alert for the latest like and one push notification for the first like, if push is on.
Several accidental likes? Your activity lets you select posts and unlike them together:
On iPhone:
- Make sure you're using the latest version of the Instagram app.
- 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 Likes.
- Tap Select in the top right, then tap Select on the posts you want to unlike.
- Tap Unlike at the bottom to remove your likes. Tap Unlike to confirm.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Remove your likes from multiple Instagram posts.
Can you turn off double tap to like?
Not with any setting Instagram documents. Its article on liking posts gives a double tap (a double click on a computer) or the heart as the ways to like, with no option to turn either off. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Like or unlike a post on Instagram (no setting to turn off double tap)Not verified The practical fix for an accidental like is the red heart above.
Who can see the posts you double tap?
Anyone who can see the post can see your like. Instagram says that holds even if your account is private and the post is public: your like is visible to everyone and your username is clickable, though only your approved followers can see your own posts. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Who can see when you've liked a photo, or when someone's liked your photo on Instagram
Two related controls change what’s shown, not who can see a like on a post:
- Hide like & share counts hides the counts on other people’s posts and reels in your own view. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide or unhide like counts on Instagram posts and reels
- The Reels Friends tab: when Meta launched it in August 2025, it said it was rolling out controls including hiding your own likes and comments on reels there, without giving a menu path. Checked against Meta Newsroom: New Instagram Features to Help You Connect (6 August 2025)
Both are covered in how to hide likes on Instagram. To find out who double tapped your own post, see how to see who liked your Instagram post.
Double tap Instagram slang: “double tap if…” and “double tap for a tbh”
These are caption prompts asking you to like the post. “Double tap if you agree” means “like this if you agree”. “Double tap to love” is the same request, since a double tap turns the heart red.
“Double tap for a tbh” asks you to like the post in return for an honest opinion from the poster (“tbh” is short for “to be honest”). What the red heart means when someone sends it as an emoji is a separate question, covered in red heart emoji meaning.
Does Outfeed like posts for you?
Open Outfeed AI to plan an Instagram feed post
Double tap FAQ
How do you unlike a post you double tapped?
Tap the red heart below the post, or click it on a computer. Instagram says the like alert soon disappears from the other person’s Activity, but if they have push notifications turned on, they still get a push notification. To remove likes from several posts at once, use Select under Your activity, then Likes.
Does someone get notified if you double tap and then unlike?
They can be. Instagram says that if you accidentally like a photo and then unlike it, the person who posted it will still get a push notification if they have notifications turned on. The alert in their Activity soon disappears. Like, unlike and like again, and they get one Activity alert for the latest like and one push notification for the first, if push is on.
Can you turn off double tap to like on Instagram?
Instagram’s Help Center documents no setting for it. Its article on liking posts gives a double tap (a double click on a computer) or the heart below the post as the ways to like, with no option to turn either off. If you like something by accident, tap the red heart to unlike it.
Does double tapping a comment like it?
Yes. Instagram says you can double tap a comment to like it, or tap the heart to its right; on a computer, you double click the comment or click the heart. Messages are different: Instagram’s steps for reacting to a message are to tap and hold it, then tap an emoji.
Does double tapping a Reel like it?
Instagram’s article on liking posts says a double tap likes a photo or video. Reels are videos, but no separate Instagram article documents double tap on reels.