How to See Who Blocked You on Instagram

Learn how to find out who has blocked you on photo-sharing app Instagram.
... Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Do you recall seeing someone's photos frequently in your Instagram feed but have recently noticed they seem to have vanished? Maybe you want to perform a quick check-up on someone because you suspect she isn't necessarily fond of you following her. While Instagram does not offer an official way to view people who have blocked you, there are still ways to find out if someone has.

1 Try to Follow the Suspect

Arguably the best way to find out if an individual person or account on Instagram has blocked you is to simply try following him. If you already followed someone at one point and now notice you have to follow him again, that should be a red flag already. However, if once you tap "Follow" on his profile and nothing happens, it's very likely you have been blocked -- if not, the action to follow the account would have been processed. Note that on occasion, Instagram might be having server trouble and as a result, you might be unable to follow accounts, but generally, this should be a fool-proof way to determine if you have been blocked.

2 Mention the Suspect on Instagram

Accidents happen, right? Maybe the person you suspect has blocked you somehow just blocked you by accident. If you think this option is on the table, go ahead and mention the account on Instagram. You can do this by posting a photo and, in the caption, typing the "@" symbol followed by the person's username. Instagram users automatically see all mentions of them regardless of whether they have blocked certain people or not. If you've been blocked, he will still see that you've mentioned him and could perhaps respond.

3 Create a New Account

Since being blocked means you won't be able to follow the account that blocked you or even manually search for it, try creating a new Instagram account to do some snooping. To do this, log out of your current Instagram account by going into the app, tapping the "Profile" tab on the bottom right, then the "Settings" icon on the top right. Scroll, tap "Log Out," then tap "Create a New Account" and follow the instructions. If you don't want to log out of your current account, just use a different browser to create an account from there. Once your new account has been set up, navigate back to the account of the person you suspect has blocked you. If you are able to follow her on this account but not your previous one, you were probably blocked.

4 Use Unfollowgram

If you are uncertain of the specific Instagram account that may have blocked you, a great place to start would be to see who has unfollowed you recently -- since blocking an account means automatically unfollowing that account. Bear in mind that being unfollowed is different than being blocked altogether. Unfollowgram is a free service that lists people who have recently unfollowed you on Instagram. After visiting the website and clicking "Sign in with Instagram," you can then try following people who have unfollowed you. If you are able to follow someone or already are, you have not been blocked.

George Tinari has been writing about technology for more than five years on websites such as IntoMobile, Neowin, TUAW and more. He is a college student who is enthusiastic about all things tech.

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