How to Block Instagram Message Requests From Strangers

The short version: Go to Settings, Messages and Story Replies, Message Controls, and restrict who can send you message requests to "People You Follow" or turn off requests from everyone outside that circle. It takes about two minutes and cuts out the vast majority of stranger DMs, though it won't stop someone determined to create a new account and try again.

If you run a small business account on Instagram, you'll know the message requests folder is where good leads go to die next to a dozen crypto "investment opportunities" and at least one bloke asking if you're single. Most people never check it. That's the first problem, and it's also the fix.

Where to find the actual setting

This sits in a slightly different place depending on whether you're using the Instagram app or managing a business account through Meta Business Suite, so here's the path that works on the current app in 2026:

• Open your profile and tap the three lines, top right
• Tap Settings and privacy
• Tap Messages and story replies
• Tap Message controls
• Under "Who can send you message requests", choose your level for each category: Everyone, People you follow, or Your followers

You'll see this broken down separately for people on Instagram, people not on Instagram, and sometimes a third tier for people you follow on Facebook if your accounts are linked. Set all of them to the most restrictive option that still works for your business. For most people that's "People you follow" for general messages, which means a total stranger can't land in your inbox at all, not even in the hidden requests folder.

There's also a dedicated toggle for hiding messages that Instagram's filter flags as offensive, and I'd leave that one on. It catches a surprising amount before you ever see it.

The folder most people forget exists

Even with tighter controls, Instagram still splits incoming requests into Primary and General within the requests tab, and spam often gets auto-filtered into a "Hidden Requests" section you have to tap into deliberately. If you've never opened it, go and look now. I'd put money on there being forty-plus unread requests in there, mostly spam, buried in a place most users check twice a year.

A worked example

Say you run a small jewellery brand on Instagram with around 8,000 followers. Every time one of your posts does well, you get a wave of DMs from accounts with nine digits in the username and no profile picture, all pushing the same "congratulations you've won" message. Under the default settings, anyone can send you a request, so these land straight in your inbox alongside a genuine customer asking about a custom order.

Switch Message Controls to "People you follow" and "Your followers" only, and that entire wave disappears from view before you even open the app. The genuine customer, who already follows you, still gets through without any extra step. You haven't blocked a single account individually. You've just closed the door those accounts were walking through.

Blocking versus restricting versus just ignoring

These aren't the same thing and mixing them up causes problems.

• Blocking stops a specific account seeing your profile or contacting you again, but they'll know something changed, and they can simply make a second account
• Restricting is quieter: their messages move to your requests folder without you declining, and they can't tell they've been restricted
• Turning off requests from strangers entirely via Message Controls stops the problem at the source rather than account by account

For one-off harassment, block. For an ongoing pattern of strangers DMing you, fix the setting instead of playing whack-a-mole with individual accounts.

The uncomfortable bit nobody mentions

Tightening message requests does reduce creepy and spammy DMs, but it also quietly reduces your reach as a business. If someone finds your product through a reel, isn't following you yet, and wants to ask a quick question before buying, "People you follow only" blocks that entirely. They can't message you, they probably won't bother commenting on a post to ask instead, and you've lost a sale you never knew existed. This is the trade-off most posts on this topic skip over because it makes the advice sound less clean.

My actual recommendation for business accounts is the middle setting: allow requests from everyone, but rely on the requests folder and the offensive-content filter to do the sorting, checking it once a day. For personal accounts where you're not trying to generate leads, lock it right down to followers only and don't look back.

Blocking by keyword and link

Instagram also lets you filter messages containing specific words, phrases or emoji under the same Messages and story replies menu, in a section called "Hidden words". This is worth setting up separately from your main request controls because it catches variations you'd never think to block one account at a time, things like "crypto", "investment", "forex", or whatever spam wording is currently doing the rounds in your industry. Add five or six terms and review what gets caught after a week; you'll likely adjust the list once you see real examples.

What to do once your settings are tightened

Go back through your existing hidden requests and clear the backlog rather than leaving hundreds sitting there. Report and block anything that's clearly a scam account, since that feeds Instagram's detection and helps the filter get sharper over time. If you're also dealing with a wave of unwanted follow requests rather than message requests, that's a related but separate setting covered in our piece on Instagram follow requests and the daily approval limit.

It's also worth reviewing your broader account visibility at the same time, because message controls interact with whether your account is public or private. Our full breakdown of Instagram privacy settings and what always stays public covers exactly which parts of your profile strangers can see regardless of these message settings.

If the problem is one specific person

Message Controls solves the stranger problem but not the case where you know exactly who's bothering you, an ex, a former colleague, a competitor's account. For that, block them directly from their profile or from inside the chat thread, three dots, Block. If they've already got older conversations with you that you want gone rather than just stopped, pair that with reviewing message retention, and if privacy around your conversation history matters to you generally, it's worth reading how disappearing messages, timers and view once work, since they stop a saved thread building up in the first place.

If the harassment is severe or ongoing, Instagram's in-app reporting sits under the same three-dot menu, and it's worth using rather than just blocking and moving on, because reports feed the platform's broader enforcement.

A note for creators doing lives or collaborations

If you're someone who goes live regularly or takes on brand collaborations, locking message requests too tightly can cause its own headaches when a legitimate brand or journalist tries to reach you cold. I've seen plenty of accounts miss a genuine opportunity because the "people you follow only" setting quietly swallowed it. If you're already dealing with restrictions on your account for other reasons, it's worth checking our piece on why an Instagram account gets restricted from going live, since some of the same flags that trigger that also affect message deliverability.

Keeping a record before you clean house

Before you block a large batch of accounts or clear out your requests folder, it's worth exporting a copy of your data if you think you might need evidence later, particularly for harassment you plan to report to Instagram or elsewhere. The steps are in our guide to downloading your Instagram data, and it's a five-minute job that's easy to forget once you've already deleted the messages.

Frequently asked questions

Can strangers still see my profile if I block message requests?

Yes. Turning off message requests from people outside your follower list stops them contacting you, but if your account is public, they can still view your profile, posts and story highlights. To stop that too, you need to set your account to private.

Will someone know if I turn off message requests from strangers?

No. Changing your Message Controls settings is silent. The person simply won't be able to send you a request, and they won't get a notification explaining why.

Does blocking message requests stop spam comments too?

No, these are separate systems. Message Controls only governs direct messages. To reduce spam comments, you need to adjust comment filtering separately under Settings, Interactions, or hide comments from specific accounts individually.

What's the difference between declining and blocking a message request?

Declining removes the request from your folder but the sender can still send you another one later. Blocking stops that specific account from contacting you or finding your profile at all, though they can create a new account and try again.