How to Unmute Someone on Instagram (Posts and Messages)

Muting is the quietest way to tidy up your Feed. You keep following the person, they have no idea, and their posts stop turning up. The catch is that it's easy to forget who you've muted. Then one day you wonder why a friend, a client or a supplier has gone missing from your Feed.

I'm going to follow what Instagram's Help Centre says about muting and unmuting, because the menu names have moved around over the years. Where the steps differ between phone and computer, I'll say so.

Unmuting someone's posts from their Instagram profile

This is the most direct route, and the one I'd try first. Instagram's help page gives these steps for the iPhone and Android apps:

1. Tap their username from your Feed, or tap Search and type their username to reach their profile.
2. Tap Following, which sits below their profile info.
3. Tap Mute.
4. Tap the toggle next to Posts to switch it off. When the toggle is off, they're unmuted.

That's it. Once the toggle is off, their new posts can show up in your Feed again, which is the whole point of unmuting. The page doesn't promise that older posts will jump back into view, so scroll their profile if you want to catch up.

Finding a muted Instagram account you've forgotten about

Here's the awkward bit. The steps above assume you know who you muted. If you don't, you can still reach the same switch by visiting the profile of anyone you suspect. If you tap Following and then Mute, and the Posts toggle is on, you've found a muted account. Switch it off and you're done.

Instagram's article doesn't describe a single list of every account you've muted, so I won't pretend there's one. The profile check is the dependable method, and it's quick if you only have a handful of accounts in mind. For a small business account, I'd start with your suppliers, local partners and key customers, since those are the ones you'd least want to miss.

Unmuting Instagram posts through your Feed

Instagram's help page says you can mute through Feed using the three dots beside a post. That route is described for muting, not for undoing it, so it's the profile method above that does the unmuting. The Feed route is still worth knowing, because it explains how a lot of people muted someone by accident.

1. Tap Options (the three dots) next to a post.
2. Tap Hide.
3. Tap Mute followed by their username, then choose Mute Posts.

If you recognise that sequence from a moment of Feed-scrolling, that's probably what happened. A tap on Hide and then Mute takes seconds. Go to their profile and reverse it.

Unmuting Instagram messages from someone

Muting messages is a separate switch from muting posts. If you can see their posts but their chats never alert you, this is the one to check. Instagram's help gives these steps for the phone apps:

1. Tap Messages at the bottom.
2. Tap the chat with the person you want to unmute.
3. Tap the person's name at the top of the chat, then tap Mute at the top.
4. Switch the toggle off next to Mute messages. If you've also muted calls, switch off Mute calls.

On a computer, Instagram's steps are a little different. Click Messages on the left, click the chat, click Information in the top right of the chat, then switch the Mute messages toggle off. Menu names can vary a little between app versions, so look for the same words even if the layout has shifted.

What the other person sees when you unmute on Instagram

The help page is clear on one point. It says Instagram won't let them know you muted them. It doesn't say anything separate about telling them when you unmute, and I'm not going to guess. Nothing in the help page suggests a notification either way.

It also helps to separate muting from unfollowing, because the help page makes the same distinction. Muting hides someone's posts or silences their chat while you stay connected. Unfollowing removes the connection. If you can't find a muted person in your following list, remember that they're still in it.

Instagram notes are not covered by a mute

This one catches people out. Instagram says that muting someone's messages or posts doesn't apply to the notes they share. So you may still see their notes while their posts are muted. If you'd like to silence those too, Instagram has a separate help article on muting notes, and that switch sits apart from the ones above. I've written about hiding Instagram notes from just one person, which is worth a read if notes are what's bothering you.

Why a muted Instagram account matters for your business

I work with a lot of small business owners and creators, and the muted-account mix-up is surprisingly common. Someone mutes a noisy account during a busy week, then never switches it back. A few months later they realise they've missed announcements from a supplier or a collaborator. Here's the quick audit I'd suggest:

• List the accounts that matter to your work: clients, suppliers, partners and anyone you've promised to support.
• Visit each profile and check the Following and Mute screen.
• Unmute anyone you've muted by mistake.
• Leave the very noisy accounts muted, and consider whether you need to follow them at all.

If comments are the part you'd like to control, my notes on pinning a comment on Instagram cover that side of things.

If you can't unmute someone on Instagram

If the steps don't match what you see, work through these in order:

• Update the Instagram app to the latest version, because older versions lay out the profile screen differently.
• Check you're on the right profile. Similar usernames are easy to mix up.
• If Following isn't there, you may not be following them. Mute settings belong to accounts you follow, so follow first if you want the controls.
• If a tap seems to do nothing, close and reopen the app and try once more.
• If the toggle still won't move, you can report the problem inside the app through Profile, Menu, Help, Report a Problem.

Quick reference for unmuting on Instagram

What you want back	Where to switch it off
Their posts in your Feed	Their profile, Following, Mute, Posts toggle off
Message alerts from a chat	The chat, their name, Mute, Mute messages toggle off
Call alerts from a chat	The chat, their name, Mute, Mute calls toggle off
Their notes	A separate mute setting for notes, apart from the above

Frequently asked questions

How do I unmute someone on Instagram?

Go to their profile, tap Following, tap Mute and switch off the toggle next to Posts. To unmute their chat, open the chat, tap their name, tap Mute and switch off Mute messages.

Will they know I unmuted them?

Instagram's help page says it won't let a person know you muted them. It doesn't describe any notice when you unmute, so there's no sign that one is sent.

How do I find everyone I've muted on Instagram?

Instagram's help article doesn't describe one list of muted accounts. The dependable method is to visit a profile, tap Following, tap Mute and check whether the Posts toggle is on.

Is muting the same as unfollowing?

No. Instagram's help page says muting is different from unfollowing. You stay connected, but their posts or chat alerts are hidden.

Why can I still see someone's notes after muting them?

Instagram says muting someone's messages or posts doesn't apply to the notes they share. Notes have a separate mute setting.