How to Hide Your Instagram Story from Someone: A Step-by-Step Guide
Instagram Stories are a fantastic way to share glimpses of your daily life, connect with friends, and engage with your followers. However, there might be times when you want to share a story with most of your audience but exclude specific individuals. Whether it’s to avoid awkwardness with an ex, surprise a friend with a gift, or maintain privacy from certain family members or colleagues, Instagram provides several ways to control who sees your stories. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of hiding your Instagram stories from someone, ensuring you share your content with only the intended audience.
## Why Hide Your Instagram Story?
Before diving into the how-to, let’s briefly touch on why you might want to hide your Instagram stories from certain people:
* **Privacy Concerns:** You might not want everyone to see what you’re up to, especially if you’re sharing personal or sensitive information.
* **Avoiding Spoilers:** Planning a surprise party or a gift? Hiding your story from the recipient ensures the surprise remains intact.
* **Professional Boundaries:** You might want to keep your personal life separate from your professional network.
* **Difficult Relationships:** Avoiding awkwardness with ex-partners, estranged family members, or difficult colleagues.
* **Targeted Content:** You might be sharing content that’s only relevant to a specific group of friends or followers.
## Methods to Hide Your Instagram Story
Instagram offers a few different methods to control who sees your stories. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, so choose the one that best suits your needs.
1. **Hiding Your Story from Specific People (Directly):
**
This is the most straightforward method and allows you to select individual accounts that will not be able to view your stories.
**Steps:
**
a. **Open Instagram:** Launch the Instagram app on your smartphone (iOS or Android).
b. **Go to Your Profile:** Tap on your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the screen.
c. **Access Settings:** Tap on the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top right corner of your profile page. This will open a side menu.
d. **Tap on “Settings and privacy”:** In the side menu, tap on “Settings and privacy”. This will open a new menu with various settings options.
e. **Scroll Down to “Who can see your content”:** Scroll down until you find the section labeled “Who can see your content”.
f. **Tap on “Hide story and live”:** In the “Who can see your content” section, tap on “Hide story and live”. This will take you to the story hiding settings.
g. **Select People to Hide From:** You’ll see a list of your followers. You can either scroll through the list or use the search bar at the top to find the specific people you want to hide your story from. Tap the circle next to their name. A blue checkmark will appear, indicating that they are now hidden from your stories.
h. **Confirm Your Selection:** Once you’ve selected all the people you want to hide your story from, tap the back arrow (usually located in the top left corner) to return to the settings menu. Your changes are automatically saved. You can double-check to make sure the selected accounts are still checked.
**Important Considerations:**
* **They Won’t Know:** The people you’ve hidden your story from will not receive any notification that you’ve hidden it from them. They will simply not see your stories in their feed.
* **Changing Your Mind:** You can easily reverse this process at any time by going back to the “Hide story and live” settings and unchecking the box next to their name.
* **Future Stories:** This setting applies to all future stories you post. You don’t need to re-hide them each time.
* **Mutual Followers Only:** This method only works for people who are already following you.
2. **Using the “Close Friends” Feature:
**
This feature allows you to create a select group of people who are the *only* ones who can see your stories. Everyone else will be excluded. This is ideal for sharing more personal or exclusive content with a smaller group.
**Steps:
**
a. **Open Instagram:** Launch the Instagram app.
b. **Go to Your Profile:** Tap on your profile picture in the bottom right corner.
c. **Access Settings:** Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
d. **Tap on “Settings and privacy”:** Select “Settings and privacy” from the side menu.
e. **Search and Select “Close Friends”:** Use the search bar at the top to search for “Close Friends” or manually scroll down to find the option and tap on it. It is usually located within the “How others can interact with you” section.
f. **Add People to Your Close Friends List:** You’ll see a list of your followers. Scroll through the list or use the search bar to find the people you want to include in your Close Friends list. Tap the “Add” button next to their name. They will be added to your list. You can remove people from the list at any time by tapping “Remove”.
g. **Share to Close Friends Only:** When you create a story, before posting, tap on the “Close Friends” option (it’s usually a green circle with a white star inside). This will ensure that only the people on your Close Friends list can view the story.
**Important Considerations:**
* **Notification for Close Friends:** Your Close Friends will see a green ring around your profile picture in their stories feed, indicating that you’ve shared a story with your Close Friends list.
* **They Don’t Know If They Aren’t Included:** People *not* on your Close Friends list won’t know that you’ve shared a Close Friends story, or that they aren’t on the list. They simply won’t see the story.
* **Flexibility:** You can add or remove people from your Close Friends list at any time, giving you complete control over who sees your exclusive content.
* **Exclusivity:** Only people on your Close Friends list will be able to see stories shared with that list. You cannot share a story with both your Close Friends list *and* your general followers simultaneously.
3. **Blocking Someone on Instagram:
**
This is the most extreme option and should only be used if you want to completely cut off contact with someone. Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your profile, posts, stories, and from contacting you directly through Instagram.
**Steps:
**
a. **Go to the Person’s Profile:** Search for the person’s username in the Instagram search bar and go to their profile.
b. **Tap on the Three Dots:** Tap on the three dots (vertical or horizontal, depending on your device) in the top right corner of their profile page.
c. **Select “Block”:** A menu will appear. Select the “Block” option.
d. **Confirm Your Decision:** Instagram will ask you to confirm your decision. Tap “Block” again to confirm. You’ll be given the option to block the user and any new accounts they may create. Choose the option that best suits your needs.
**Important Considerations:**
* **Complete Cut-Off:** Blocking someone completely restricts their access to your content and prevents them from contacting you. They will no longer be able to see your profile, posts, stories, or send you direct messages.
* **They Will Know (Eventually):** While Instagram doesn’t explicitly notify someone that they’ve been blocked, they will likely figure it out if they search for your profile and can no longer find it. Furthermore, if you share a mutual friend, they may realize they are blocked if they see the friend interacting with your posts, while they themselves cannot.
* **Mutual Followers:** If you are both following each other, blocking someone will automatically unfollow them, and they will be unfollowed from you. They will need to actively search for your profile to find it, and if blocked, they won’t be able to.
* **Direct Messages:** All previous direct message conversations with the blocked person will disappear from your inbox.
* **Reversing the Block:** You can unblock someone at any time by going to their profile (if you can find it – you might need to search using a different account) and tapping the “Unblock” button.
4. **Making Your Account Private:
**
If you want to limit who can see your content in general, you can make your account private. This means that only people you approve as followers will be able to see your posts, stories, and profile. This isn’t specifically for hiding from a few people, but rather for limiting overall access to your account.
**Steps:
**
a. **Open Instagram:** Launch the Instagram app.
b. **Go to Your Profile:** Tap on your profile picture in the bottom right corner.
c. **Access Settings:** Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
d. **Tap on “Settings and privacy”:** Select “Settings and privacy” from the side menu.
e. **Scroll to “Account privacy”:** Scroll down to the section labeled “Account privacy”.
f. **Toggle “Private account”:** Tap on “Account privacy”. Toggle the switch next to “Private account” to turn it on. The switch will turn blue when enabled. You will be asked to confirm your decision. Tap “Switch to Private” to confirm.
**Important Considerations:**
* **Follower Requests:** When your account is private, people will need to send you a follow request before they can see your content. You can choose to accept or decline these requests.
* **Existing Followers:** Making your account private does not automatically remove your existing followers. If you want to remove specific followers, you’ll need to do so manually (by going to their profile and selecting “Remove”).
* **Search Visibility:** Even with a private account, your account may still appear in search results. However, people who don’t follow you will only see your username and profile picture; they won’t be able to see your posts or stories.
* **Hashtags and Location Tags:** Your posts will not appear in hashtag or location searches if your account is private.
5. **Muting Someone’s Stories (Not Hiding Yours, but Worth Mentioning):** While this doesn’t hide your stories from them, it’s a related feature. Muting someone’s stories means you won’t see *their* stories in your feed, which can be helpful if you want to avoid their content without them knowing. This is the opposite of hiding your story from someone else.
**Steps:**
a. **Go to the Person’s Profile:** Search for the person’s username in the Instagram search bar and go to their profile.
b. **Tap ‘Following’ (or ‘Follow Back’):** Tap the ‘Following’ button (or ‘Follow Back’ if they follow you back).
c. **Select ‘Mute’:** A menu will appear. Select ‘Mute’.
d. **Mute Stories:** Toggle the switch next to ‘Stories’ to turn it on (the switch will turn blue).
**Important Considerations:**
* **They Won’t Know:** The person you’ve muted will not be notified that you’ve muted their stories.
* **Still Friends/Followers:** You will still be following them (and they may still be following you). Muting only affects the visibility of their stories in your feed.
* **You Can Unmute:** You can unmute their stories at any time by repeating the steps and toggling the ‘Stories’ switch off.
## Step-by-Step Instructions with Visual Examples (Hypothetical)
Let’s imagine you want to hide your Instagram story from your friend, Sarah, because you’re planning a surprise birthday party for her.
**Method 1: Hiding Your Story Directly**
1. **Open Instagram and go to your Profile:** (Imagine a screenshot of the Instagram app open to your profile page).
2. **Access Settings:** Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner. (Imagine a screenshot of the profile page with the hamburger menu highlighted).
3. **Tap on “Settings and privacy”:** (Imagine a screenshot of the side menu with “Settings and privacy” highlighted).
4. **Scroll Down to “Who can see your content”:** (Imagine a screenshot of the settings menu scrolled down to the relevant section).
5. **Tap on “Hide story and live”:** (Imagine a screenshot of the settings section with “Hide story and live” highlighted).
6. **Select Sarah:** Search for “Sarah” in the search bar and tap the circle next to her name. A blue checkmark appears. (Imagine a screenshot showing the list of followers with Sarah’s name checked).
7. **Confirm:** Tap the back arrow. Sarah is now hidden from your stories.
**Method 2: Using Close Friends (Assuming You Only Want a Few People to See It)**
1. **Open Instagram and go to your Profile.**
2. **Access Settings.**
3. **Tap on “Settings and privacy”.**
4. **Search and Select “Close Friends”:**
5. **Add People to Your Close Friends List:** Tap the “Add” button next to your other friends who are helping with the surprise party. (Imagine a screenshot showing the Close Friends list with a few friends added).
6. **Share Story to Close Friends Only:** When creating your story about the party preparations, tap the “Close Friends” option before posting. (Imagine a screenshot of the story creation screen with the “Close Friends” button highlighted).
## Additional Tips and Considerations
* **Regularly Review Your Settings:** It’s a good idea to periodically review your story hiding settings and your Close Friends list to ensure they are still accurate and reflect your current preferences.
* **Be Mindful of Shared Accounts:** If you share an Instagram account with someone else, keep in mind that they will also have access to your story settings and Close Friends list.
* **Third-Party Apps:** Be cautious of third-party apps that claim to offer more advanced story hiding features. These apps may not be secure and could compromise your account privacy. Stick to the built-in features of Instagram for the best security and reliability.
* **Accidental Views:** Even if you hide your story from someone, there’s always a small chance they could accidentally see it if someone else shares a screenshot or recording of it.
* **Profile Viewers:** Instagram doesn’t offer a built-in feature to see exactly who viewed your profile in general. You can only see who viewed your stories.
* **Consider an Alternate Account:** For maximum privacy, consider creating a separate, private Instagram account specifically for your closest friends and family.
## Conclusion
Instagram provides several effective ways to control who sees your stories, ranging from hiding them from specific individuals to creating exclusive Close Friends lists. By understanding these methods and their implications, you can confidently share your content while maintaining the desired level of privacy and control. Remember to regularly review your settings and be mindful of the potential risks associated with third-party apps. Choose the method that best suits your needs and enjoy sharing your stories with the right audience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily manage your Instagram story visibility and ensure that your content is seen only by those you intend to share it with.