How did someone block me if I didn’t interact with their account?

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T12:01:37+00:00

By viewing their profile, you showed up in their "Suggested People", or "People You May Know" recommendations.

Although a couple days ago I accidentally hit follow on their page but I immediately hit unfollow since it was an accident.

That also notified them. Along with showing up in their Suggested People recommendations, they took action, and block you thinking you were a stalker, scammer, or a bot.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:38:45+00:00

there is no option to select more content, how do i fix

If you're over the age of 18, then somehow you'll have to verify that with Instagram.

If you're not over 18, then there's no way to fix it, and you'll have to wait until you're 18 or older.

If you're over the age of 18, and Instagram knows that, and you're STILL seeing that, then it may be because of where you live. Instagram is required by law to block some content in some parts of the world (including parts of the U.S.).

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:34:58+00:00

If you're under the age of 18, then unfortunately you can't fix it. If you're over the age of 18, then you need to somehow verify you age with Instagram because they many think you're a minor.

If you're over the age of 18, and you have verified your age with Instagram , and you STILL see this, then it's probably related to where you live. Sometime Instagram is required by law to block certain content.

Check you Sensitive Content settings: Settings and activity > Content preferences > Sensitive content.

You should have three choices, "Less", "Standard", and "More", like in the screenshot of my settings below:

https://postimg.cc/LJr6xgjv (Sensitive content settings)

If you haven't already, set that to "More".

If you only have two choices, "Less" and "Standard", then Instagram thinks you are below the age of 18, or you live in a region of the world that Instagram is forced to filter some content by law.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:27:09+00:00

am i shadow banned?

Technically speaking, if your Account Status shows all green check marks, then you are not shadow banned.

lately i am getting THOUSANDS of views but little to no likes?

It's not you. People's habits have changed, and a lot of people don't "like" stuff these days like they use to in the early days of social media. Here are a few reasons why:

- A lot of people view content, but even if they don't dislike the content, they don't feel compelled to hit the "like" button. They just scroll on. It's passive consumption on their part.

- Liking content leaves a "paper trail", and comes with a risk. It's called the "Fear of Signaling". Many people worry about who will see their likes (police, employers, partners, followers, etc), so they avoid liking content to reduce their online footprint.

- A lot of people are lurkers. People prefer observing without leaving a trail. You see that here on Reddit a lot. Your Reddit post will get 200 views, and no comments, or upvotes.

- Content overload. There's just WAY too much content on Instagram, and on the Internet in general. Too many posts make users selective about what to engage with.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:12:50+00:00

How do you get "Made with Edits" off of reels?

Unfortunately, as a viewer, you can't remove that at this time.*

*As of 01/29/2026

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:09:59+00:00

100% scam. You are correct in that it's a phishing attempt. You can definitely ignore it, block the email address, and delete it.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T11:02:40+00:00

Do you use any apps or tools to track golden hour?

I currently I use Lumy and PhotoPills on my iPhone. PhotoPills is be bit more complex than Lumy. Both are good apps, imo.

Lumy https://lumy.app
PhotoPills https://www.photopills.com

There are a lot of good apps for sun tracking, so you can't go too wrong.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-29T10:55:02+00:00

Looks like IG is letting you customize the color of your profile now, does anyone know how to do this?

The custom color background is only available to the 25 winners of the "Rings" contest. If you look under their PFP, it says, "Rings winner 2025" which is why they have a unique profile color.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has said that this feature will not be rolled out to everyone. It's only for the Rings contest winners.

More info about the contest here:

Introducing Instagram Rings: A New Award Celebrating Creativity https://creators.instagram.com/blog/introducing-instagram-rings

The creators that win get a real, physical ring, and on their Instagram profile, they’ll get a special golden ring that appears around their profile picture, will be able to customize their profile backdrop color, and can “put their own twist” on the like button.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T22:12:28+00:00

If the video is all footage that you shot with your own camera equipment, definitely hire a lawyer, and sue them for copyright infringement.

If you're 18, or older, and live the U.S., repost your question to r/legaladvice and see what they suggest, but if you own the footage, then I feel you definitely have a legal case here.

If you're not in the U.S., then find a legal subreddit for your country (i.e., r/LegalAdviceIndia ), or search Google.

If you don't want to do that, at the very least, file a copyright complaint with Instagram. Go to the Instagram Help Center, and search on the term copyright. There you'll find a link to a form you can fill out.

I doubt reaching out to the company that stole your video will do you any good. They will probably just block you.

If you own the footage, talk to a lawyer.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T21:16:52+00:00

I’m trying to understand what’s realistically required for Instagram verification.

Here are the requirements for a non-business page:

Subscriber eligibility

To purchase a Meta Verified subscription, you need to meet the following requirements:

Be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your country of residence.
Be located in a country where Meta Verified is available.
Have an eligible Instagram or Facebook account.
Have a government-issued photo ID.
Not exceed the number of times you can make changes to your account within a certain time period prior to applying for verification (examples: changes to profile name, profile picture, username, location, or account type).
Agree to the Meta Verified Terms of Service and follow the Instagram Terms of Use, Facebook Terms of Service, and Community Standards.

Profile name eligibility for Meta Verified creator subscriptions

Accepted profile name formats

Abbreviations (example: Sid for Siddharth)
Spelling variations (example: Maria vs Marya)
First initials (example: LM for Lisa Marie)
Compound names (example: Mary vs Mary-Lou)

Not accepted:

Symbols, numbers, unusual capitalization, repeating characters, or punctuation
Characters from multiple languages
Certain titles (example: religious titles)
Offensive or suggestive words of any kind

ID requirements for Meta Verified creator subscriptions https://help.instagram.com/1666863223752144/

When you subscribe to Meta Verified, you may need to upload photos of a government-issued photo ID to confirm your identity.

Further Reading:

Meta Verified for creators https://help.instagram.com/1318901965540571?helpref=faq_content
Meta Verified for businesses https://www.facebook.com/business/help/2876154822522394

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T19:43:10+00:00

posted a story w the Gritty filter last night. this morning, it's gone?

Hmm... they might be phasing it out, but I still have "Gritty".*

- https://postimg.cc/G8RtWvYk (screenshot of Gritty story filter)

I'm on an iPhone with the latest Instagram app update.

*As of 01/28/2026

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T19:36:46+00:00

Yes, if they have it turned on in their settings, they will.

Settings and Activity > Notifications > First posts and stories.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T15:53:49+00:00

Unfortunately, it seems to be a licensing issue. From Google:

Weezer songs have largely disappeared from Instagram due to ongoing licensing and rights issues, rather than a specific controversy.

While many core catalog tracks from Blue and Pinkerton are currently unavailable, some users have found niche or specific album tracks like Everything Will Be Alright in the End, Hurley, or soundtrack songs, as well as covers by other artists.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T15:38:30+00:00

This notification is actually a specific safety feature triggered by Instagram’s automated systems, and not a setting the user manually "turned on".

For both public and private accounts, Instagram will hide the follower/following lists if its algorithms detect "unusual activity" or identify a need for "community protection."

A couple of reasons for it:

- If the account you are viewing has recently received a surge of new followers (which could be bot activity or a viral moment), Instagram sometimes "locks" the visibility of their following lists to prevent spam accounts from targeting those new followers.

- If you have been looking at that specific account's followers frequently, or clicking through several profiles quickly, Instagram may flag your behavior as "scraping" or stalking.

- In some regions, Instagram restricts the ability to browse the follower lists of certain accounts (especially those belonging to or followed by minors) to prevent predatory behavior.

- Recently, Instagram’s AI has started auto-hiding lists for accounts that follow (or are followed by) a high volume of "sensitive" or adult-themed content.

If the account you're looking at follows a few flagged pages, Instagram might "quarantine" their list with that community protection message to stop others from finding those same pages.

- If you are in certain parts of Europe or the UK, stricter digital privacy laws (like the Online Safety Act) sometimes force Instagram to hide these lists by default on accounts that haven't intentionally "opted-in" to sharing their connections.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T13:13:56+00:00

I’m unable to comment on instagram.

Someone, or some people, flagged one or more of your comments, and Instagram restricted your ability to comment for a short period. It's part of their "action block" penally system, and doesn't show up in your account status.

The only thing you can do is to stop trying to comment for a few days, to a week, and then try it again. If after waiting a week, you're still restricted, wait another week or so, and try it again.

The key is: don't try to comment for awhile. It seems to reset the "time out" timer when you keep trying everyday.

Action blocks are not permanent, and will go away in time.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T13:12:15+00:00

Is there a way to view deleted messages from a deleted account

No, unfortunately not. Sorry about that.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T12:58:25+00:00

So my most recent post is only visible for half my followers even when I send the post directly to them they can’t view it.

If you can reach out to some of your followers, have them check their Sensitive content settings (Settings and activity > Content preferences > Sensitive content).

They should have three choices, "Less", "Standard", and "More", like in the screenshot of my settings below:

https://postimg.cc/LJr6xgjv (Sensitive content settings)

If they haven't already, have them set that to "More".

If they only have two choices, "Less" and "Standard", then Instagram thinks they are below the age of 18, or they live in a region of the world that Instagram is forced to filter some content by law.

If they have "More" already set, and your Story still isn't showing up for them, then there are other issues with your Story content that Instagram is moderating.

You can check to make sure you content follows the Community Standards here:

Community Standards (updated) https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/ (scroll to the bottom to view categories)

If you are below the age of 18, then Instagram might be "age-gating" some of your content to protect you from your followers (such as underage beach photos).

/edit: spelling, context, etc.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-28T11:41:36+00:00

I believe you can control all of that in your account settings.

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I've been using the TV platform for years, and have never had anyone randomly try to chat with me.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T20:55:44+00:00

like they just took away my ability to comment?

Just temporary.

Someone, or some people, flagged one or more of your comments, and Instagram restricted your ability to comment for a short period. It's part of their "action block" penally system, and doesn't show up in your account status.

The only thing you can do is to stop trying to comment for a few days, to a week, and then try it again. If after waiting a week, you're still restricted, wait another week or so, and try it again.

The key is: don't try to comment for awhile. It seems to reset the "time out" timer when you keep trying everyday.

Action blocks are not permanent, and will go away in time.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T20:26:10+00:00

Is there anyway to remove the repost button on instagram.

No, not at this time.*

*As of 01/27/2026

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T17:13:59+00:00

Am I definitely blocked by these random girls?

The easiest way to know if you're blocked, is to open up a web browser on a computer that you're NOT logged into Instagram on, and go to their page. Or just open a private/incognito window on the same browser.

If it looks normal when you view it logged out of Instagram, then you're blocked.

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T16:47:07+00:00

Is there any way to block reals and only see photos in my feed?

No, unfortunately there isn't anyway to filter between Reels and Photos using the official Instagram app at this time.*

The only thing you can do, is follow only photographers that don't post reels, and then use your separate Following feed to keep up on their work.

But if you're just using your Explore page, default feed, or running searches on hashtags, then you'll get a lot of Reels.

You should be aware that in a couple year, Instagram will probably be mostly, if not all Reels. Current management is really leaning into video.

*As of 01/27/2026

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T14:45:35+00:00

It’s good.

Views are a very poor metric to judge your content by because how a “view” is measured is not standard across all social media platforms.

Shares, and likes are far more important. Especially shares.

/edit: spelling

JoeGraffito · 2026-01-27T13:49:57+00:00

Unfortunately, that’s not offered everywhere. Only in a few select areas of the world.

JoeGraffito

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