How to Turn Off or Hide Comments on Instagram

To turn off comments on an Instagram post, tap Options above it and select Turn off commenting. Before you share a post, the same switch sits under Advanced settings. It works one post at a time. "There is no way to globally turn off comments on Instagram," NapoleonCat's July 2026 guide says. You can still limit who comments, hide comments with words you pick, and turn comments off on stories and Lives.

We read NapoleonCat's guide (updated August 21, 2026) through our server, and Instagram's help center as Google showed it, on October 23, 2026. Instagram's help pages block our reader.

"How to hide comments on instagram" gets about 1,900 searches a month, "how to turn off comments on instagram" another 1,300, and "how to turn off comments on instagram live" 1,000 more.

What can you do with Instagram comments?

What you want	Where it is
No comments on one post or reel	Options, then Turn off commenting
No comments before you share	Advanced settings on the last screen
Fewer people commenting	Settings, then Comments
Hide comments with certain words	Hidden words
Hold back certain accounts	Limits
No comments on a story	The story's Options
No comments on a Live	The three dots on your Live

Instagram's help center as Google showed it and NapoleonCat (August 21, 2026), read October 23, 2026.

How do you turn off comments on an Instagram post?

On a post that's already up, Instagram's help center gives two steps: "Tap Options above your post," then "Select Turn off commenting or Turn on Commenting." The same switch turns them back on.

Before you share, NapoleonCat says to "scroll down and tap Advanced settings (older app versions show More options instead), then toggle Turn off commenting." People then see that you've switched comments off for that post. It "will not affect other posts or your next posts," so you'll need to do it each time. Reels work the same way, NapoleonCat adds.

How do you limit who can comment on Instagram?

Instagram's help center says to "Select Comments under How others can interact with you." From there, "You can allow comments from: People you follow; Your followers; People you follow and your followers." It's the closest thing to an account-wide setting.

To quiet a pile-on, use Limits. "Accounts you choose to limit can still comment on your posts and reels but their comments will be hidden unless you approve them," Instagram's help center says. An Instagram tutorial from March 2026 shows the two groups you can limit: accounts that don't follow you, and recent followers.

How do you hide comments on Instagram?

Hidden words hides them for you. NapoleonCat says to open your settings and scroll to "Hidden words in the How others interact with you section." There you can:

• Hide comments that may be offensive.
• Turn on advanced comment filtering.
• Add your own words and phrases.

"Comments that contain your specified keywords will be automatically hidden," NapoleonCat says. A hidden comment stays visible to the person who wrote it. "Hiding comments means that they're still visible to the posters, but not to the rest of the post's viewers," Respondology explains.

To see what's been hidden, Instagram's help center says: "At the bottom of the comment section, tap View hidden comments," then tap Unhide under the one you want back.

Photo replies can be switched off too. A June 2026 Instagram tutorial points to an "Allow photo comments" switch for anyone tired of photo spam.

How do you turn off comments on stories and Lives?

For one story, Instagram's help center says: "Tap your profile picture to view your Story," then "Tap Options in the bottom right," then "Tap Turn off commenting."

On a Live, NapoleonCat says to "tap the three dots in the top right of your live video," then tap Turn off commenting. Watching someone else's Live? You can only hide comments for yourself. "Tap and hold on a comment, then select Hide comments," and "they'll still be visible to other viewers," NapoleonCat notes.

Should you turn comments off?

It costs you some reach. NapoleonCat says "you're losing some of the potential engagement, which might affect your engagement rates." Limits and Hidden words keep the useful comments coming while catching the rest. To remove comments for good, see how to delete comments on Instagram. To block one person outright, see how to block someone on Instagram. Can't comment on someone else's post? Our guide on why you can't comment on Instagram covers that. For likes, see how to hide likes on Instagram, and on other apps, TikTok and Facebook.

Hclout sells Instagram comments, so weigh that the way you'd weigh any seller. Its free tier gives 12 free Instagram likes on a public post, with no password, on the free page. A short Cloudflare check runs before each claim.

Frequently asked questions

Can you turn off comments on all Instagram posts at once?

No. You turn them off post by post. To narrow who comments everywhere, use Allow comments from in your settings.

How do you turn comments back on?

Tap Options above the post and select Turn on Commenting.

Can the person tell I hid their comment?

They still see it themselves. Everyone else doesn't, Respondology says.

Can you turn off comments on an Instagram story?

Yes. Open the story, tap Options, then Turn off commenting.

Can I turn off comments on someone else's Live?

No. You can only hide them on your own screen.

Sources

• Instagram Help Center pages on turning comments on or off, hiding comments, who can comment, Limits and story comments, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
• NapoleonCat, "How to Turn Off Comments on Instagram," updated August 21, 2026, read through our server on October 23, 2026
• Respondology on hiding comments, and Instagram tutorials from March and June 2026, as Google showed them
• Google Ads Keyword Planner, worldwide, read October 23, 2026