Instagram is a fun platform for social networking that is very easy to open and use. But if you want to tinker a bit under the hood, there are some handy tips, tricks, hints and hacks that you can utilize to get even more out of the free service.
From another Instagram user to know you’re online, to a painless way to add line breaks to the captions of your message, we’ve put together a variety of things you may not have known you could do on Instagram not.
1. Prevent another Instagram user from seeing you online
Instagram offers ‘restricted’ features, which means you can make sure another user can’t see when you’re online or when you’ve read their posts.
In addition, the comments of anyone you restrict will only be visible to the person, though you can choose to view the comment by tapping “View comment”.
You will also not receive any notifications for future comments from that person.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
To restrict someone on Instagram, open the profile you want to restrict and tap the three-point menu in the top right corner. Now tap on “Restrict” and follow the directions.
If you want to block someone completely, you can always go to their profile, click on the three-point menu at the top right and select this option to do so.
2. Delete your embarrassment history
No one needs to know that you had an Instagram search late at night and wore your celebrity lover / high school beau / nemesis / corgis. Clearing your search history is quick and easy.
Go to your profile and click on the three-line menu at the top right of your screen. Click “Settings”, then “Security” and then select “Delete Search History” from the Security menu.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
From the next screen, you can enable the “Clear All” option at the top right. Your search secrets are safe.
3. Move your favorite Instagram filters to the top of the menu
It’s easy to customize your Instagram filters to move your most used, favorite filters to the top of the list, so you don’t have to browse less popular choices to use them.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
If you’re on the filter page of the Instagram ranking process, just hold one filter and then drag and drop it to where you want it to appear in your list.
4. Arrange your stored items in the collection guides
If you store content on Instagram, only you can see that you have saved it, and it goes directly to your saved area. By default, everything you save in the “All Posts” folder.
If you store content that you want to return to, it is a good idea to create collection guides within your stored area to organize the material neatly. You can then quickly access it and not browse through placement pages to find what you are looking for.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
To add collection guides to your saved area, go to your profile and tap on the three-line menu at the top right of your screen. Now tap Saved, which has a bookmark icon next to it. In your Saved area, tap the “+” button to create a new collection folder and name it. You can now display the placements you want in the folder.
5. Post positive comments at the top of your posts
You can pin up to three comments at the top of any of your posts to, in Instagram’s own words, ‘highlight positivity’.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
Look at the comments of the message below, then swipe left on the comment you want, and tap the pen icon to move it to the top of the list. Note that the person who wrote the comment will receive a notification when you paste a comment.
6. Massage inactive inactive accounts
Instagram makes it easy for you to see Instagram accounts that you may not need to follow, either because they have become inactive or are no longer of interest to you.
To see it all in one place, go to your profile and then click on the “Next” link. On the next screen you will see a list of accounts that you have clicked ‘At least in interaction’. It gives you the opportunity to review accounts with whom you’ve had the least traffic over the last 60 days, including not liking their posts or responding to their stories.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
Click through to see each account, and if you decide you no longer want to follow them, simply tap “Follow”, then follow it.
7. Save that crazy catchy Reels soundtrack
If you hear music or other audio on an Instagram Reels clip that you absolutely love, you can easily save it for later listening or using it in your own Instagram Reels creation.
Simply look at the bottom of the screen for the scrolling audio information and click on it. This guides you through the audio information sheet.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
Click “Save Audio” at the top of the screen. To access your saved music tracks now, go to your profile and click on the three line menu at the top right of your screen. Then click “Saved.” You will see any audio you have saved in a separate “Audio” collection folder.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
To use your saved tracks in a new Reels creation, click on the “Audio” option on the left side of your Reels composing screen and you will see the option to access your “Saved” audio at the top of your screen gain.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
Simply click on the “Saved” box to see the audio.
8. Add line breaks quickly and easily
Whether you are commenting or posting, the standard Instagram keyboard does not show the “Return” key, which leaves many Instagram beginners completely confused about how you are supposed to add line breaks. However, there is a super simple hack to make the retry key appear, so you can add a rule break and not place hard-to-read, solid pieces of text.
Image: screengrab: amy-mae turner
If you press the “123” character key to go to the numeric menu, the return key appears suddenly. You can press it to get the line break you need, then go back to the alphabetical menu to continue typing.