Quick Answer: Blocking someone on Instagram stops them from seeing your stories while logged into their blocked account. They cannot see your story viewers or follow you through Instagram while blocked. However, they can see your stories through an anonymous Instagram viewer tool or when logged out of Instagram entirely. Blocking does not prevent story viewing for public accounts.
Blocking someone on Instagram is the strongest action you can take to protect your privacy. While most people understand that blocking removes someone from your followers and prevents them from messaging you through Instagram, fewer people are aware of the limitations of what blocking prevents and specifically what it does not prevent regarding story visibility.
The answer depends on whether your account is public or private and whether the person being blocked will use an anonymous viewer tool or not. Here is the complete answer.
What Blocking Does to Story Access
Blocking someone on Instagram means they can no longer follow you, see your story viewers or access your content through their blocked account on the official Instagram application.
When you block an account, that account is removed from your followers on Instagram if it had follow you. This person can no longer follow your account from the device they are currently using on the official Instagram application. They will have no notification that they have been blocked, but they will be able to tell when attempting to visit your profile that your account is either not found or they cannot access it.
Regarding story visibility, the person being blocked cannot see your story in their story tray because they cannot follow you. If they attempt to view your profile while logged into their blocked account on the official Instagram application, they will not see your posts, stories, or highlights. The person being blocked cannot access your content in any way through their blocked account on the official Instagram application.
The Public Account Limitation
The main limitation of blocking on a public account is that it does not make your public content private. All the protections that blocking provides are only available when viewing your account through the blocked account on the official Instagram application. Someone with a public account who has not followed you can still see your stories, posts, and highlights through three methods that completely bypass the block.
First, they can view your public stories through an anonymous viewer tool. These tools access your public content through their own servers and do not require logging into the blocked account to work. The block only stops your stories from appearing in the story tray of the blocked account. An anonymous viewer tool circumvents the block by viewing your stories through its servers rather than the Instagram application.
Second, the person being blocked can log out of the Instagram application and view your public stories through a browser or the official Instagram application while logged out. Someone who has viewed your stories while logged out of the Instagram application is not using the blocked account to view your content.
Finally, the person being blocked can view your public stories through a new account. A new account has not been blocked and can follow you and view your public stories.
The complete protection solution for public stories: The only way to completely prevent someone from viewing your public stories is to switch your account to private and not approve their follow request or any new accounts they create to follow you.
What Blocking Does for Private Accounts
Blocking someone on a private account is significantly more effective than on a public account. A private account only allows followers to view your content. Someone whose account has been blocked cannot follow you or view your content through the official Instagram application in any capacity. Since a private account does not make your content publicly available, an anonymous viewer tool cannot access it either.
The only way a person whose account has been blocked can view your private stories is by creating a new account and requesting to follow you. Whether or not they can do this successfully depends on whether you recognize the account and decline the follow request.
Does the Blocked Person Know They Are Blocked?
Instagram does not notify the person being blocked that they are blocked. However, the person being blocked will know they are blocked if they attempt to view your public profile and it is no longer available to them. On a public account, they may notice that your profile and content is no longer viewable from their blocked account on the Instagram application while logged in but available when viewing your profile while logged out of Instagram. This is a strong indication that they are blocked.
On a private account, it is more challenging to tell if you are blocked or simply not following you since both situations will result in your profile being inaccessible from their account on the Instagram application while logged in.
Can You See If a Blocked Person Is Viewing Your Stories Through a Tool?
No. If the person being blocked views your public stories through an anonymous viewer tool, your story viewer list will not show them as having viewed your stories. The anonymous viewer tool is making the request to view your stories through its own server rather than the blocked account. You have no way of knowing through Instagram whether someone is viewing your public stories through an anonymous viewer tool.
Summary by account type:
Public account: Blocking stops someone from viewing your stories through their blocked account. It does not stop them from viewing your stories through an anonymous viewer tool, when logged out of Instagram or through a new account. To prevent someone from viewing your stories, switch your account to a private account.
Private account: Blocking prevents someone from viewing your stories through their blocked account or any other method besides creating a new account and requesting to follow you. Decline follow requests from unknown accounts to maintain protection.
What to Do If Someone Keeps Viewing Your Stories After Being Blocked
If you believe someone is viewing your public stories after you have blocked them through an anonymous viewer tool, the best course of action is to switch your account to a private account. This stops them from viewing your stories since your content is no longer publicly available.
If this is not an option due to the nature of your account, use the "Hide Story From" feature in your story privacy settings to hide your stories from specific accounts who you believe are using anonymous viewer tools to view your stories. Report any new accounts that appear to be created by the person whose account has been blocked as circumventing the block by creating new accounts is a violation of Instagram's community guidelines.
Key Takeaways
Blocking an Instagram account stops that account from seeing your stories, following you or viewing your profile through the official Instagram app while logged in.
Blocking does not stop viewing of public stories through an anonymous viewer tool, when logged out of the Instagram application or through a new account. Blocking a private account is much more effective because the content is not publicly available through any method.
Blocking combined with the "Hide Story From" feature and switching to a private account provides the most protection for public stories.
Viewing public stories through an anonymous viewer tool does not appear in your story viewer list and you cannot detect it through any Instagram feature.
Creating a new account to circumvent a block is a violation of Instagram's community guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a blocked person see your Instagram stories?
Not through their blocked account on the official Instagram application. For public accounts they can see stories through an anonymous viewer tool, when logged out of the Instagram application or through a new account. For private accounts, blocking prevents them from seeing your stories as the content is not available through any method.
If I block someone on Instagram, will they still appear in my story viewers?
No. A blocked account cannot see your stories while logged into their blocked account on the official Instagram application so they will not appear in your story viewers. If they see your public stories through an anonymous viewer tool or while logged out of the Instagram application, they will not appear in your story viewers either.
Does blocking someone remove them from your previous story viewers?
Yes. When you block an account, their username is removed from any story viewer lists they previously appeared in and any story views they registered are removed from your story viewers after they have been blocked.
Can you block someone from seeing your stories without blocking them?
Yes. Use the "Hide Story From" feature in Settings and Privacy and Story. This removes their username from your story viewers but does not prevent them from seeing your feed posts and profile. They will not receive a notification that you have hidden them from your stories.
What is the difference between blocking and restricting someone on Instagram?
Blocking removes all access to your profile and content from the blocked account. Restricting limits the impact of their interaction with your account by putting their comments in pending approval and their messages in a request folder. They continue to have access to your profile and content. Restricting is appropriate for unwanted comments or messages. Blocking is appropriate for unwanted profile interaction.
