Alex Ruben
How To Conceal Your Highlights From Specific People on Instagram
Honestly, Instagram’s privacy game is kinda weird. If you’re trying to hide Highlights from certain people without outright blocking them, it’s not super straightforward. There’s no built-in toggle for that, so you gotta get a bit creative. Here’s what’s worked on some setups—though, fair warning, on other devices or app versions, things might look a little different or not work as expected. Because, of course, Instagram has to make it harder than necessary.
Step 1: Open the Instagram App
First, launch Instagram and make sure you’re logged in. If you’re not, punch in your username and password. No biggie, but it’s the basics. If you’re not seeing what’s described, double-check you’ve got the latest version installed — old apps tend to act flaky with features like this.
Step 2: Head over to Your Profile
Tap the profile icon at the bottom right. That’s usually a little circle with your avatar. From here, you can sort of control what’s visible and what’s not. No magical way to hide Highlights from individual users direct from the highlight itself, but we’ll get there.
Step 3: Pick the Highlight You Want to “Hide”
Scroll to your Highlights section and tap whichever you want to tweak. Think of it as the “guess what I care about” section. Once you’re in, you’re kinda limited in options.
Step 4: Open Highlight Settings
Tap the three dots in the bottom right of the Highlight – that’s the More menu. Sometimes it’s a little tricky to spot, especially if your app is weirdly laggy. Just tap there and hope for the best.
Step 5: Try to Edit the Highlight
Select Edit Highlight from the menu. Not sure why, but this is what’s needed to get to the editing stage. The real catch here? Instagram doesn’t let you directly hide Highlights from specific users — at least not explicitly.
Step 6: Managing Privacy (Because Specific Hide Isn’t Possible… Yet)
If hiding from specific users is the goal, the best (or maybe only effective) workaround is to remove or hide individual Stories within the Highlight, or just delete the Highlight altogether. To remove content within a Highlight, tap Remove from Highlight next to that story inside the edit mode. If you want to keep the Highlight but block certain people, the only solution right now is to tweak who can see your stories overall.
This means switching your account from public to private — because that does restrict who can see your Highlights indirectly. Go to Settings > Privacy > toggle Private Account.
Step 7: Making Your Account Private (Optional but Effective)
The most painless way to control who sees Highlights without pinpointing specific users is switching to a private account, kinda like locking your front door. To do that:
- Tap the menu icon (three lines) in top right of your profile.
- Choose Settings.
- Go to Privacy.
- Turn on Private Account.
Now, only approved followers can see your stuff, including Highlights. Not perfect if you want some people to still follow you but hide certain Highlights, but it’s better than nothing.
Extra Tips & Common Quirks
Just a heads-up—on some phones or app versions, making this work might involve a little patience or even reboots. Sometimes, changes don’t take effect immediately or the app bugs out. Keep your app updated regularly, as Instagram keeps tweaking privacy features. Also, periodically review your followers and consider removing or blocking suspicious or unwanted accounts.
Conclusion
Realistically, you can’t directly hide Highlights from specific users without some workarounds. Adjusting overall privacy settings is the best shot, or just removing certain stories or Highlights when needed. Honestly, it’s a bit of a hassle, but settings tweaks do help get you closer to your privacy goals. Expect some trial and error, and maybe a little patience with app bugs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my Instagram Highlights from specific users?
Not exactly. Instagram doesn’t give a straight option for that. Best approaches are to make your account private or remove content from Highlights.
What happens if I switch to a private account?
Only the people you approve can see your posts and Highlights, giving you a layer of privacy. Doesn’t stop someone from blocking or removing them, but it’s a decent shield overall.
How can I remove someone from following me on Instagram?
Go to your profile, tap Followers, find the user, then tap Remove. Easy peasy.
Summary
- Getting closer to hiding Highlights from certain users is mainly about controlling who follows you or what you post.
- Switch to private, then approve followers only.
- Remove stories from Highlights if needed.
- Keep your app updated — bugs are a pain, but they’re fixed periodically.
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. Instagram’s privacy options are kinda clunky, but with some effort, better control is possible.