How to Report a Post on Instagram

by Harry Guinness on

Instagram has pretty clear terms of service: no harassment, nudity, violence, copyright violation, hate speech, and so on. If it’s something that’s too offensive, Instagram doesn’t want it on their service.

Obviously they can’t police every post, so Instagram relies on users to report any posts that violate their guidelines. If a post gets reported, it gets reviewed by Instagram’s community review team. If they agree that it’s inappropriate, the post will be removed and the account might get banned especially after repeated infringements.

First, find the post that you’ve got an issue with. I’m just using this post as an example. Click the three little dots in the top right corner of the post.

Tap Report and then select a reason: either It’s Spam or It’s Inapporpriate.

If you select It’s Inappropriate, you’ll get a list of reasons to choose from. Pick the one that applies to the situation and tap Report.

RELATED: How to Block Someone on Instagram

You’ll also be given the option to block the Instagram account. If at any point in the process you change your mind, just tap Cancel.

Every social media site relies on their community to keep things civil; that’s the social part of the name. If you see something that upsets you, don’t be afraid to report it. The account won’t be notified so there’s no repercussions for you. The absolute worst that can happen is the Instagram reviewer things it still fits the terms of service and leaves it up.

Harry Guinness writes occasionally when he’s not busy skiing, sailing, partying, lifting weights, or otherwise dodging responsibility. His main areas of interest are himself, gin, and crazy people with interesting stories to tell. When people won’t pay him to write ill-thought-out opinion pieces, he covers photography, technology, and culture. You can follow him on Twitter.