Here’s how to tell if someone’s blocked you on Instagram

You know you really want to know

| UPDATED Hide Images

So you had a nasty breakup. Maybe it’s your ex, maybe it’s your ex best friend — but being the petty queen you are, you didn’t unfollow. Did someone say late night lurk and cry sesh? HELL NO. Obviously you’re only keeping tabs on them as a reminder that you’re way better than your replacement.

But all of a sudden their posts aren’t popping up on your Instagram feed anymore. What’s the deal? You may have gotten blocked, and here are all the ways you can tell.

Search for their username

The quickest way to see if someone’s blocked you is also the easiest. Simply type their name or Insta handle into your search bar in the app.

If their account is private, they won’t show up in the search results if you’ve been blocked.

Public accounts will show up in your seach results if you look them up by username, but if their profile shows an empty photo grid with an error message that says “No Posts Yet,” you’ve definitely been blocked.

Find them through tagged photos

There are still ways to find private accounts that won’t show up in search results. If the person you’re trying to look up has been tagged in someone else’s photos, you can get to their profile using tags.

Try looking through Instagram posts from both of your mutual friends. Chances are if the person you’re trying to find appears in someone else’s photos, they will have been tagged, and tapping on a tag will take you straight to their profile.

If that person has blocked you, you won’t be able to see any of the posts on their profile.

Try following them

You can also tell if you’ve been blocked by looking at the follow button.

If the normally blue button labeled “Follow” is replaced with a white bar that says “User Not Found,” or if you can’t follow regardless of how many times you tap the follow button, that person has definitely blocked you.

Lurk from your friend’s account

Confirming someone has blocked you is simple, just ask a friend to look them up for you. If your bestie can manage to find that person’s account, but you can’t, there’s no denying that you’ve been blocked.

Luckily, having a friend with access to that account you’ve been blocked from ensures you can still see all the posts that person doesn’t want you to see, so jokes on them. Happy lurking!

By Elena Alvarez

More Instagram wisdom:

• How to check if someone’s bought fake Instagram followers

• How to find out if someone’s unfollowed you on Insta: A petty step by step guide

• This is how Instagram ranks the viewer order on your Insta story