A change of heart and mind is as common as the varying price of vegetables from a vendor. One may desire to unblock someone after having blocked them previously. Such desires can come and go, so you may want to keep your blocking and unblocking skills handy. However, if you are planning on unblocking someone on Instagram then will they find out or will you be able to get away undetected?
In this article, we will be discussing exactly that, whether or not someone can figure out if you had blocked them previously.
Also read: How do you know if someone blocked you on Twitter?
Visible unblocking signs
If you are trying to blend back in as a friend with the person you had blocked previously, then you should be aware of the subtle changes that might be obvious to the observant eye. If you were not close to the previously blocked person, chances are that they might never find out about their blocked status. You do have Instagram on your team, as they never inform a person by sending notifications about their status of being blocked or unblocked.
Follow
If they were not following you previously, they can now send you a follow request successfully. When you block a fellow follower, you both are removed from each other’s follower and following lists. Hence, after unblocking you will have to request to follow them back.
Posts and stories
If they have not unfollowed or blocked you in return, then they will be able to see your posts and stories. They will also be able to mention your username and tag you. If you had formerly blocked someone and then changed your username, they will not be able to mention or tag you unless you inform them about the change after you unblock them.
Likes and comments
Even when they are blocked your likes and comments on a post of a public profile or a person that you both follow. After you unblock them, they will be able to like and comment on your posts after they have accepted your request to follow them or vice-versa.
Messages
They will now be able to see that you have seen their messages. However, you will not receive any of the messages that they sent to you when they were blocked as those messages were not delivered. So if you are responding to their message or messaging them after a while, they might notice that you have not responded to their previous messages and there is no seen message under their previously sent messages.
User not found
If you are unable to find the person that you blocked initially or if you receive the ‘User not found’ message then that means either of the following:
- That person has blocked you
- They have temporarily deactivated their account
- They have permanently deleted their account
- They have changed their username
Also read: Does Slack notify screenshots?
How to unblock someone on Instagram?
Now that you are aware of the repercussions of unblocking someone, you can make the decision to unblock and send a request to follow them back again. If you are not willing to block a person, you can always restrict them or unfriend them. Social media apps like Instagram do not inform the person about their blocked, restricted, or unfollowed status.
You can unblock someone on Instagram by following the steps given below:
Through their chat
- Swipe left from the main page of your Instagram home screen to go to messages.
- Tap on the chat of the person that you want to unblock. You can tap on Unblock right at the bottom of your mobile app, next to the Delete button.
- You can also tap on their username at the top and scroll down to tap on the unblock option. Confirm unblocking the person.
Through their Instagram profile
- Search for them and then tap on their username to head to their Instagram profile.
- You can either tap on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and then select the unblock option or you can tap on the blue button that says Unblock below their bio.
Through the settings
Head to settings on your profile page and follow the steps given below:
- Tap on the Privacy option.
- Scroll down and tap on Blocked accounts.
- Tap on the Unblock button next to the profile that you want to unblock. Confirm the unblocking action by tapping on Unblock.
Also read: Restrict vs Block on Instagram: Key differences and Privacy guide
