Are you embarrassed by an account you follow on Instagram and don't want a friend to notice it as you scroll through your feed? Or maybe you need a break from seeing your ex's posts, but don't want to unfollow them for fear they might someday notice. Whatever the tricky social situation might be, Instagram has a fix.
Over the coming weeks, the app is rolling out a new way to mute posts on your feed. Mute on Instagram works exactly like the feature of the same name does on Twitter: No one will find out when you mute them, and doing so lets you hide that account's posts from your feed or Stories tray. You'll still get notifications if you're tagged in a photo or mentioned in the comments of a post from the account you muted. If and when you decide you're ready to see that account's posts in your feed again, simply unmute it at any time. You're free of the repercussions that could come with deciding to re-follow someone who never knew you unfollowed them to begin with.
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To mute an account, simply tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of a post from that account or its profile page. You have two mute option: Just posts, or the posts and Story. Take the same steps to unmute in the future.
The feature, which Instagram is starting as a test, is surprisingly one of the first controls the app is offering users over their feed and Stories. Previously, only a more drastic option — blocking an account — was available. Of course, mute has no impact on how chronological your feed is, but, hey, at least you have a say about what's there to begin with.