We’ve all experienced that moment when someone seems to have vanished from Instagram. You search for their profile and can’t find it, leaving you to wonder: Did they deactivate their account, or have you been blocked?
1 View “Deactivated Accounts” in Your Followers List
Fortunately, Instagram provides an option to see if any of your followed accounts or followers have deactivated their profiles. If you have a mutual connection, this is a reliable way to find out. Here’s how to check:
- Go to your Instagram profile by tapping your profile picture at the lower right corner.
- Select Followers at the top of the screen.
- Click on Deactivated accounts.
- Scroll through and find the account. If they are listed, they’ve deactivated their account.
Remember, this method won’t work if the account doesn’t follow you or you don’t follow them. Also, if the account has been deleted, it won’t appear here. If you don’t see their name, don’t assume you’ve been blocked just yet; try the other methods provided.
2 Locate the User
If the Instagram account you’re looking for—and don’t follow—has disappeared, searching for them can help you determine if they’ve deactivated it.
Tap the search icon in the menu at the bottom of the app, then type in their Name or Username into the search bar. If you can’t find them in the search results, it might mean they deactivated or deleted their account, or possibly blocked you.
The best way to check if you’ve been blocked is to search for their profile using a different Instagram account. If they have deactivated or deleted their account, it becomes invisible to everyone.
Consequently, if you can’t find their account when searching from another profile, it’s likely they have deactivated or removed their account. However, if their account is accessible from another account, it indicates you’ve been blocked.
3 Review Your Messages
Your Instagram Direct Messages can provide clues about whether someone has deactivated or deleted their account. This only works if you’ve previously messaged them and haven’t erased that conversation.
To search for the user’s message history, tap the home icon at the bottom, then the Messages icon in the top right. Start by tapping the Search bar and entering their Name or Username. If that does not yield results, try searching for specific keywords from your conversations.
For example, if you spoke about cats, search for “cats.” When you find the relevant chat, check their profile. If their account has been deactivated, their profile picture may be replaced with yours, giving a hint of their deactivated status.
Usually, a deactivated account will appear as “Instagram User.”
In some instances, their username may remain, but tapping on their profile won’t load any account details like posts, followers, or following numbers.
On the other hand, a deleted account won’t appear in search results. You’ll need to sift through your messages to locate them. Deleted account mentions in DMs often read as “__deleted__” followed by a string of random characters.
To verify if the deleted account belongs to the individual you’re thinking about, simply click the chat and see if any of the messages jog your memory.
4 Search Using a Web Browser
Since Instagram is accessible through web browsers, you can also try looking for a deactivated account using that route. If you’re logged into Instagram on the browser, it’s best to log out or use an Incognito or Private window.
This way, you can avoid the uncertainty of being blocked. Just type “instagram.com/username” into the address bar, replacing “username” with the exact username of the person you’re searching for. If they’ve blocked you, you’ll see their account, and be prompted to Sign Up or Log In.
If they’ve deactivated or deleted their account, you’ll encounter a “Sorry, this page isn’t available” message. This indicates either a deactivation or a typo in the username you entered.
Fortunately, it’s quite easy to determine if someone has blocked you on Instagram or if their account is deactivated or deleted. If the above methods don’t yield any results, consider simply asking the person directly whether they’ve deactivated or deleted their account before jumping to any conclusions.
