How to Stop Seeing Someone’s Instagram Stories Without Unfollowing

We all follow someone who posts too much. Maybe it’s a coworker sharing 50 clips of a concert, or a relative posting political memes.

You don’t want to Unfollow or Block them because that creates drama. They might notice, and it makes things awkward in real life.

The solution is the “Mute” feature. It is Instagram’s best-kept secret for curating your mental peace. Muting lets you stay friends, keep following them, but permanently hide their Stories from your top bar.

Here is how to do it silently.

Method 1: The Quick Mute (Direct from the Feed)

If their story is currently at the top of your feed, you can mute them in 2 seconds.

Open Instagram.
Long-press (press and hold) their profile picture in the Story bar.
A menu will pop up from the bottom. Tap Mute.
You will get a choice: Mute story or Mute story and posts.
- Select “Mute story” if you only want to hide their daily videos but still see their main photos.

[Insert Screenshot here: The pop-up menu showing the “Mute” option]

Method 2: The Stealth Mute (From Their Profile)

If they don’t have a story up right now, or if you want to be proactive, do it from their profile.

Go to the user’s Profile Page.
Tap the Following button (the one with the arrow).
Tap Mute.
Toggle the Stories switch to Blue (On).

Note: You can also mute their “Notes” here if those are annoying you too.

[Insert Screenshot here: The “Mute” toggle screen inside the Following menu]

The Big Questions: Will They Know?

This is the main reason people are afraid to use this feature. Let’s clear up the myths:

Will they get a notification? No. Muting is 100% silent. Instagram does not tell them.
Can they see that I watched their story? No, because you won’t be watching it anymore. It won’t auto-play.
Can I still watch them if I get curious? Yes. You can still go to their profile manually and tap their picture to watch. You just won’t be forced to see it in your feed.
Does this affect the algorithm? Yes. Muting tells Instagram, “I am not interested in this person.” Their posts will likely appear lower in your main feed over time, even if you only muted their Stories.

How to Unmute (If you change your mind)

If you miss their updates, simply go back to their profile, tap Following > Mute, and turn the toggle OFF. Their colorful ring will reappear at the top of your feed instantly.