Instagram Comments Not Showing: Every Cause and How to Fix It

Why can I not see comments on Instagram?

Most of the time, Instagram comments are not showing because a filter or setting is hiding them. The comments still exist, but Instagram, the post owner or the commenter has made them invisible to some people.

Start by working out which situation you are in. The fix is different for each one.

The sections below go through each cause with a step-by-step fix.

Comments on this post are limited or turned off

When you see a message such as "Comments on this post are limited", the post owner has chosen who can comment. You have not been blocked. You simply are not in the group the owner allowed.

Instagram lets public accounts allow comments from people they follow, their followers, or both, or turn comments off completely. Private accounts choose between their followers or followers they follow back. A single post can also have commenting turned off, either in Advanced settings before it is shared or from the post's Options (three-dot) menu afterwards.

Turning off commenting on a post also hides the comments already on it. Instagram's Help Center says those comments come back when commenting is turned on again.

How to check if you are the cause

1. Check whether you follow the account. If comments are limited to followers, following it may let you comment.
2. If you already follow and still cannot comment, the owner may only allow people they follow.
3. If no comment box appears at all, the owner has turned comments off for that post.

How post owners change the setting

1. Tap your profile picture, then the menu icon at the top right.
2. Under How others can interact with you, tap Comments.
3. Choose who can comment on your posts.

Menu names can differ slightly by app version, but the Comments setting sits in the same interaction section.

Hidden comments and the Hidden Words filter

Instagram's Hide unwanted comments setting is on by default and hides comments with common offensive words, phrases or emojis. The Hidden Words tool also hides comments that contain words, phrases, numbers or emojis an owner adds to a custom list. The person who wrote a hidden comment is not told.

Hidden comments still count toward the post's total comment number. That is the most common reason a post says it has more comments than you can see.

How to see filtered comments

1. Open the post and scroll to the bottom of the comments.
2. Tap View hidden comments.
3. If it is your post, tap Unhide under a comment you want everyone to see again.

How to change the filters

1. Go to your profile, tap the menu, then Comments under How others can interact with you.
2. Under Types of comments, tap Hide unwanted comments and choose None, Some or More.
3. For your own list, go back to the menu, tap Hidden words, and add or delete words, phrases, numbers or emojis.

Instagram says that if you turn these filters off, the comments they hid are restored. Owners can also hide a single comment by tapping Hide under it. A manually hidden comment is then visible only to the owner and the person who wrote it. Our guide on how to unhide a comment on Instagram walks through every way to bring one back.

Restricted accounts: comments only the writer can see

If someone has restricted you, your new comments on their posts are visible only to you. Other people will not see them unless the owner approves each one. Instagram's Help Center describes no alert sent to the restricted person, so most people never know.

Instagram's Help Center explains the owner's side. The owner can tap See comment to read a restricted comment, then tap Approve so everyone can see it, delete it, or ignore it. Owners also get no notifications for future comments from restricted accounts.

Signs you may be restricted

• Your comment shows on your phone but a friend cannot see it on theirs.
• The owner never replies or reacts to your comments.
• Comments from other people on the same post show normally.

There is no setting on your side to undo a restriction. Only the account owner can remove it.

Limits: a temporary filter for pile-ons

Instagram's Limits tool hides comments and message requests from people who do not follow an account or only followed it recently. Since May 2024, people can also limit interactions so they only see comments from their Close Friends. If an account has Limits on, newer followers may find their comments hidden for a while.

Instagram comments disappeared from your post

When Instagram comments disappeared from your own post, they were usually deleted, removed or hidden because the writer's account went offline. Hidden comments can be recovered, but deleted ones cannot.

• The commenter deleted it. Anyone can delete their own comment at any time.
• A co-owner or manager removed it. On shared or business accounts, another person with access may have deleted it.
• Instagram removed it. Comments that break the Community Guidelines can be taken down.
• The commenter deactivated their account. When an account is temporarily deactivated, its photos, comments and likes stay hidden until the person logs back in and reactivates it.
• The commenter deleted their account. Comments from deleted accounts do not come back.
• A new filter caught it. If you recently added Hidden Words, older comments may now sit under View hidden comments.

Check View hidden comments first. It is the only place where a missing comment can still be restored.

Why your own comment is not showing on someone's post

Your own Instagram comment may not show because it was blocked by a spam rule, caught by the owner's filter, or because the owner blocked or restricted you. Instagram also has hard limits on what a single comment can contain.

According to Instagram's Help Center, a comment cannot include more than five @mentions or more than 30 hashtags, and you cannot post the same comment, including the same emojis, many times. Instagram also filters certain words and phrases to uphold its Community Standards.

1. Shorten the comment. Remove extra @mentions and hashtags.
2. Write something new. Avoid pasting the same text on many posts.
3. Reword it. If a comment will not post, change the wording in case a filtered word is the cause.
4. Update the app. Instagram says updating to the latest version is the first thing to try if you cannot comment.
5. Test another post. Comment on a different account's post. If that works, the first owner's settings are the cause.

If many of your comments and posts seem hidden at once, read our guide to the Instagram shadowban for the wider picture.

Fix Instagram comments not showing because of a bug

If comments are not showing on any post, the problem is on your phone or connection, not a setting. Work through these fixes in order and test after each one.

1. Check your connection. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data and reload the post.
2. Close and reopen Instagram. Fully close the app, then open it again.
3. Update the app. Install the latest version from the App Store or Google Play.
4. Log out and back in. This refreshes your session with Instagram's servers.
5. Clear the cache on Android. In your phone's Settings, open Apps, then Instagram, then Storage, and tap Clear cache. Menu names vary by phone maker.
6. Reinstall the app. Delete Instagram and install it again. This also clears the app's stored data on iPhone.
7. Try another device. Open the post on instagram.com in a browser. If comments show there, the issue is your app.

Instagram sometimes has short outages or tests changes with small groups of users. If nothing works, wait a few hours and try again before changing any settings.

Keeping the comment section healthy

Once comments are showing again, keep them flowing with clear calls to reply and fast responses. A busy, friendly comment section encourages more people to join in.

Remove spam and abuse with how to report a comment on Instagram, and use our tips on how to get more comments on Instagram to build real discussion.

Some brands also buy Instagram comments written by themselves, one per line, so a new post does not look empty. Bought comments add social proof to a post, but they do not create real fans or sales by themselves, and Instagram's filters apply to them like any other comment.