Explicit content controls · Instagram
Checked August 18, 2026
Limit sensitive content on Instagram
In the Instagram app, go to your profile, tap Menu, then Content Preferences, then Sensitive content, and select Less. That lowers sensitive posts in Explore, Reels, Search and suggested content. It does not touch accounts you follow or your DMs, and nothing locks it.
A platform-side model decides what counts. Misses are common on suggestive content, and the model changes without notice.
The honest line
The Sensitive Content Control only trims what Instagram recommends: Explore, Reels, Search, comments and suggested posts. It never touches accounts you follow or your DMs, and it only catches what Instagram's own systems classify as sensitive.
Who can lock it: No lock: anyone signed in to the account can set it back to Standard or More in a few taps. Lock it from outside with Screen Time, Family Link or DNS.
Availability: Instagram's Help Center gives steps for the Instagram app on Android, iPhone and iPad only. It lists no path for instagram.com on a computer. The word list for suggested posts is app-only and, per Instagram, does not apply on instagram.com.
On this page
Sensitive Content Control
A three-position setting, More, Standard and Less, that changes how much content Instagram's systems classify as sensitive shows up in recommended surfaces. Standard is the default. Instagram says the control limits this content only from accounts you don't follow.
A platform-side model decides what counts. Misses are common on suggestive content, and the model changes without notice.
Instagram app (Android and iPhone)
Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
Tap Menu in the top right.
- Tap Content Preferences, then tap Sensitive content. Official Instagram destination (opens in a new tab)
Tap Select next to Less to see less content you may find upsetting.
Standard is the default. Select next to More shows more of it.
Tap Confirm.
Instagram app (iPad)
Tap your profile picture on the left to go to your profile.
Tap Menu in the top right.
- Tap Content Preferences, then tap Sensitive content. Official Instagram destination (opens in a new tab)
Tap Select next to Less to see less content you may find upsetting.
Instagram notes this option may not be available to people under 18.
Tap Confirm.
What it covers
- Explore
- Search
- Reels
- Comments
- Accounts You Might Follow and hashtag pages
- Recommendations (suggested posts) in your feed
What it does not cover
- Does not limit content from accounts you follow. Instagram says you will still see content from friends, family and other accounts you follow.
- Only covers what Instagram's systems classify as sensitive under its Recommendation Guidelines. Suggestive posts the classifier does not flag still appear.
- Does not apply to content that goes against Community Standards, which Instagram removes separately, or to content that already appears behind a warning.
- Does nothing to direct messages.
- Anyone using the account can switch it back to Standard or More.
Not interested and Don't suggest posts with certain words
Tell Instagram to show fewer posts like the one in front of you, stop suggestions from one account, snooze all suggested posts for 30 days, or hide suggested posts whose captions or hashtags contain words you list.
Works only for what you name. Nothing new is caught until you name it too.
Instagram app (Android and iPhone)
- On a post in your feed, Reels, Explore or Search, tap Options, then select Not Interested. Official Instagram destination (opens in a new tab)
In Explore you can also tap and hold a post, then tap Not interested.
- On a suggested post in Feed, tap Options, then Not interested, then Don't suggest posts from [name]. Official Instagram destination (opens in a new tab)
This stops suggestions from that one account.
- Tap Don't suggest posts with certain words, enter words, phrases or emojis separated by commas, then tap Done. Official Instagram destination (opens in a new tab)
Instagram says it may take up to 24 hours before suggested posts with those words stop appearing.
Tap Snooze to pause all suggested posts in your Feed for 30 days.
To edit the word list later, go to your profile, tap Menu, tap Content preferences, then tap Specific words and phrases.
What it covers
- Suggested posts in Feed
- Recommendations in Reels, Explore and Search
- Captions and hashtags of suggested posts that match your word list
What it does not cover
- The word list needs an exact hashtag match or a caption match. It ignores comments, and it ignores photos and video with no matching text.
- The word list does not hide posts from accounts you follow, even when their captions match.
- The word list does not apply to suggested posts you see on instagram.com.
- Not interested only nudges ranking. Instagram says it reflects your response in future suggestions; it does not promise the topic disappears.
- Snooze ends after 30 days, and Reset suggested content cannot be undone.
Instagram questions
Does the Sensitive Content Control hide posts from accounts I follow?
No. Instagram says it only limits this type of content from accounts you don't follow, and that you will still see content from friends, family and other accounts you follow. Unfollow, mute or block those accounts yourself.
Can I change it on instagram.com from a computer?
Instagram's Help Center only lists steps for the Instagram app on Android, iPhone and iPad. Set it in the app. The word list for suggested posts also does not apply on instagram.com.
Can I lock it on Less?
Not on an adult account. Anyone signed in can move it back to Standard or More at any time. Teen Accounts default to an Ages 13+ content setting and need a parent's or guardian's permission to change it to More content. For your own devices, put the lock outside the app with Screen Time, Family Link or a filtering DNS.
What does Instagram count as sensitive?
Content that stays inside Community Standards but is not eligible for recommendations under its Recommendation Guidelines: for example content that may be sexually suggestive, may depict violence, or promotes regulated products. Adult nudity and sexual activity are removed under Community Standards rather than handled by this control.
What On Guard adds
On Guard adds the layer Instagram does not have: it detects explicit content on the screen itself, on Mac, Windows, and Android, in any app, keeps every frame on the device, puts up a gate, and texts an ally a check-in with no details.
The controls above are worth setting either way. On Guard is the layer for the moment a setting is not enough. How it works, explained.