How to stop Instagram from sharing your likes in the Friends tab
I have a horror story for you, so I hope you're ready. You open Instagram and slide over to Reels, swiping through the vertical videos and commenting on or liking the videos that speak to you in some way — a video of a kitten on the subway, a recipe, some workout tips, a hot person on vacation. You think these interactions are private to you, but you find out through an embarrassing screenshot or text from your friend that the interactions are actually public to all of your mutuals.
This horror story is true. But you can fix it.
Meta began playing around with Friends, a tab in Reels, a few weeks ago. This week, Instagram officially launched the tab, "where you can see public content your friends have interacted with or recommendations from Blends you’ve started and easily start conversations about them," Instagram wrote in a blog post.
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"Friends will help you see which Reels the people you care about most are creating and are engaging with," Instagram wrote.
But if you'd rather keep your liking and commenting habits private, there's a way to ensure no one knows your true digital inner life. Here's how to stop Instagram from sharing your likes and comments in the Friends tab on Reels.
- 1 min
- iPhone
- Instagram app
Step 1: Navigate to your "Settings and activity" page
The first step to stopping Instagram from sharing your likes in the Friends tab is to navigate to your "Settings and activity" page. Simply head to your profile and click the gear icon in the top right corner.
Step 2: Navigate to your "Activity in Friends tab" page
To stop Instagram from sharing your likes in the Friends tab, scroll down in the "Settings and activity" page and click ""Activity in Friends tab"
Step 3: Choose who can see your likes and comments on Reels
After clicking the "Activity in Friends tab," you'll see a page that allows you to choose if you'd like your followers who follow you back to view your likes and comments on Reels in the Friends tab, or if you'd like to keep that private. Toggle between the two to choose your response.
Just because you disable who can see your interactions doesn't mean you can't snoop on your friends' public interactions, though. To do just that and access your Friends tab, tap the "Friends" tab at the top of Reels.
Topics Instagram
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
