What Happens When You Temporarily Disable Instagram?

Instagram is a great way to spend your free time checking out food videos and woodworking ones. But if you find that you are spending too much time on the app, you may consider temporarily disabling it to help you focus better. In this article, we will cover what happens when you temporarily disable your Instagram account.

Why would you temporarily disable your Instagram account?

There is no denying that the amount of time we spend on the social media app has pretty much doubled since the pandemic hit. Some people have noticed that they are less productive when they keep getting notifications from Instagram. Temporarily disabling your account is a good way to keep the distractions at bay, while still keeping your account data intact.

Another reason people disable their account is simply lack of engagement on the platform. If you are not going to be using your account for a while it is better to disable it rather than leave it idle. We will explain why in the sections below.

How to temporary disable your account

Now that you know quite a lot about the pit of despair that Instagram can bring, let’s see how you could temporarily disable your social media account for peace of mind and improved productivity.

From PC

Instagram, for some unfortunate reason, doesn’t allow you to temporarily disable your account from the mobile apps. So, you’ll need to find a computer to get the job done, safely. After you’ve fired up the browser, go to Instagram’s official portal, and log in with your profile credentials. Now, click on your profile picture at the top right section of your screen and hit ‘Settings.’

This would take you to the ‘Edit Profile’ section.

Then, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Temporarily disable my account.’

Instagram would ask for an explanation of the atrocious act, forcing you to state a reason for disabling your account. Only after picking a reason, you’d be granted the option to disable it. Re-enter your password to confirm the action.

From Phone

As mentioned, you cannot disable — even temporarily — disable your Instagram account from the mobile app. However, you can still fetch the desired results using your phone’s browser. Here, too, you’ll need to go to Instagram’s website and sign in with the credentials. Now, you’ll have to locate your profile picture at the bottom-right corner, tap on it, and hit ‘Edit Profile’ on your profile page.

Then, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap on ‘Temporarily disable my account.’

After stating the reason for the same and entering the password, you’ll get the chance to disable your Instagram account, temporarily.

What happens when you temporarily disable your Instagram account?

Disabling your account is basically saying that you do not want to use Instagram for the time being. Users disable their accounts so that they can keep their information intact and not have to worry about likes and comments.

When you disable your account, your account essentially disappears off Instagram. This means your followers can no longer find you. In fact, no one can find you. If a user searches for your username, your account will not show up in the search results.

Since your account is removed from the app database, Followers count for the accounts that you follow will drop by one. If they search for your account in their followers (or following) list, they will not find it. When you re-enable your account, their followers’ count will automatically go up by one. Since users cannot find your account on the app, they cannot unfollow you. This is a major reason why users disable their accounts instead of leaving them idle.

When you temporarily disable your account, Instagram backs up all your content to its server. This means you do not lose any personal information or uploaded content.

What if just you want to hide posts from your profile instead?

If you wish to block access to some of the posts that you no longer want others to see on your Instagram account, then Instagram provides a nifty little tool which allows you to archive selected posts on your profile without actually deleting them or disabling your account.

By archiving a post, you’re essentially hiding it from your followers and public but you can still view it but heading over to your archived posts section inside the Instagram app. Archive also lets you replenish all the engagement that you received for the post when it was public and you can restore it to your account at any future point of time.

So, if you wish to simply archive your posts instead of disabling your account, take a look at the post we’ve provided in the link below.

▶ What Does Archiving Instagram Posts Do?

What happens to DMs when you temporarily disable your Instagram account?

Well, nothing really. Since all your data is backed up when you temporarily disable your account, your DMs remain intact, just as they were the moment you hit the button. You cannot receive or send out DMs though once you temporarily disable your account.

If a user that once sent you a message tries to message you once your account has been temporarily disabled, they will notice that your account name has changed to ‘Instagrammer’. They can still send messages normally, but those messages will not get delivered. Users can still read your old messages in their DMs even if you temporarily disabled your account.

Related: How to turn off Instagram DMs

What does your account look like when you temporarily disable it?

While your account will not show up in searches, there is still a way for users to reach your account. Accounts that you have sent DMs to can tap on your profile in the conversation to be directed to your now-disabled account.

Your account will say ‘No Posts Yet‘ even though the post count at the top may show that you have posted. This looks quite similar to what happens when you block someone on Instagram.

Can people unfollow your account when it’s temporarily disabled?

If you love your Instagram status, temporarily disabling your account can be a life-saving move. When you disable your Instagram account, you eliminate the risk of being unpopular, as none of your followers get the option to unfollow you during your hibernation. So, if you are planning on being inactive for a while, it’s best if you disable your account, not keep it in an idle state.

What about tags, comments, and likes?

When you temporarily disable your account, all your comments and likes will disappear from content on Instagram. So if you commented on a post, that comment will simply disappear. The same goes for likes too. But don’t worry, everything will return once you log back in!

Your friends will not be able to mention you in the comments. If they try to @ your username, the account will not appear. Similarly, they will not be able to tag you in photos.

How often can you temporarily disable your Instagram account?

You can temporarily disable your Instagram account as many times as you like, as long as it is only once per week. Instagram only lets you temporarily disable your account once per week. The option will be unavailable if you have temporarily disabled your account within the past seven days. This is a privacy setting to prevent people from using fake accounts.

How long can your Instagram account be disabled?

You can keep your Instagram account temporarily disabled for as long as you want without fear of losing your personal information. Previously, Instagram would automatically reactivate your account after one week. However, they seem to have dropped that function and now let you keep your account temporarily disabled indefinitely.

How to reactivate your temporarily disabled account

Reactivating your account is as simple as logging back in with your Instagram credentials. While you can only temporarily disable your account using the Instagram website, you can reactivate your account from any device.

Why can’t you temporarily disable your Instagram account?

Temporarily disabling your Instagram account is indeed lucrative. However, there are a couple of conditions that you must meet before you start snoozing.

Web client only

Currently, Instagram doesn’t let you disable your account from the iOS or Android apps. So, if you were trying to get the job done through one of the two mobile clients, you’re sadly out of luck. You need to have access to a browser — PC, preferably — to disable your Instagram profile temporarily. After you get that sorted, kick off the process by going into ‘Settings.’

This would take you to the ‘Edit profile’ section. And finally, click on ‘Temporarily disable my account’ to take a break.

Once a week only

If you start missing the hustle and bustle after disabling your Instagram account, you could reactivate it by simply signing into the app. However, if you grow tired again and want to come back immediately, Instagram would stop you in your tracks. You cannot disable your Instagram account more than once a week. So, the best course of action is to wait it out.

What can you do if you no longer wish to use your Instagram account?

If you think you’re spending too much time on Instagram or are finding it difficult to draw the line between what’s real and what’s virtual, don’t worry, you’ve still got a way out. For some of you, Instagram could be extremely addictive, distracting you from your day-to-day work and at times, also depressing to look at.

If you feel that way, we recommend that you opt for permanently deleting your Instagram Account. By doing so, you not only lose the ability to log in to your Instagram account ever again but also agree to let Instagram delete every single piece of data including your posts, likes, comments, messages, and followers. If you’re okay with all that, then you can proceed to delete your Instagram account once and for all by following the guide in the post we’ve prepared below.

▶ How to delete your Instagram Account

Well, now you know what happens when you temporarily disable your Instagram account. If you have any queries, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below.

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