Did someone just irritate you on Instagram and you’re thinking of reporting their account but wondering what would happen if you report them?
A lot of bad activities are happening on Instagram and they truly deserve hitting that report button. Some users will steal your profile pictures and post them to their accounts.
Others will download your posts and story photos or videos and then upload them to their account pretending to be original owners of the content, instead of using the sharing button.
While some will go to the extent of harassing you in the comments and also sending you direct messages.
If these illegal activities aren’t reported, imagine what Instagram would become?
You and I wouldn’t want to be on the platform because there will be a lot of spam and there will be no respect. In this post, we’re going to discuss what happens when you report someone on Instagram.
What’s the Instagram Report Tool
We can say that it’s just a link or button which every Instagram user can utilize to report any inappropriate activity.
This tool gives every Instagram user the right to report activities that violate Instagram guidelines and anything that can cause harm to other users on the platform.
The reporting tool shouldn’t be used based on personal interest, but rather to report users and content that doesn’t deserve to be viewed on Instagram.
The tool should not be used randomly on accounts you don’t like or on people that criticize your content on Instagram.
Should You Use The Report Tool
A lot of us don’t bother to report inappropriate actions on Instagram not knowing the consequences. Supposing you come across accounts posting nude pictures or pornography, do you wish that your child view such content as underage?
If you notice illegal stuff being sold like drugs, do you want your kid to buy such products? When you notice a fake profile of a public figure, wouldn’t you caution other users to stay away from the account?
The right thing to do in these situations is to report such actions so that you can put an end to them, or I can say that you can contribute to the termination of such actions.
It’s strongly recommended to report any activity that will affect people’s lives in a negative way and Instagram is encouraging you to do that, that’s the reason why they place the Report button beneath each post, comments, and on profile pages for each user. By doing so you have helped them in keeping the community safe.
What Happens When You Report Someone On Instagram
Here comes the main topic of the post, when you report a user on Instagram, some actions will be taken on the account and a further investigation might be required. Let’s take a look at what happens when you hit that report button or link on Instagram.
Clicking on the report button
The moment you click on the “Report” button, two options are displayed on the screen for you. The options are; “It’s a spam” and “Inappropriate content on Instagram”. There are consequences for both and we’ll take a look at each so that you can understand what they mean.
First option: It’s a spam
This should be the alternative when the user is posting random content that’s not of any use. You should go with this option when you notice someone adding comments on your posts without meaning and they’re doing it excessively.
With this option, your content will be hidden from them and you can’t see their content either.
Selecting this option will not terminate their account also, they can still be suspended when a lot of users are reporting their content or profile. They can also face action block immediately when multiple spam reports are filed against them.
Second option: Inappropriate content on Instagram
The next option you can select is the “Inappropriate content on Instagram”. If the content you want to report goes beyond posting spam content, this is the next alternative you have.
After selecting this option, you’ll be shown another screen where you specify the type of inappropriate content the user uploaded to their account.
Severe action is taken for this account once they’re found to be guilty, here are the options that will be displayed after selecting the inappropriate content when filing the report;
Posting Annoying Content
This option doesn’t really have a significant effect on the user, after selecting this option, you’ll be advised to unfollow the user or block them so that you stop receiving their content and likewise, you cannot view their content.
Posting Spam
If you believe the user is spamming especially in the comments, you should select this menu option. If multiple spam reports are received the user will end up having an action block or their account will be suspended. This means their account will be reviewed before they have any chance of recovering the account.
Posting Inappropriate content
If you’re reporting for inappropriate content, you should select this option.
This is when the user-posted nudity, drugs and criminal activities, or any other harmful content on Instagram, select this option to see how they’ll be punished for it.
Their account will undergo a severe review and in most cases, they can hardly recover the account.
This profile is pretending to be someone else
This is the option to choose for impersonation, report users creating fake accounts with the same name as a celebrity or a public figure.
If it’s your account impersonated, you should provide proof including the username of your original profile. You can also report impersonation for other Instagram users as well, you just need to provide their username.
Posting my intellectual property without authorization
If someone has posted your content that you own copyrights, you should select this option. After clicking on this option, you’ll be directed to another page providing more information regarding copyright and trademark laws, you’ll select other options as well to proceed.
Before you go with this option make sure you can defend the content because you’ll have to present evidence that shows you own the content.
You can now see that these are the options available to you when you hit the inappropriate content option. Select the one that’s applicable and make sure to file the report accordingly in order to protect the Instagram community.
How To Report A User On Instagram
Reporting a comment
If you want to report a comment, be it on your post or on another user’s post, you can do that easily on Instagram.
If you want to report a comment made by the user, you should locate the comment and long tap on it so that it becomes blue, you’ll notice the “Exclamation mark” icon and you need to tap on that, then you select the option “Abusive content”.
Reporting a user
If you spot a user with a fake profile or they just deserve reporting due to the nature of the content they post on a regular basis, you can report such a user as well. You should start by visiting their profile page and locate the three dots “…” button.
Once you tap the button, you’ll see the option “it’s inappropriate” option, you then select the option “I believe this account violates Instagram community guidelines”.
There is the option to block them if you want, this will not send any report, if you however want to file the report just continue with the process and choose “Report Account”.
You’ll be presented with more options and you need to select the right one that’s applicable, like posting spam, publishing annoying content or this profile is pretending to be someone else.
We’ve talked about all of them previously. Just choose the option that’s applicable to file the report.
Reporting a post
Instagram also offers the option to report a post and the option can be seen on every post. All you have to do is open the post you want to report and tap on the 3-dot lines that are on the top of the post from the right. For stories, it’s at the button right of the screen.
By clicking on the three-dot lines, you can see the option “Report” and you need to tap on that to initiate the request. You’ll be given the option to specify why you’re reporting the post and you need to select the one that applies.
That’s it for reporting someone or posts on Instagram, just make sure to use the features accordingly in order to avoid reporting a user for the wrong reasons.
Even if you find content that’s inappropriate, you can contact the user to remove it or make edits if required before you report them on Instagram. Let’s move on to share some of the situations where you can report Instagram users.
When To Report Instagram Users Or Posts
A user that impersonates your identity on Instagram
You shouldn’t go easy on anyone that tries to impersonate you by any means, if you don’t report them, they’ll land you in trouble, you have no idea what they’re going to do with your account and you’ll be blamed for it.
I am talking of when you caught a user with your name and photo on their profile, don’t even think twice before reporting such accounts.
Before you report and disable their account make sure to take a screenshot of their recent activities, they might change the details when they realize you have caught them. Make sure you have all the documents required for a legal procedure.
A user that copies your content without any permissions
There are some losers out there keeping an eye on every content you post on your profile and then upload it directly on their profile also.
The proper way for them to share your content is by using the share button, this way you’ll always get credit as the original poster of the content.
Once you realize that a user has been stealing your content along the way you should consider reporting them.
But before reporting, you should send them a message to ask how they obtain the content, you should do this because it’s possible that someone gave them access.
Once you trace the user providing the content you can deal with them also by reporting them, and for the end-users who’re not at fault, you may request them to delete the content and also caution them.
User sharing malicious content
Once you download content from a link that proves to be malicious, you should go back to the post that shares the link and report them immediately to prevent them from causing more harm to other users.
Accounts that are also promoting child abuse content, self-harm, suicide, and other inappropriate content should be reported.
Spam advertisements
You’ll definitely come across spammers on Instagram, most Internet marketers don’t respect the boundaries of social media users. You’ll end up receiving a lot of marketing messages in the DM over and over again.
If it’s done for the first time you can send back a warning, the next time they do it again, you should report and at the same time block the user that is disturbing you.
Watch out for comments as well because a lot of marketers are using automation to keep posting marketing messages which are very annoying. Once you spot such users, you should report them right away.
Harassment
You’ll see harassment both in the DM and in your post comments. Some will even keep tracking your activities and ensure they harass you on comments you made on other accounts.
You can ignore them if it’s done only once, but if you notice they’ve done it multiple times, you need to take action which is reporting them and also blocking their account so that they can’t interact with you anymore on Instagram.
You should know that criticism isn’t harassment, a user can disagree with your posts by sharing their thoughts in the comments, but sending you abuses and nasty messages in the DM shouldn’t be taken lightly.
You should make sure to take a screenshot and contact the support team to get rid of such accounts because chances are they’ve harassed a lot of users and the Instagram team will review their account to find another evidence showing they violated their guidelines and then terminate their account.