help with instagram
December 25, 2023 10:01 AM Subscribe
I am not currently on Instagram. But I am considering it. I wanted to be clear on something before proceeding.
My question: I have a profile. I "like" or "comment" on someone's post who I do NOT follow. Can someone who follows me and me them see the likes or comments in this case? If so, is there a way to stop that feature? I am not asking about someone I do follow in regards to comments or likes, only someone I don't.
My question: I have a profile. I "like" or "comment" on someone's post who I do NOT follow. Can someone who follows me and me them see the likes or comments in this case? If so, is there a way to stop that feature? I am not asking about someone I do follow in regards to comments or likes, only someone I don't.
Their following you or you them is irrelevant.
Just as you can right now look at any Instagram post and see all the comments and likes without even having an account, all comments and likes are visible to all viewers of said post. The only people who cannot are those who've been blocked by whosever's content it is, but in that case they would not be seeing the post itself, let alone the comments and likes.
posted by dobbs at 10:46 AM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just as you can right now look at any Instagram post and see all the comments and likes without even having an account, all comments and likes are visible to all viewers of said post. The only people who cannot are those who've been blocked by whosever's content it is, but in that case they would not be seeing the post itself, let alone the comments and likes.
posted by dobbs at 10:46 AM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not only will it be visible but recommendations on Instagram are likely to push things liked or interacted with by your mutuals.
posted by Lanark at 11:06 AM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Lanark at 11:06 AM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Are you asking if your likes can be viewed on your own profile? Or only if they can be viewed on the non-followed account's profile?
What I'm getting at is whether the person you follow who follows you also follows or sometimes looks at or follows the account you are liking.
posted by happy_cat at 1:32 PM on December 25, 2023
What I'm getting at is whether the person you follow who follows you also follows or sometimes looks at or follows the account you are liking.
posted by happy_cat at 1:32 PM on December 25, 2023
Trying to parse the intent of the question - are you trying to understand if someone else can tell who you are engaging with (liking/commenting) on instagram? If so, the answer is yes. It doesn't matter if you follow someone or not, or if others follow you or not - all the comments/likes your account makes on other accounts is public for anyone to see if they want to.
And no, there's no way to stop this feature - it's considered instagram's basic functionality and is the the foundation behind "social" media.
posted by cgg at 2:14 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
And no, there's no way to stop this feature - it's considered instagram's basic functionality and is the the foundation behind "social" media.
posted by cgg at 2:14 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Likes and comments on public posts are public, but Instagram doesn’t let someone go to your profile and see what you have liked/commented on. To know that you liked a post by “sparklefan99”, I would have to view that post by sparklefan99. If I follow you, i will probably see your name listed in the “likes” total (unless 3 others that I follow also like the post). Otherwise, I’d have to click on “88 likes”, and your name would be at/near the top of that list of 88 names.
And, yes, if I follow you, it might show me the post by sparklefan99 because if I like you, I might like the things you like.
But, generally, people can’t go to your profile and see a list of your liked posts.
posted by itesser at 2:46 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
And, yes, if I follow you, it might show me the post by sparklefan99 because if I like you, I might like the things you like.
But, generally, people can’t go to your profile and see a list of your liked posts.
posted by itesser at 2:46 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have two IG accounts. One, I use to view my kid's and my friend's posts and will occasionally, ok rarely, post something like a happy birthday picture of my kid from 20 years ago. I will like things that friends and family post, but nothing else.
My other account, I have no followers and I follow like 5 or fewer accounts and those are generic accounts of say the White House and maybe someone sports famous, but no one I know or care about. I will like something on this account as more of a bookmark. I never log in from the same machine or device that my other known account is using or has used. (I use an old cell phone and old laptop that have both been wiped and are internet connected by VPN only.
I have no idea if this is enough to thwart the linking of the two accounts or the account to me or if it is just mental masturbation of a paranoid person, but I have never found that the two accounts are linked in any way. I never view something on one account and get an add for something similar on the other or ever get suggestions to follow someone who I may have interacted with on my known account family account.
I have no idea what your intent is or why you asked the question, but if it is to find out if the account can be linked back to you or if someone you know can see what you like or follow, wither don't ever like anything or spend a lot of time and effort like I do/did to avoid ever the two intersecting. To be blunt, I think I wasted a lot of time and effort, but that is my issue, the machinations of someone who is determined to maintain their privacy and feed my (mild) paranoia.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:07 PM on December 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
My other account, I have no followers and I follow like 5 or fewer accounts and those are generic accounts of say the White House and maybe someone sports famous, but no one I know or care about. I will like something on this account as more of a bookmark. I never log in from the same machine or device that my other known account is using or has used. (I use an old cell phone and old laptop that have both been wiped and are internet connected by VPN only.
I have no idea if this is enough to thwart the linking of the two accounts or the account to me or if it is just mental masturbation of a paranoid person, but I have never found that the two accounts are linked in any way. I never view something on one account and get an add for something similar on the other or ever get suggestions to follow someone who I may have interacted with on my known account family account.
I have no idea what your intent is or why you asked the question, but if it is to find out if the account can be linked back to you or if someone you know can see what you like or follow, wither don't ever like anything or spend a lot of time and effort like I do/did to avoid ever the two intersecting. To be blunt, I think I wasted a lot of time and effort, but that is my issue, the machinations of someone who is determined to maintain their privacy and feed my (mild) paranoia.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:07 PM on December 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
You used to be able to look at another insta user's likes, in the same way you can currently see a Twitter user's likes. I was sorry when that changed because I found some great accounts to follow by checking my friends' likes. Now I suspect the algorithm does the same thing for me. If I look at a post or an account, insta will tell me whether someone I follow has liked or followed it, but not in the same way it used to. As described by others above, if I've already found it, it will tell me who else I know who has also found it.
posted by janey47 at 8:39 PM on December 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by janey47 at 8:39 PM on December 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
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There is no way to stop that feature -- you are basically asking about visibility of comments and likes on a public account. Even if you blocked someone (which is obviously not your scenario, since in your hypothetical they follow you), they could still see your comments and likes on any public account (and in this scenario the account in question would necessarily be public, since otherwise you would not be able to comment on it / interact with it without following it, and your scenario specifies that you would be commenting on / liking an account that you do not follow).
posted by virve at 10:23 AM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]