Instagram Hidden Words: the list, the setup and the limits

Instagram Hidden Words is the built-in filter that hides comments and message requests containing the words, phrases, numbers or emojis you list, plus the offensive comments Instagram detects. Turn it on in your settings under How others can interact with you, then Hidden Words. Meta says it also covers ads run from your profile.

This guide covers the setup, a starter list by category you can paste today, how to add the spellings spammers use to dodge filters, and what Hidden Words still misses. For every other way to filter comments, see our guide to filtering Instagram comments.

What is Instagram Hidden Words?

Hidden Words groups three controls. Two work on comments, one on message requests from people you don't follow.

Three facts from the Instagram Help Center shape how you use it. Hidden comments still count in your total comment count. The person who wrote a hidden comment is not told. And other people can still read it by tapping View hidden comments at the bottom of the comment section. Turning a setting on hides new and existing comments; turning it off restores them.

How to set up Hidden Words on Instagram

In the Instagram app

1. Go to your profile and tap the menu in the top right.

2. Below How others can interact with you, tap Hidden words.

3. Tap Add words separated by commas and type your words, phrases, numbers or emojis, separated by commas.

4. To remove an entry later, tap Delete next to it.

5. Back in the same section, tap Comments, then Hide unwanted comments, and choose Some or More.

6. For DMs, open Messages and story replies, then Message requests, and turn on Hide unwanted message requests.

On a computer

On instagram.com, click More, then Settings. Below How others can interact with you, click Hidden Words, then Manage custom words and phrases, paste your list and click Submit. The message request filter is not available on the web.

How to hide comments on Instagram: every option

Hidden Words is the automatic layer. Instagram gives you manual tools for everything it misses:

The bulk actions are documented in Instagram's help page on managing multiple comments.

Instagram Hidden Words list: a starter list by category

Start from categories, then adapt with the comments you actually receive. Prefer full phrases to single words: "claim your prize" hides scams, "prize" hides your fans.

Copy-paste version of the low-risk entries:

crypto signals, forex signals, investment plan, double your money, recover your funds, bitcoin profit, t.me/, wa.me/, bit.ly, .lol, .buzz, check my bio, check my profile, you won, claim your prize, congratulations you, DM to claim, send your address, refund here

Add competitor names and handles only if you are sure: a customer comparing you fairly is not spam, and hiding the comparison often looks worse than answering it.

How to add the variants spammers use

Instagram does not document how Hidden Words handles variants, so don't count on it to catch disguised spellings. Add the forms you actually see as separate entries:

The last two rows are the real problem. In a spam wave Blabla analysed in September 2026, a plain keyword match recognised only 31 of 335 comments whose banned word was disguised with invisible characters and lookalike letters.

How to test your Hidden Words list

1. From a second account, comment on one of your posts with a few entries from your list and one variant.

2. Open the post from your main account: the matching comments should sit behind View hidden comments.

3. Post a normal sentence that contains a listed word inside a longer word, such as your product name, to check you are not hiding customers.

4. Delete the test comments and adjust the list.

Repeat the test each time you add a batch of words, and check hidden comments once a week for false positives: unhide anything genuine.

What Hidden Words doesn't catch

• Disguised words. Lookalike letters and invisible characters, as shown above.

• Negativity without keywords. Complaints, sarcasm, harassment and misinformation rarely use a fixed word. In a random sample of comments hidden by Blabla's paying customers, only 0.6% contained a link (Blabla usage data, September 2026): what brands hide is mostly hostility written in ordinary words.

• Context. "Is this a scam?" from a hesitant buyer and "scam brand" from a troll share a word. A keyword hides both; only one deserves an answer.

• Hidden is not gone. Hidden comments count in your total and anyone can open View hidden comments. For clear abuse, delete, restrict or block.

• Ads need a second look. Meta says Hidden Words is set at the profile level and extends to ads from the profile. But if an ad runs with your Facebook Page identity only, you cannot manage its Instagram comments, and ads bring many more strangers. Our guide to monitoring comments on Facebook ads covers where to check them.

• One list per account, no history. Agencies keep a separate list for every client account, with no record of who hid what.

• Message requests only. Custom words apply to comments and to message requests, not to conversations already in your inbox. See our guide to filtering Instagram DMs.

Hidden Words vs AI moderation

For a personal account or a small brand with little spam, Hidden Words plus a weekly check is enough. For brands that run ads, manage several accounts or face daily negativity, the gaps above are where the hours go. Our guide to Instagram moderation shows how to combine both layers.

Common mistakes

• Pasting a long generic list found online that includes words your customers use, such as price, order or size.

• Single words instead of phrases. "Win" or "link" hide genuine comments.

• Never reviewing hidden comments. False positives stay hidden and questions go unanswered.

• Assuming hidden means invisible. Anyone can open View hidden comments.

• Relying on Hidden Words during a giveaway. Fake "you won" replies change wording faster than you can update a list.

• Ignoring comments under ads. That is where strangers, and most scams, show up.

Free tools

• Build and test your Hidden Words list with our free blocklist generator

Automate it with Blabla

Keep Hidden Words on: it is free and catches the obvious. Blabla is the second layer for the gaps listed above. Where Hidden Words needs every spelling, Blabla's AI filters take an instruction such as "hide scams, fake giveaway messages, insults and comments impersonating our brand" and judge meaning, so negativity and disguised words are caught. Where Hidden Words keeps one list per account and no history, Blabla applies one set of rules across all your connected Instagram accounts, and on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, with every hidden comment kept in a shared inbox where the team can review it and unhide a mistake. It works through Meta's official API, in real time, including under ads and dark posts. See how it works on Instagram.

Conclusion

Turn on Hide unwanted comments at Some or More, paste a short list of phrases by category, add the variants you really receive and test from a second account. Check hidden comments weekly and look under your ads. When disguised spam, complaints or trolls get through anyway, add a layer that reads meaning instead of spelling.