Many Instagram users who want to take a social media break deactivate their accounts without knowing how their deactivated profile will look to their followers and others.
So, we wrote this article for you– What does a deactivated Instagram account look like?
After deactivating an Instagram account, its content won’t be available anymore. Other people can’t see and search this profile. Users can deactivate their Instagram account temporarily or as long as they need. Deactivation does not mean account deletion, so you can get back your account by just logging in and activating your account.
Remember you can deactivate your account temporarily and recover it back anytime. It is not permanent action like account deletion. That’s why people prefer deactivating their accounts rather than deleting them forever.
So, let’s see “what does a temporarily disabled Instagram account look like.” This article has enough information about deactivating your account and how others will see it.
How Does A Deactivated Instagram Account Look Like?
You can deactivate your Instagram account so no one else can access it until you re-activate it. In fact, instead of deleting your account, you disable your account for others so that no one can reach your account. Let’s see– what does deactivating Instagram do?
- Instagram will hide your profile from others and shows them an error page– Sorry, this page isn’t available.
- So nobody can see your posts, reels, comments, and likes.
- Your Instagram profile will not come up in the search.
- Your followers can’t unfollow you because they don’t have access to your profile.
- Instagram will not hide your messages, comments, and likes.
So, now you know what happens when you deactivate your Instagram.
The account reactivation process is simple. Just log into your Instagram account and reactivate it. Your account will be active, and followers can see your profile and its content.
How To Deactivate Your Instagram Account
After learning what happens when you deactivate Instagram, follow the steps given below to activate your account so you can go for social media detox.
- Open the Instagram app on your phone.
- Tap the profile picture in the bottom menu.
- Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Account.
- Scroll down and tap Delete account.
- Tap the Deactivate Account button.
- Select a reason “This is temporary, I’ll be back” from the drop-down menu why you are deactivating your account.
- Select “Don’t Auto Reactivate” under Automatically reactivate my account in.
- Enter your password.
- Tap the Temporarily Deactivate Account button.
- Finally, tap the Yes button.
To regain your account, simply log back into your account with your credentials, and your Instagram account will be restored.
What Happens To Instagram Direct Messages When You Temporarily Disable Your Account?
After temporarily deactivating your account, nothing happens to Instagram direct messages. Instagram will not hide them from receivers.
If someone deactivated their Instagram, can you still see messages?
Yes, old messages will be visible to you, but sending and receiving new messages will not be possible. So, a deactivated Instagram profile will not receive any messages from you.
How To Know If Someone Deactivated Their Instagram?
There will be much confusion if you can’t search for a known profile on your Instagram. Suddenly, you will start thinking they have blocked me or that person has deactivated their account.
How do you know if someone deactivated their Instagram? I have a few ways to share with you. Please read further.
- You can use your friend’s account to search for the specific profile you are looking for. If their profile is not coming up in the search on your friend’s account, then the user has possibly deactivated or deleted their profile.
- You can create a new Instagram account to check whether you can search for a known profile. If the profile appears on this account, they have blocked your old profile on Instagram.
- Do you know their profile URL or username? If yes, then open their profile URL on your web browser. If the Instagram account is deactivated, you’ll see the message– “Sorry, this page isn’t available.”
These ways, you can check whether someone has deactivated their account or not.
What Happens If You Delete Your Instagram Account?
Deleting an account is completely different from deactivating an Instagram account. You can’t recover your deleted account after 30 days recovery period. It will be permanently deleted from Instagram servers; nothing can be done later. Creating a new account will be required to use Instagram again.
The following happens after deleting an Instagram account:
- Instagram will remove your entire account and its data, profile, reels, stories, comments, and likes.
- You’ll get 30 days recovery period, but if you didn’t log in back into your account within 30 days, you can’t recover it later. It will be permanently deleted.
- The same username will not be available for the new account.
- Your direct messages will remain intact, their receivers can read them, but your name will not appear to them. Instead of your name, they’ll only see “Instagram user.”
Final Note
Now, you know the difference between deleting or deactivating your account. Deactivating your account is temporarily disabling your account for others. Simply log in back to your account to restore a deactivated account anytime. But account deletion is permanent, and you can’t get back your account and its content later.
Instagram users can not see a deactivated profile and its content, photos, reels, stories, comments, and likes because almost everything will become invisible to others during deactivation.
FAQs
How can I deactivate my Instagram?
You can go to delete account settings. There you will get an option to temporarily deactivate your account. Follow the on-screen instructions for account deactivation.
If someone deactivates their Instagram, do their likes disappear?
Yes, if someone deactivates their Instagram, their likes will not disappear from others’ posts and reels.
If someone deactivated their Instagram, can you still see messages?
Yes, if someone deactivates their Instagram, you can see old messages only. Your new messages won’t deliver to them.
How do you know if someone deleted their Instagram?
The common signs of a deleted Instagram account are:
- Their profile will not be available through their Instagram profile URL.
- Their profile won’t come up in the search results.
- Their DMs will remain intact, but you’ll see their name as “Instagram user.”