How to Stop Instagram from Suggesting Adult Content

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025 References

Instagram has a strict policy against inappropriate content, yet the platform continues to face challenges in enforcing it. A 2018 Forbes report noted that, despite Instagram’s “no nudity” rules, sensitive and suggestive material was still accessible to younger users.^{[1]
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Research source} While the platform has introduced stronger rules and controls, the issue persists at various levels.

According to Meta’s guidelines, sensitive or adult material is restricted across all its platforms, including Instagram, because some users—particularly due to cultural background or age—may find it inappropriate. Instagram prohibits the posting of explicit material but allows certain exceptions in limited or controlled contexts. Examples include content shared for medical, health, or educational purposes, such as childbirth or cancer awareness, as well as artistic works like paintings and sculptures.^{[2]
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Research source}

Some material may also be marked as sensitive or restricted to users aged 18 and older. In these cases, Instagram applies warning labels or age gates so users have more control over what they see.

Despite these rules, sensitive content continues to appear on Instagram and is frequently reported by users. In addition, Instagram’s recommendation system may suggest similar content if a user has previously interacted with it. In this wikiHow article, we will help you limit Instagram from suggesting adult content through a series of steps.

Part 1

Part 1 of 13:

Change your sensitive content control

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Instead of removing all content that may be upsetting, offensive, or sensitive, Instagram sometimes makes it harder to find. This is managed through the Sensitive Content Control, which allows users to choose whether they want to see more or less of such material. However, this control only applies to content that goes against Instagram’s Recommendation Guidelines, not to content that violates its Community Standards.

1
Open Instagram. Launch the Instagram app on your Android or iPhone. Tap the app icon—it’s a multicolored camera. If you are already logged in, it will open your home page. If not, log in with your account.
2
Go to your profile. Tap your profile icon at the bottom-right corner of the app to open your profile page.

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3
Open the Instagram settings. Tap the ≡ hamburger button at the top-right corner. This will open the settings page.
4
Find Content Preferences. Under the “What You See” section, select “Content Preferences,” located near the “Muted Accounts” option.
5
Select Sensitive Content. Tap the “Sensitive Content” option. This is the first option on the page.
6
Choose Less. By default, the setting is on “Standard”. Switch it to “Less” by tapping on it.
7
Done. This change affects search results, Explore, Reels, feed recommendations, hashtag pages, and even comments on posts. After resetting your suggested content, your suggestions will become more personalized again as you interact with content on Instagram by liking, sharing, or engaging with it.
- Instagram will also limit violent content (such as fights), content promoting regulated products (tobacco, vaping, adult products, pharmaceutical drugs), and other adult or sensitive material.
- This setting also applies to the Threads app, meaning sensitive content will also be reduced there if you use it.

Part 2

Part 2 of 13:

Reset your suggested content

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At the end of 2024, Instagram introduced a feature that allows users to reset their content recommendations in Explore, Reels, and Feed whenever they want a fresh start. Resetting suggested content does not affect who you follow or the ads you see.^{[3]
X
Research source} This feature is useful if your Instagram feed has become filled with too many adult content recommendations. However, keep in mind that this setting resets all of your interests, so you may initially see unrelated content in your Explore and Reels tabs. Over time, as you like, share, and engage with posts, your recommendations will become more personalized again. If you are ready to make this trade-off, you can follow the steps below.

1
Open Instagram settings. Tap your profile picture at the bottom right of the app. On your profile page, tap the ≡ hamburger button in the top-right corner to open settings.
2
Select Content Preferences. This option is located under the “What You See” section.
3
Tap Reset Suggested Content. Scroll to the last option on the page and select it.
4
Tap Next. A notice will appear explaining the reset feature. Read it carefully, then tap Next.
5
Check the accounts you follow. Accounts that post or reshare adult content may influence your recommendations. Review the list of accounts you follow and unfollow those contributing to unwanted suggestions.
6
Confirm the reset. Tap Reset suggested content. A confirmation pop-up will appear, reminding you that resets cannot be undone but will not delete your data.
7
Wait for the process to finish. After a few seconds, the reset will be complete, and you'll see a “Your suggested content has been reset” message if it was successful.
8
Done. To avoid adult content appearing again, stop engaging with it and instead interact with posts that reflect your real interests.
- Your feed and Explore tab will now show different topics, which may not match your usual preferences at first. Over time, recommendations will adjust based on what you interact with. You can also use the “Interest” button to guide the algorithm by showing it what you prefer.
- Note that, even after a reset, Instagram will still use your data in other ways, such as to personalize ads.

Part 3

Part 3 of 13:

Hide an Instagram post that you're not interested in

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You can customize Instagram’s recommendations by using the “Not Interested” and “Interested” options. This can significantly reduce the adult content suggested to you. If you see a post on your Feed, Reels, Explore, or Search that you’re not interested in, you can choose to see fewer posts like it.

1
Find a post with adult content. This can appear on your Feed, Reels, Explore, or Search.
2
Tap the ⋮ three dots icon. On normal posts, it’s at the top-right corner. On Reels, it’s at the bottom-right corner.
3
Select Not Interested. This option is located next to the “Interested” button.
4
Choose a reason. You can tap “This post made me uncomfortable” or, if the adult content comes from a specific account repeatedly, choose “Don’t suggest posts from this user.”

Part 4

Part 4 of 13:

Review your liked posts

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1
Open Instagram settings. Tap your profile picture at the bottom right of the app. On your profile page, tap the ≡ hamburger button in the top-right corner.
2
Tap Your Activity. You’ll find this option next to “Archive”.
3
Select Likes. This is the first option under “Your Activity.”
4
Review your liked posts. Scroll through the list and look for any adult or sensitive content.
5
Remove a like from a single post. Open the post and tap the red heart icon. On normal posts, it’s under the caption; on Reels, it’s on the right-hand side. Once removed, the heart will return to its default outline.
6
Remove multiple likes at once. In the “Likes” tab, long-press one post, then select others you want to unlike. Tap the Unlike button at the bottom of the screen and confirm your action.
To avoid similar recommendations in the future, avoid liking or interacting with adult content.

Part 5

Part 5 of 13:

Review your saved posts

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Saved posts can also affect your content recommendations. If you’ve saved adult content, deleting those posts may help reduce the amount of similar content suggested to you on Instagram.

1
Go to Instagram settings. Open your profile, then tap on the ≡ (menu) icon.
2
Tap on “Saved.” You can find this under the How You Use Instagram section.
- On PC, click the “≡ More” button at the bottom-left corner of the screen, then choose “Saved” from the options. You can also access it directly from your profile by tapping the “Saved” icon.
3
Review saved posts. Check if you have accidentally or intentionally saved any adult content.
4
Remove a saved post. Tap on a post to expand it, then tap the bookmark/save icon at the bottom right. A sheet will appear. Tap on “Saved” to remove it.
5
Remove multiple saved posts at once. From the “Saved” section, tap on “Manage,” select the posts you want to remove, then tap “Unsave” at the bottom and confirm your action.
Going forward, avoid saving or browsing adult content to prevent it from influencing your recommendations again.

Part 6

Part 6 of 13:

Review the posts you’ve marked as “Interested.”

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If you’ve marked any posts containing adult content as “Interested,” this can also influence Instagram’s recommendation algorithm. Removing these posts can help keep your feed cleaner.

1
Open Instagram settings. Go to your profile, then tap the ≡ hamburger button.
2
Tap on Content Preferences. This is located under the “Muted Accounts” option.
3
Select Interested. It will appear above the “Not Interested” option.
4
Review posts for adult content. Tap each post to expand and check it.
5
Select posts to remove. In the “Interested” tab, long-press a post, then select any other posts you want to remove.
6
Tap Remove. This button is at the bottom of the screen. Once done, the selected posts will no longer influence your recommendations.

Part 7

Part 7 of 13:

Review your reposted posts

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According to Instagram, reposted content can also influence your recommendation algorithm. Removing adult posts from your Reposts tab may help reduce the amount of adult content suggested to you.

1
Open your profile page. Tap your profile icon at the bottom-right corner of the app.
2
Go to the Reposts tab. This is the 🔁 icon located next to the Tagged Posts section.
3
Review your reposts. Scroll through the list and check for any adult or sensitive content you may have reposted, either accidentally or intentionally.
4
Undo a single repost. Open the post and tap the 🔁 button with a check mark inside it. Once removed, the button will return to the regular 🔁 icon.
5
Remove multiple reposts at once. Go to Settings > Your Activity > Reposts. Long-press one post, select others you want to remove, then tap the Delete button at the bottom of the screen. Confirm your action in the pop-up by tapping Delete again.
To avoid sensitive recommendations in the future, try not to repost adult content, as it can directly affect your suggestions.

Part 8

Part 8 of 13:

Unfollow accounts that post or share adult content

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If someone you follow posts or frequently reposts adult content, it can influence your recommendations and bring more sensitive material to your feed. Unfollowing such accounts can help reduce adult content suggestions.

1
Go to your following list. Open your Instagram profile, then tap on the Following count to see the accounts you follow.
2
Review the accounts that you follow. Check their posts and reposts, located next to the tagged posts section, to see if they share adult content.
3
Tap the Following button. You’ll find it next to the “Message” button on their profile.
4
Select Unfollow. This will appear as the last option in the sheet.
- You can easily unfollow someone from your following list by tapping the ⋮ three-dots icon next to their username and selecting “Unfollow.”
To keep your recommendations cleaner, avoid following accounts that share adult or sensitive content in the future.

Part 9

Part 9 of 13:

Report adult content on Instagram

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If you come across adult content that violates Instagram’s Community Standards, you can report it directly. Reporting is completely anonymous, and no information about you will be shared with the person whose account or post you reported.

1
Tap the ⋮ three dots icon on the post or reel. On reels, it’s located in the bottom-right corner, and on posts, it’s in the top-right corner.
2
Tap Report. It will be the last option.
3
Select Nudity or sexual activity. This will take you to another menu.
4
Choose the most accurate option from the list. Instagram provides several, including “Threatening to share or sharing nude images,” “Seems like prostitution,” “Seems like sexual exploitation,” and “Nudity or sexual activity.”
5
Tap Submit to send your report. The button will be at the bottom of your screen. For extra safety, also block the user to prevent Instagram from showing you more posts from that account.

Part 10

Part 10 of 13:

Block accounts

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If you frequently see adult content from a specific account, you can block them to prevent their posts from appearing on your feed.

1
Go to the user’s profile. When you see adult content on Explore, Reels, Feed, or elsewhere, tap their username or profile picture to open their profile. Or just search for the profile Instagram frequently suggests to you.
2
Tap the ⋮ three dots icon. It’s located at the top-right corner of their profile page.
3
Select Block. A confirmation pop-up will appear.
4
Confirm the block. Tap Block again. You will see a “User is blocked” message, and their posts will no longer appear on your account.

Part 11

Part 11 of 13:

Mute words and hashtags

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You can reduce adult or sexual content on Instagram to some extent by muting specific words, hashtags, or phrases. You can find lists of words or hashtags to mute with a simple Google search.

1
Open Instagram settings. Tap your profile icon at the bottom-right corner, then tap the ≡ hamburger button.
2
Tap on Content Preferences. This is located under the “Muted Accounts” option, within the What You See section.
3
Select Specific Words and Phrases. You can find this under the “Not Interested” option.
4
Add words, phrases, or emojis. Enter the items you want to hide from suggested posts. You can add multiple entries at once by separating them with commas (e.g., entry1, entry2).
- Use Google to find lists of words commonly associated with adult content.
5
Tap Done. It may take up to 24 hours for the muted words to stop affecting suggested posts. Also, entries must exactly match the hashtags used in suggested posts to hide them.
- This setting does not affect suggested posts when visiting Instagram via a web browser (instagram.com).

Part 12

Part 12 of 13:

Snooze suggested posts

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If you’re seeing adult content on your feed from accounts you don’t follow, you can use Instagram’s Snooze Posts feature to hide them. This allows you to let Instagram know that a suggested post, or posts like it, don’t interest you. You can easily snooze all suggested posts for 30 days.

1
Find suggested content on your home tab. Look for posts with the “Suggested for you” label under the username.
2
Tap the ⋮ three dots icon. You’ll find it at the top-right corner of the post.
3
Tap on the Not Interested option from the list. After doing this, you’ll see a “Post Hidden” message with a couple of options.
4
Tap on Snooze all suggested posts for 30 days. If successful, Instagram won’t show you suggested posts for 30 days, unless you’ve already seen all posts from accounts you follow.
5
You can also access this option through “Content Preferences” settings. Go to Settings > Content Preferences > Snooze Suggested Posts in Feed.

Part 13

Part 13 of 13:

Engage with other content

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To reduce how much adult content Instagram suggests, you need to show the platform that you prefer other types of content. By engaging more with niche topics such as cars, photography, nature, sports, or hobbies, Instagram’s algorithm will gradually shift to recommend those instead. You can signal your interests to Instagram by searching for topics often, browsing related content, following accounts that post about them, liking, saving, reposting, and using the “Interested” button.

1
Follow more accounts. Try following new accounts related to your favorite topics such as hobbies or sports. This helps Instagram suggest more content similar to what those accounts post. Use the search bar to find your interests and follow people who regularly post about them.
- When you discover an account you enjoy, tap the “Similar Account” button, next to the follow button, to find more like it
Search for your favorite topics and hashtags, then like, save, and repost that content. This tells Instagram you enjoy these topics and want to see more of them.
3
Use the “Interested” feature. When you see a Reel that matches your interests, tap the ⋮ three dots icon and choose Interested. Instagram will prioritize suggesting similar posts for 30 days.
4
Use the “Favourites” feature. When you add an account to your “Favourites” list, their posts will appear higher and more often in your feed. You’ll also get a dedicated feed with only your “Favourites” to catch up on their posts more easily.
By consistently interacting with the type of content you actually enjoy, you help Instagram’s algorithm focus less on adult content and more on your preferred topics.

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Tips

The posts you comment on can also influence Instagram’s recommendation algorithm. To reduce unwanted suggestions, it’s a good idea to remove comments on adult or sensitive content. You can find all the comments you’ve made by going to Settings > Your Activity > Comments.

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Your activity on Threads can also affect your Instagram recommendations. If you interact with sensitive content there, Instagram may suggest more of it. To reduce adult content, avoid engaging with such posts on Threads.

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If you want to control sensitive content on your child’s account, you can use Instagram’s “Supervision” feature. This is a set of tools and insights that parents and guardians can use to support teens under 18 on Instagram. With this feature, you can also manage your teen’s sensitive content settings. Click here to learn more about how to set up teen supervision on Instagram.

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Warnings

Even after following all these steps, it may not be possible to completely stop Instagram from suggesting adult content. However, these methods can significantly reduce the number of such posts you see.

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