Instagram DMs from strangers: how to block and report

What Instagram already does for under-18 accounts

If your teen has an Instagram account and their real age is on file, Instagram automatically places them on a Teen Account. Under a Teen Account, only people your teen already follows — or has chatted with before — can send direct messages that land in the main inbox. Everyone else lands in a Message Requests folder that your teen has to open deliberately. The other person cannot see that the message has been viewed until your teen accepts the request.

Teens under 16 get the strictest version of these defaults. Changing who can send message requests at all requires a parent’s permission inside Instagram’s Family Center supervision.

That still leaves some gaps. Someone who entered a fake birth date gets adult-account behaviour. A stranger your teen followed during a brief “follow-for-follow” phase has inbox access until unfollowed. And a request folder is not the same as no contact — the message still arrives and your teen still has to decide what to do with it.

How does a DM request land, and what happens when your teen opens it?

Your teen will see a notification or a banner that says they have a message request. Tapping it opens a preview screen. At this point the sender cannot see that the message has been read — that receipt only triggers after your teen accepts. Three choices appear at the bottom of the preview:

• Accept — moves the person into the full inbox and lets them send follow-up messages without further approval.
• Delete — removes the request. The sender is not notified, but they can try again (from the same or a new account).
• Block or Report — available from the same screen without accepting first. Use these when the message is unwanted, suspicious, or inappropriate.

Accepting and then blocking later is also possible, but it is not necessary. Your teen can block or report directly from the request preview and never accept.

How to report a suspicious message request

Reporting sends the content to Instagram’s safety team. The sender is not told who reported them. Your teen’s name does not appear in the report.

1. Open the request — tap the message request notification, or go to Chats › Message Requests.
2. Tap the sender’s name at the top of the preview to open their profile card.
3. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner of their profile.
4. Choose Report — then select the reason: “It’s spam,” “It’s inappropriate,” or “Involves a minor” if someone is sending sexual content or asking for personal information.
5. Then choose Block or Delete after reporting — this stops the account from sending another request.

If the content is sexual and involves your child, reporting to Instagram is a first step, not the last one. The sextortion guide covers what to do in the first 24 hours, including reporting to NCMEC’s Take It Down service and when to contact law enforcement.

How to block someone from the request screen

Blocking is the right move when you want zero further contact from that account. The person is not notified.

1. Open the message request without accepting it.
2. Tap Block at the bottom of the preview. If that option isn’t visible, tap the sender’s name, then the three-dot menu, then Block.
3. Choose what to block. Instagram will offer to block just this account, or also block accounts the same person may create in the future, tied to their device or phone number. Choose the broader option when contact feels deliberate.

Blocking does not delete the message history. If your teen had previously accepted messages from this person, those will remain until manually deleted: open the conversation, press and hold, choose Delete.

Can you stop stranger requests from arriving in the first place?

Yes. Message Controls let you change who is allowed to send requests before they reach the folder. The path in the app is:

1. Tap the three-line menu (top right of your teen’s profile) › Settings & activity.
2. Tap How others can interact with you › Messages and story replies.
3. Tap Message controls.
4. Under “Others on Instagram” (people your teen doesn’t follow), set to Don’t receive requests.

Under a Teen Account for under-16s, the default is already restricted to people your teen follows. But if the account predates Instagram’s Teen Account rollout or settings were changed at some point, it is worth checking. Under-16s need a parent to approve loosening these controls in Family Center.

What to tell your teen before they encounter a stranger request

Most teens get stranger requests because their account is set to public, they commented on a popular post, or their username is visible in a game or forum. That is where the conversation starts — about visibility, not blame.

• Don’t accept from people you don’t recognise. Accepting gives the person inbox access. A request you don’t recognise is safest deleted without reading.
• It’s fine to block first, ask questions later. Blocking is not rude. If it turns out to be a mix-up, the person can be unblocked and both sides can follow each other the normal way.
• Show a parent if the message is sexual or threatening. Reporting to Instagram alone is not enough. A parent needs to know immediately so the right steps happen quickly.
• A message that feels urgent or offers something too good to be true is a scam. “You won a giveaway,” “I can get you followers,” and “I’m a talent scout” are common openers. See the guide to stranger-contact apps and scripts for more patterns to recognise.

What if the same person contacts them again from a new account?

Instagram lets you block “future accounts from this person” at the point of blocking, which ties the block to their device or phone number. It is not a perfect barrier — someone determined can get around it — but it raises the effort required significantly.

If new contact continues and it feels targeted — references your teen’s school, location, appearance, or real name — keep screenshots of every approach and report to your local police. Instagram does respond to law enforcement requests for account information. The emergency response guide has the full step-by-step, including what to screenshot and where to file reports.