How To Turn Off Comments On Instagram

Budding photographers and social media mavens are waking up to exciting news this week: Instagram has announced its latest update, giving users more control over their posts than ever before. With the newest features update, learning how to turn off comments for a post on Instagram is easier than ever — and that's not all! In their quest to create a safe and positive community, Instagram has beefed up security measures across the board. Faithful 'grammers now have the ability to like worthy comments (just like on Facebook) and remove followers from private accounts without the drama of blocking them.

Since Instagram is primarily a visual community, rather than a messaging platform, discussions typically happen in post comments. While many of these comments are wonderful and supportive, occasionally — and sometimes distressingly more than occasionally — there are a few bad apples in the bunch. (This is the internet, after all — here there be trolls.) In order to weed out negative comments in the past and protect themselves from further abuse, users had to toggle on the "hide inappropriate comments" option, which would block comments with offensive keywords or phrases. With the new update, however, controlling your post's comments is so much easier. Instead of a convoluted word search, all users have the ability to simply turn on or off the commenting feature at any time — 'cause sometimes you don't need all that feedback on personal posts, ya know?

There are two super easy ways to stop comments. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make your feed an even more welcoming place for self-expression and sharing.

Turning Off Commenting For A New Post:

1. Update Your App

Before attempting to alter your comment settings, head over to the ol' app store to make sure you are using the latest version of 'gram. The new comment control features are rolling out Monday, Dec. 6, so once you update, you can finally let your images stand alone.

2. Open "Advanced Settings"

In order to turn off commenting before you post an image, simply tap on the "advanced settings" option at the bottom of your screen.

3. Select "Turn Off Commenting"

Toggle on the switch and commenting will be disabled for the new post. If you change your mind, don't sweat it! This feature is quite flexible and commenting can be turned back on at any time!

Turning Off Commenting For An Existing Post:

1. Select The "…" Menu On The Post

Say you have a post that has been getting a lot of attention, but not the kind you want. In the past, you may have been temped to delete your personal post or change your account to private — but now there's a better option! In order to retroactively turn off commenting for a public post, open your Instagram profile, select the post you want to alter, and tap on the "..." icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

2. Tap "Turn Off Commenting"

To disable commenting, tap the "Turn Off Commenting" option. The little speech bubble icon that is typically seen between the "heart" and the "sharing" icons will disappear. It's a fairly subtle change so most viewers won't even realize that comments are disabled on the post until they try to write something. Ah, silence!

To find out more about Instagram's latest update, head here.

Images: Evil Pixels Photography/Stocksy; Lily Fein/Bustle (5)