You cannot fully disable Reels, but you can hide them from your feed and reduce how often they appear
Instagram does not offer a setting to turn off Reels entirely. The feature is built into the app and cannot be removed. However, you have real control over what you see: you can hide Reels from your home feed, mute them so they do not play automatically, and tell Instagram's algorithm to show you fewer of them. The steps differ depending on whether you use Instagram on your phone or computer, and the options available depend on your account type.
If you want to stop seeing Reels altogether, the most effective approach is to use Instagram's "Not Interested" feature repeatedly. Each time you see a Reel you do not want, you can mark it as not interested, and Instagram learns from those choices. Over time, fewer Reels will appear in your feed. You can also mute individual creators so their Reels do not notify you, or unfollow accounts that post mostly Reels.
Key Takeaways
- Instagram has no setting to disable Reels completely, but you can hide them from your home feed using the feed preferences menu.
- Tapping "Not Interested" on individual Reels trains Instagram to show you fewer of them over time.
- You can mute creators whose Reels you do not want to see, or unfollow them entirely without them knowing.
- On a computer, Reels still appear in the Explore section and on creator profiles, even if you hide them from your main feed.
- Business and Creator accounts have the same hiding options as personal accounts, but cannot turn off Reels on their own profiles.
How to hide Reels from your Instagram home feed
On your phone, open Instagram and tap your profile icon in the bottom right. Go to Settings and Privacy, then tap Feed. You will see an option called "Reels" with a toggle next to it. Turn that toggle off. This removes Reels from your home feed when ready, though they will still appear in the Explore section and on individual creator profiles.
On a computer, the feed preferences menu is harder to find. Log into Instagram on the web, click your profile icon in the top right, select Settings, then go to Feeds. Look for the Reels toggle and turn it off. The change takes effect right away, but like the phone version, Reels will still show up elsewhere on the platform.
Hiding Reels from your feed does not delete them or prevent creators from posting them. It only changes what appears when you scroll your home feed. If you follow a creator who posts only Reels, hiding Reels means you will see almost nothing from that account in your feed.
Using "Not Interested" to train Instagram's algorithm
Every time a Reel appears in your feed, you can tap the three dots in the bottom right corner of the video and select "Not Interested." Instagram tracks these choices and gradually shows you fewer Reels like the one you marked. This works best if you do it consistently — marking Reels not interested every time you see one you do not want to watch.
The algorithm learns from patterns. If you mark Reels from a certain creator as not interested repeatedly, Instagram will show you fewer from that account. If you mark Reels about a particular topic as not interested, you will see fewer on that topic. This method takes time — usually a few days to a week — but it is one of the most effective ways to customize your feed.
You can also long-press a Reel and select "See Less" from some accounts, which tells Instagram to deprioritize that creator's content. This is different from unfollowing because the account stays in your following list, but their posts appear less often.
Muting creators and unfollowing accounts that post Reels
If a specific creator posts Reels you do not want to see, you can mute them. Go to their profile, tap the three dots, and select "Mute." You can choose to mute their posts, their stories, or both. When you mute someone's posts, their Reels will not appear in your feed, but they will not know you muted them. You remain following them, so you can unmute them anytime.
Unfollowing is more permanent. If you unfollow an account, none of their content — including Reels — will appear in your feed. They will not be notified that you unfollowed them. You can always follow them again later if you change your mind.
Muting is useful if you like some of a creator's content but want to avoid their Reels. Unfollowing works better if you do not want to see anything from that account anymore. Neither action is visible to the other person.
Where Reels still appear even if you hide them
Turning off Reels in your feed settings does not remove them from the entire app. Reels will still appear in the Explore section, which is the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of your screen. They will also appear on individual creator profiles, in the Reels tab at the top of their page. If you visit the Reels section directly — a dedicated tab on some accounts — you will see Reels there too.
Stories from creators you follow may also contain Reel-like content, and hiding Reels does not affect those. The feed toggle only controls what shows up when you scroll your home feed, not everywhere else on Instagram.
If you want to avoid Reels completely, you will need to combine hiding them from your feed with actively marking them not interested when you see them in Explore or on profiles. There is no single setting that removes Reels from the entire platform.
Reels on Business and Creator accounts
If you run a Business or Creator account, you have the same options to hide Reels from your own feed as a personal account user does. You can turn off the Reels toggle in your feed settings and mark Reels not interested. However, you cannot disable Reels on your own profile — if you post Reels, they will appear in your profile's Reels tab and in your followers' feeds (unless they have hidden Reels).
Business and Creator accounts have additional Reels tools in their settings, like the ability to see how many views and shares your Reels get. These analytics tools cannot be turned off, but they do not affect what other people see — they only show you data about your own performance.
If you do not want to post Reels on your Business account, you straightforward do not create them. Reels are optional, and you can run a successful business account using only photos and carousel posts.
Why Instagram does not let you disable Reels completely
Instagram treats Reels as a core feature of the platform, similar to the feed itself or Stories. The company does not offer a way to turn them off entirely because Reels are central to how Instagram generates engagement and advertising revenue. Hiding them from your feed is the closest option the platform provides.
This is different from older Instagram features like the Explore page or Stories, which also cannot be disabled but can be minimized through your settings and behavior. Instagram's design philosophy is to let you control what you see, not whether a feature exists at all.
If you strongly prefer not to see Reels, your best option is to use the hiding and "Not Interested" features consistently, or to consider using a different social media platform that does not emphasize short-form video content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will creators know if I mark their Reels as not interested?
No. Creators cannot see who marks their Reels as not interested. They can see total views, shares, and comments, but not individual users' interactions with the "Not Interested" button. Marking Reels not interested is private.
If I hide Reels from my feed, will my followers still see my Reels?
Yes. Hiding Reels from your own feed only changes what you see. It does not affect what your followers see. If you post Reels, they will still appear in your followers' feeds and on your profile, unless those followers have also hidden Reels in their settings.
Can I turn off Reels notifications without hiding the entire feature?
You can mute notifications from specific creators by muting their posts. You can also turn off all Instagram notifications in your phone's settings. However, there is no option to turn off Reels notifications specifically while keeping other Instagram notifications on.
Does muting someone's Reels also mute their regular posts?
No. When you mute someone, you can choose to mute their posts, their stories, or both separately. You can mute only their posts and still see their stories, or vice versa. The mute options are flexible.
What happens if I report a Reel instead of marking it not interested?
Reporting is for content that violates Instagram's rules — harassment, hate speech, misinformation, or other policy violations. Marking something not interested is for content you straightforward do not want to see. Use "Not Interested" for personal preference and "Report" only for content that breaks Instagram's policies.