Instagram Hidden Words for Business: Stop Spam, Keep Buyers
How Instagram Hidden Words filters comments and message requests, the defaults, and how a business sets it up to stop spam without hiding customers.
The Chatmizer team7 min read
The short answer
Instagram Hidden Words hides comments and message requests that contain offensive terms or words you choose. The automatic comment filter is on by default; the filter for message requests is off by default; and your custom list applies to both. For a business, the rule is simple: add spam words, never buying words like price, link or order, or you will hide your customers.
Hidden Words is the setting businesses switch on in a panic during a spam wave, and the one that quietly costs them sales for months afterwards. It is genuinely useful. It just doesn't know the difference between a bot writing "link in bio" and a customer writing "can you send the link?"
What Instagram Hidden Words actually filters
| Filter | What it hides | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic comment filter | Comments with common offensive words, insults and attacks | On |
| More comments (advanced) | Comments that may be offensive, even without a listed word | Off |
| Message request filter | DM requests that may be spam or offensive, into Hidden Requests | Off |
| Custom words and phrases | Your own words, phrases, numbers or emojis, in comments and message requests | Empty |
Two details from Instagram's help center matter. Your custom list applies to comments on your posts and to message requests at the same time. And filtered message requests go to a separate Hidden Requests folder that sends no notification. The request side is explained in full in Instagram message requests.
How to set up Instagram Hidden Words for a business
- 1Open Settings, then Hidden Words.
- 2Leave the automatic comment filter on. It targets abuse, not customers.
- 3Turn on the message request filter only if you get real spam DMs, and then check Hidden Requests weekly.
- 4Open Manage custom words and phrases and add the spam you actually see: crypto offers, "promote it on", fake giveaway phrases. Separate entries with commas.
- 5Decide whether the custom list should also hide message requests. If buyers write similar words, keep it to comments only.
Words a business must never hide
- Buying words: price, how much, order, available, size, delivery, link, DM.
- Local and Arabic equivalents your customers use, including dialect spellings.
- Your own brand and product names, which spam bots often copy and customers type constantly.
- Numbers, if customers send prices, sizes or phone numbers in comments.
Hidden comments, visible damage
A hidden comment isn't deleted: the commenter and their friends still see it, but you don't, and nobody answers it. A buyer who asks "price?" and gets silence while others get replies doesn't ask twice. If you run comment automation, a hidden comment is also a comment the automation never sees.
Chatmizer replies to buying comments with a public answer and a private DM, so the price question gets an answer in seconds instead of disappearing into a filter or a busy afternoon.
See comment auto-replyReview Instagram Hidden Words every month
- 1Read your custom list out loud. Anything a customer might type comes off.
- 2Open hidden comments on your last three posts and look for real questions.
- 3Open Hidden Requests and accept the real customers.
- 4After a spam wave ends, remove the emergency words you added during it.
Spam in your comments is also a sign people are paying attention. Turn that attention into conversations with comment-to-DM replies on Instagram.
Frequently asked questions
Is Instagram Hidden Words on by default?
The automatic filter for offensive comments is on by default. The filter for message requests is off by default, and the custom list is empty until you add words.
Does Hidden Words hide DMs too?
It hides message requests (DMs from people you don't follow) that match the filters, moving them to Hidden Requests. Messages from people already in your inbox aren't hidden.
Can people see comments hidden by Hidden Words?
Yes. The commenter and their friends can still see their comment; it's hidden from you and from most other viewers. You can review hidden comments on each post.
Why are customer comments missing from my posts?
Often because a word in your custom Hidden Words list matches them. Remove buying words such as price, link or order from the list.
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