How to Delete a Comment on Instagram (Yours or Others)
Delete your own Instagram comment by tapping and holding it, or remove any comment on your own post from the three-dot menu.
Short answer
To delete a comment you wrote, press and hold it in the app and tap Delete, or click the three dots next to it on the web. To remove someone else's comment, you need to own the post it's on, then swipe left or tap the three dots and choose Delete.
Key takeaways
- You can always delete your own comments anywhere on Instagram, but you can only delete other people's comments on posts that belong to you
- Mobile: press and hold the comment, then tap Delete
- Desktop or mobile web: click the three dots next to the comment and choose Delete
- Deleting a comment also removes every like and reply attached to it
- Instagram lets you filter offensive comments automatically instead of deleting one by one, similar to how you can block someone on Instagram
- If a Delete option is missing, it usually means the comment isn't yours and isn't on your own post
How do I delete my own comment on Instagram?
Open the post, find your comment in the thread, then press and hold it on mobile until a menu pops up and tap Delete. On instagram.com, hover over the comment and click the three dots that appear, then choose Delete. This works the same whether the comment is on a photo, carousel, or Reel.
Can I delete a comment someone else left on my post?
Yes, but only on content you posted yourself. Open your post, swipe left on the unwanted comment or tap the three dots on desktop, and select Delete since Instagram treats post owners as moderators of their own comment sections. You cannot remove a stranger's comment from someone else's post, even if it's about you; your only options there are reporting it or asking the poster to remove it.
What happens after I delete a comment?
The comment disappears immediately for everyone, along with any replies and likes it had collected. Instagram does not notify the commenter that their comment was removed, so there's no confrontation triggered by deleting it. The action isn't reversible from your end; if you want it back, the original commenter has to repost it.
How do I stop unwanted comments before they happen?
Turn on Hidden Words in Settings, then Privacy, then Hidden Words to auto-filter comments containing offensive terms, spam phrases, or emoji you specify. You can also switch commenting off entirely for a single post from the Advanced Settings screen before you publish, or restrict a repeat offender so their future comments are only visible to them. Filtering saves far more time than deleting comments one at a time, the same way batching helps when you check your DMs instead of clearing them reactively.
Can I delete multiple comments at once?
Not from the comment thread itself, since Instagram requires you to delete comments individually, one tap at a time, whether they're yours or on your own post. Business and creator accounts get a shortcut through Meta Business Suite, which lets you moderate and delete comments across several posts from one dashboard. If you're cleaning up an old account with hundreds of comments, expect to spend real time on it, similar to the effort involved when people try to unfollow everyone on Instagram manually.
Why can't I find the Delete option?
Double-check whose comment it is and whose post it's on, since Delete only appears for your own comments or for any comment on a post you own. An outdated app version can also hide the option, so update Instagram from your app store first. If the comment still won't delete after that, the post itself may have comments disabled or archived, which can gray out moderation controls, similar to how an archived post hides other actions until you unarchive it.
Should I delete a comment or report it instead?
Delete a comment when it's simply unwanted, off-topic, or embarrassing on your own content, and report it instead when it violates Instagram's rules, since reporting flags the account for review rather than just hiding the words. Reporting is also the only option when the offending comment sits on someone else's post, similar to the distinction covered in what reporting someone on Instagram does.
| Scenario | Can you delete it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Your own comment on any post | Yes | Press and hold, then Delete |
| Someone else's comment on your post | Yes | Three dots or swipe left, then Delete |
| Someone else's comment on their own post | No | Report it instead |
| Your comment on a Reel | Yes | Same press-and-hold method |
| Comment on an archived post | Sometimes | Unarchive the post first |
Conclusion
Deleting a comment on Instagram takes seconds once you know the rule: your comments are always yours to remove, and post owners can moderate everything said on their own content. Combine that with Hidden Words filtering and you'll rarely need to delete comments manually at all.
Frequently asked questions
Press and hold the comment on mobile and tap Delete, or click the three dots next to it on instagram.com and choose Delete. You can always remove your own comments regardless of whose post they're on.
Sources
Keep reading
More guides to grow your account.
