Report Hate on Instagram: Comments, DMs and Fake Accounts

Insulting comments under your photo, threats landing in your DMs, or someone has set up a fake profile with your pictures. If you want to report hate on Instagram, you have more options than the report button. This guide shows how to secure evidence, how to report comments, messages, stories and fake accounts, how to protect yourself with Restrict and Hidden Words, and when hate on Instagram is a criminal offence in Germany.

What should you save before you report hate on Instagram?

Save first, then report. If Instagram removes the content or the person deletes their account, your evidence is gone otherwise.

• Comments: a screenshot showing the username, the text and the time. Take a second screenshot of the post the comment is under, so the context is clear.
• Links: copy the link to the post and to the profile via the share or three-dot menu. Usernames can change, so also note when you saved them.
• Stories: they disappear after 24 hours. Save them right away and write down the time.
• DMs: screenshots of the whole conversation with the username visible at the top.
• Log: a simple list with date, time, account and what happened.

Important with nude images: if someone sends you nude or sexual content, do not take screenshots of it and do not forward anything. Describe in a note what you received, from which account and when. If the images show minors, saving or forwarding them can itself be a criminal offence (§§ 184b, 184c of the German Criminal Code, StGB). Report the account and go to the police.

More on screenshots, links and timestamps is in How to Secure Evidence of Online Hate.

How do you report comments, DMs and stories on Instagram?

The report option is almost always behind the three dots or a long press on the content. Labels change with updates, the principle stays the same.

• Comment: long-press the comment or swipe it to the side. Choose “Report”, then the fitting reason, such as bullying, harassment or hate speech.
• Post or reel: the three dots on the post → “Report”.
• Story: open the story, tap the three dots → “Report”.
• Direct message: long-press the message → “Report”. You can report or delete message requests from strangers without accepting them.
• Whole account: open the profile, the three dots → “Report”. This fits when someone attacks you with many comments or through several channels.

According to Instagram, the reported account does not find out who reported it. The exception is reports about intellectual property.

How do you report a fake account on Instagram?

If someone is pretending to be you, report the profile via the three dots. Choose the reason that the account is pretending to be someone else, and state that it is you. Instagram only handles these reports from the person affected or their representative. Parents can report on behalf of their child. If you do not have an Instagram account yourself, there is a separate form in the help centre.

Before reporting, save screenshots of the fake profile, the link and, if you get hold of them, messages it sent to others. Your rights to your own name and image are explained in our guide to fake profiles and identity theft.

How can you protect yourself from hate comments on Instagram?

Instagram has several tools. Only use them once you have saved what you need. Afterwards, comments and messages are often no longer visible.

• Restrict: new comments from the person are only visible to them until you approve them. Their messages move to your requests. They cannot see whether you have read them or are online. Instagram does not notify them. This helps when blocking would escalate things, for example in your class at school.
• Block: the person can no longer message you or find your profile. When you block someone, Instagram offers to block other accounts they have as well, including new ones they create.
• Hidden Words: this filter hides offensive comments and message requests. You can add your own list of words, phrases and emojis.
• Limits: for a period you choose, Instagram hides comments and message requests from accounts that do not follow you or only followed you recently. This helps with a sudden wave of hate.
• Comment controls: decide who can comment, or turn off comments on single posts. A private account keeps strangers out.

You usually find these features in the settings, in the section on how others can interact with you. Names may change.

When is hate on Instagram a criminal offence?

The same criminal law applies on Instagram as everywhere else. The main provisions of the German Criminal Code (StGB) are:

• Insult (Beleidigung, § 185 StGB): degrading comments or messages.
• Defamation (§§ 186, 187 StGB): damaging claims about you that cannot be proven true or are knowingly false.
• Threat (Bedrohung, § 241 StGB): for example threats of violence in DMs.
• Incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung, § 130 StGB): stirring up hatred against groups, for example because of origin or religion.
• Stalking (Nachstellung, § 238 StGB): when someone pursues you again and again, for example with new accounts. Stalking is prosecuted ex officio, so no request for prosecution is needed.
• Dangerous dissemination of personal data (§ 126a StGB): when someone posts your address, for example, to put you at risk.
• Images without consent (§§ 22, 33 of the Art Copyright Act, KUG, and § 201a StGB): when photos of you are shared without permission, or images that can seriously damage your reputation.
• Sending unsolicited pornography (§ 184 StGB).

Whether a specific comment is a criminal offence is for the police or a law firm to assess. Insults are generally only prosecuted if you file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag, § 194 StGB). You have three months for this, from the day you learn of the act and the offender (§ 77b StGB).

In acute danger? If someone makes concrete threats of violence or knows your address: call the police on 110, the emergency number in Germany.

What does Instagram have to do after your report?

In the EU, Instagram is subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA). Under Art. 16 DSA, the platform must accept reports of illegal content, process them carefully and tell you its decision. For possible criminal offences, look in the report menu or help centre for a separate route for illegal content. Explain in one or two sentences why the content breaks the law.

If Instagram rejects your report, you can lodge a free complaint under Art. 20 DSA. You have at least six months for this. After that, out-of-court dispute settlement and a complaint to Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) remain. How that works is explained in Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints. An overview of all platform duties is in Digital Services Act: What Platforms Must Do About Online Hate.

For private messages, the DSA rules for online platforms mostly do not apply, because they are not distributed publicly. You can still report DMs.

What happens after your report?

Removal takes the comment down, but it does not hold the person behind it accountable. For that, you file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) at any police station or online through the online police station (Onlinewache) of your federal state. Bring your screenshots, links and log.

You do not have to go through this alone. The Nummer gegen Kummer helpline is on 116 111 (Monday to Saturday, 2 to 8 pm). At juuuport young people counsel young people online. The Telefonseelsorge crisis line is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111. Women and girls who are sexually harassed or threatened can call the Hilfetelefon Gewalt gegen Frauen around the clock on 116 016, also with interpreters in many languages. HateAid also advises people affected by digital violence. Most of these services work mainly in German.

Frequently asked questions

Will the person find out that I reported them?

According to Instagram, no. The reported account does not learn who reported it. The exception is reports about intellectual property, such as copyright.

Does someone notice that I restricted them?

Instagram does not send a notification. The person still sees their own comments, but others only see them once you approve them.

Is reporting the comment to Instagram enough?

For removal, yes. If you want the person to be punished, you need a criminal complaint and, for insults, a request for prosecution within three months.

What if the account has been deleted in the meantime?

Your screenshots and links remain evidence. The police can request data from Instagram. That is why it is worth saving everything from the very first comment.

You can also report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.