How to Report Harassment on Instagram: Routes That Work

A classmate's comments under every one of your posts have turned cruel. A stranger keeps messaging you things you did not ask for. Somebody started an account whose only purpose is to mock you. Each of these is harassment, but Instagram does not have one button for all three, and reporting the wrong way is a common reason nothing changes.

Match the harassment to its route: threats go to the police as well as Instagram, a message is reported from the chat, a comment from the comment, and a dedicated hate account from its profile. This guide works through that decision in order, with what to save as evidence and when a platform report is not enough on its own.

Last checked: 9 November 2026.

#Quick Answer

Open the exact place the harassment happened, not the account in general. A direct message is reported from inside the chat, a comment from the comment itself, and a profile set up to target you from the profile, choosing bullying or unwanted contact as the category. If there is a threat of violence or you fear for your safety, go to the police as well, immediately. Save dated screenshots before you report anything, block the account afterwards, and use Restrict or Hidden Words while Instagram reviews it. Instagram decides what happens next.

#Start Here: Is There a Threat of Violence or a Fear for Your Safety?

If yes, report it inside Instagram and go to the nearest police station or call the police as well. A platform report alone does not reach someone threatening harm, and the police record matters even while Instagram reviews its report. If no threat is involved, continue to the next question.

#Is It Happening in Direct Messages?

If yes, open the conversation, tap the account's name, and use the report option from inside the chat itself, not from reporting the account generally. Instagram's guidance on combating bullying and harassment explains why: the team that reviews a reported profile does not have access to private messages, so a message only reaches the right reviewers when the chat is reported directly. After reporting, block the sender, and consider turning on message request filtering so similar accounts land in a separate inbox rather than your main one.

#Is It Happening in Comments on Your Posts?

If yes, report the specific comment from the comment itself, using the "..." or long-press menu next to it, rather than reporting the whole post. Instagram's report a post or profile page lists "Bullying or unwanted contact" as a report reason available on content. You can also turn on Hidden Words to filter abusive comments automatically, and turn off comments on a specific post if the volume becomes unmanageable while you wait for reports to be reviewed.

#Is a Whole Account Dedicated to Targeting You?

If yes, report the profile itself, not only its individual posts. Instagram's page on reporting harassment or bullying says that if an account is established with the intent to bully or harass a specific person, it should be reported, and recommends blocking the account afterwards. Our deeper guide to a hate page targeting you on Instagram walks through this exact scenario, including how Meta's policy treats content the target has not confirmed is unwanted.

#Is More Than One Account Involved at Once?

A coordinated pile-on, where several accounts attack at the same time, needs each account reported individually, because Instagram reviews accounts and content separately rather than as a group. Keep one evidence folder across all of them rather than a separate report process per account, and consider temporarily limiting new followers and comments while the volume is high, so you are not reviewing dozens of hostile messages in real time.

#Does the Harassment Include Private Information About You?

If someone has published your home address, phone number, identity number or other private details alongside the abuse, this is doxxing, and it needs the privacy category, not harassment, even though it feels like the same attack. Instagram's page on exposed private information covers reporting photos, videos and private details separately from bullying content. In Malaysia, doxxing has been a specific criminal offence since 11 July 2025, when the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2025 introduced sections 507B to 507G covering threatening or abusive communications and doxxing, which can carry up to three years in prison. If your details were posted with threats, make a police report as well as the platform one.

#Evidence to Save Before You Report Anything

1. A full-screen screenshot of each message, comment or post, with the account name and date visible.
2. The exact profile URL of every account involved.
3. A written log of the date and time you captured each item, in Malaysia time (MYT, UTC+8).
4. The category you chose for each report and when you submitted it.
5. Any pattern worth noting, such as new accounts appearing after you block one.

#What If the Report Does Nothing?

Instagram does not publish a fixed review time, and some reports close without a visible change. Check that the category matched the content exactly, resubmit with sharper evidence if it did not, and where the content is also unlawful in Malaysia, consider MCMC and the police as parallel channels rather than a replacement for the platform report. MCMC's make a complaint page sets out which agency handles which offence, for example the police for threats and section 233 offensive communications matters for MCMC itself, and Cyber999 can provide technical analysis and help escalate an abuse report. Our guide to what to do when a report is rejected covers this in more depth.

#What Not to Do

• Do not create a second account to monitor or respond to the harasser; keep your real account clean of the conflict.
• Do not pay anyone who offers a faster or guaranteed removal, especially someone who contacted you first.
• Do not send your password or a login code to anyone claiming they need it to help with a report.
• Do not delete the evidence after reporting; keep it until the matter is fully resolved, in case the police or MCMC need it.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

Most individual harassment reports are resolved once they reach the right category with clear evidence. A case review can help when the harassment is coordinated across several accounts or platforms, involves a business rather than an individual, overlaps with doxxing or threats, or has not improved after repeated reports and needs its evidence properly organised. SocialSafe by AwareXone reviews the case first, helps match each incident to the right report category, and never asks for your password or login codes. Read how we work, or start at the recovery and removal hub for wider account problems.

#Frequently Asked Questions