- You can contact Instagram support via their online Help Center, or by reporting a post directly.
- If you shake your phone while using Instagram, a pop-up will appear that lets you report bugs.
- Instagram has a phone number, but you won’t be able to talk to anyone there.
With more than one billion active users every month, it’s easy to see how Instagram’s customer service team might get overwhelmed.
Unfortunately for users, this makes it so there’s no way to speak with a live customer service representative from Instagram –– even if the issue is urgent, like your account getting hacked. Instead, you’ll have to use one of the automated methods.
You can open Instagram’s Help Center to read troubleshooting guides that might help with your issue. And if you’re trying to report a problem, you can shake your phone or open a post’s options.
How to get Instagram support through the Help Center
Instagram’s Help Center is a robust support tool that offers step-by-step guides and troubleshooting tips for most common Instagram problems. There’s nobody to talk to there, but the guides are written by real people.
Access help on desktop
You can find the Help Center on your computer by heading directly to their website. Here, you can click on one of the suggested topics or use the search bar to locate articles relating to your issue.
Alternatively, you can follow the steps below.
1. Go to Instagram’s website. Click the Help button underneath account recommendations on the right side.
Access help on mobile
1. Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android device and tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap the three stacked lines in the top-right corner, then select Settings.
3. Tap Help near the bottom of the page, then tap Help Center.
You’ll be brought to Instagram’s Help Center page, which is filled with hundreds of different support topics. Pick one of the suggested articles, or use the search bar to find what you’re looking for.
How to report hate speech, violence, and more to Instagram
Instagram lets you report individual posts, specific users, and comments. Just go to any post, account, or comment, tap the three horizontal dots on it, and select Report from the drop-down menu.
If you’re not sure whether your issue can be reported or if someone has committed a reportable offense, review Instagram’s community guidelines.
Here’s some of what Instagram sees as legitimate issues:
- Intellectual property: Issues that follow under this grievance include users infringing on copyright — which generally protects original expression like images and words but not facts and ideas — and trademarks, defined as a word, slogan, symbol, or design made to distinguish products or services from an individual, group or company.
- Nudity: Broadly defined as “appropriate” imagery, this more controversial guideline prevents nudity of any kind on the site, with a handful of exceptions — including post-mastectomy scarring photos, individuals breastfeeding, and nudity in paintings and sculptures.
- Hate speech: The platform will remove any content from its site that encourages violence or includes hate speech — based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or disease — as well as bullying and harassment that target private individuals.
- Illegal activities: Instagram will remove posts that offer specific services around sex, firearms, and drugs, in addition to removing posts or comments that “support or praise of terrorism, organized crime, or hate groups.”
- Self-injury: Any content posted to the platform that appears to glorify or encourage any type of physical self-injury, including eating disorders, will be taken down — with the exception of posts that reference these issues in the name of increasing awareness or signposting support.
- Graphic violence: Any videos or images featuring intense, graphic violence that isn’t shared in relation to newsworthy events or to condemn or educate on a larger issue, will be removed for inappropriateness.
After you report a post, you might get an email or Instagram notification telling you what decision Instagram’s moderators made about it.
How to report bugs and glitches to Instagram
Instagram also accepts reports about issues with the app itself, like if a graphic isn’t displaying correctly, or a menu won’t open.
To quickly report a bug, shake your phone while Instagram is open. A pop-up should appear asking you to report the problem. You’ll also be able to submit screenshots and other files.