What is the hidden requests folder?

Only message requests go into this folder, meaning messages from people outside your chats. That was the design from the start: when Instagram introduced Hidden Words in 2021, it aimed the filter at requests because that’s where people usually receive abusive messages, not in their chats with friends.

• Offensive wording: requests containing commonly used offensive words, phrases or emojis.
• Likely scams: requests that may contain scam wording go to the same folder.
• Your own list: words, phrases, numbers or emojis you add to Hidden Words are hidden from message requests as well as from the comments on your posts.
• Off by default: Instagram’s Help Center says Hide unwanted message requests is off by default, while Hide unwanted comments is on. It also says filtering message requests isn’t currently supported on web browsers.

The first two are Instagram’s judgement. The custom list is yours, and it’s the part most likely to catch people you wanted to hear from.

1. Open your messages and go to your message requests.
2. Open the separate folder of filtered requests. Instagram first called it Hidden requests; its help centre now calls it your spam folder.
3. Read each request. Accept a genuine one to move it into your chats, and delete, block or report the rest.

When the folder launched, Instagram covered the text of filtered messages until you tapped to uncover it, so clearing out abuse didn’t mean reading all of it.

To change what gets filtered, open Settings and tap Hidden Words under How others can interact with you. You can edit your custom list or change the options at any time.

Filters match words, not intentions. A customer who writes bluntly, or whose question happens to include a word on your list, is filed alongside the spam, and nothing in your chat list shows they wrote. A tailor who hides “collab” to stop influencer pitches will also hide the boutique asking about a collab on wedding outfits.

• Keep your custom list to words only abusers and spammers use. Everyday words such as “price”, “promo” or “DM” catch real customers along with the noise.
• Check the folder on a routine, say weekly, and after any post that brings a rush of messages, such as a giveaway or a Reel that travels.
• Don’t assume an auto-reply tool has dealt with filtered requests. Read the folder yourself.
• The sender isn’t told. Instagram’s Help Center says that when a comment or message is hidden, the person who sent it won’t know, so a customer can’t tell their message went to the spam folder.
• The same filters run on your customers’ side. A DM your business sends to someone who doesn’t follow you is a request for them, so keep it plain: who you are, why you’re writing, no money talk.