- Instagram is a popular social media platform with photo-sharing features and rules, including restrictions on messaging certain users.
- To fix the error message "You can’t message this account unless they follow you," users can ask the account to follow them, turn on message requests, or change their age to over 18.
- Detailed steps are provided for each solution, ensuring users can resolve the issue and continue messaging seamlessly on Instagram.
Instagram is one of the largest and most popular social media platforms worldwide. You can upload your photos, edit, apply filters and share publicly or with preapproved followers with just a few clicks.
It has many cool features and also some important rules & regulations that the users must abide by. One of them is that it doesn’t let you message certain users on the platform and displays a message mentioning that.
If you also encounter the same problem and see the “You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram, this guide is for you. Here, I’ll share the reasons and solutions behind it.
Fix “You Can’t Message This Account Unless They Follow You” on Instagram
“You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram appears due to multiple reasons and you should first identify why you’re getting this error. To help you with that, I have shared a few ways below that’ll surely help you eliminate this problem.
1. Tell The User To Follow You
You get the “You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram because the user doesn’t follow you and also doesn’t allow message requests.
Due to this Instagram restriction, you can tell the user to follow you so that you get the option to message them.
So, if you know the user personally, you can let him know personally via other media, tell them about the issue, and ask him to follow you so the message option is enabled automatically.
2. Turn On Message Request On Instagram
If the user doesn’t want to follow you on Instagram then there’s another way to send a message without following.
The user whom you’re trying to message must turn on the message request option on Instagram to fix “You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram.
The process of doing so is easy, but if you’re unfamiliar with all the stuff, it’ll be better for you to follow these steps.
- First, open the Instagram app and log in to your account.
- Then, click on your profile photo located at the bottom-right corner.
- After that, tap on the three lines in the top-right corner.
- Then, select Settings.
- It’ll take you to a new page where you’ll see many options; click Privacy.
- Then, scroll down a bit and click Messages.
- After that, click on “Your followers on Instagram” and “Others on Instagram” and check the Message requests option.
After the user turns this on, you’ll get the option to message him and the user will receive the message request on their end if he doesn’t follow you. If he accepts the request, you can continue messaging without any issues.
3. Set Your Age Above 18
Instagram has another rule that suggests that if any user has set his age below 18, it won’t allow messages from unknown people except those they follow.
This practice helps them protect their account from harassment and other risk and is necessary for them.
So, if you’re trying to message an underage user and he doesn’t follow you then you’ll see “You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram.
However, if you want to message him without asking him to follow you, he should change his birthday and make the age above 18.
These are the steps to change your birthday on Instagram:
- First, open the Instagram app and log in to your account.
- Then, click on your profile picture located at the bottom-right corner.
- After that, tap on the Edit Profile button.
- Then, you’ll see Personal Information Settings at the bottom; click that.
- Now, tap Birthday and enter your date of birth to make your age above 18. If your Facebook profile is also connected to your Instagram account then you can click the Update on the Facebook button to update it there too.
After this change, the user will get messages from you without any restrictions from Instagram.
FAQs
Why can’t I message someone I follow on Instagram?
If you can’t message anyone whom you follow on Instagram then he should first turn on the message requests to receive messages from people he doesn’t follow.
Can someone still message me if I unfollow them on Instagram?
Unfollowing someone doesn’t stop messages from them. However, if you don’t want to get messages from them turn off the message request or block them.
Can a removed follower follow you again on Instagram?
You should know that removing followers isn’t permanent and when you remove a follower, he can again follow you. He can even see your posts if your account is public.
Conclusion
So, these were some ways to fix “You can’t message this account unless they follow you” on Instagram. Hopefully, you have found this post helpful. If you still have any questions, feel free to drop your queries in the comments below.
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