You can't message this account unless they follow you: what it means on Instagram

"You can't message this account unless they follow you" means that the other person's settings accept messages only from accounts that they follow. Instagram's Help Center describes two settings that do this: the person chose not to get message requests at all, or the account is a Teen Account. It isn't a problem with your account. Your message can go through only after the person follows you.

The notice has other forms. People also report "@user can't receive your message. They don't allow new message requests from everyone." and "Not everyone can message this account". This guide explains the two causes, what you can do, what to check when nobody can message you, and what the notice means if you use iLS. Menu names can change between app versions.

Why does Instagram say you can't message this account?

Usually, Instagram lets you message people who don't follow you. According to Instagram's page on who you can message, you can send a message to anyone. If the person doesn't follow you, the message can arrive as a message request, depending on their settings. The page on sending messages adds that a message request can contain only text until the person accepts it.

This notice means that the person's settings don't let your message request through either. Instagram's pages don't quote the notice. But they describe two settings that make "they follow you" the condition:

The two settings on Instagram's help pages that block messages from people the account doesn't follow.

Instagram doesn't say which wording of the notice goes with which cause. In a 2021 Reddit thread, a shop owner quoted both texts on the same screen.

Teen Accounts aren't new or regional. Meta's Teen Accounts announcement from September 2024 says that teens can be messaged only by people they follow or are already connected to. An update on June 11, 2025 says that Teen Accounts are now in every country where Instagram is available. An update on March 27, 2025 says that Meta is testing a way to put suspected teens into Teen Account settings, whatever birthday the account shows. So an account that shows an adult birthday can sometimes have these settings too.

Does it mean they blocked you?

Not on its own. The two settings above give this result without a block. Instagram's message requests page says that accounts a person blocked can't send them message requests. But Instagram doesn't describe which screen a blocked person sees. So the notice can't tell you if you were blocked.

The notice also doesn't mean that the person saw your attempt, or that they changed a setting because of you. A person who turned off message requests did that for every account that they don't follow.

How can you get your message to them?

You can't remove the notice from your side, because the condition is in the other person's settings. Do these checks in this order:

1. Check if the person follows you. The condition is that they follow you. If you follow them, that doesn't change their settings.
2. If you know the person, contact them in a different way, for example by phone or email. Ask them to follow you. After that, a new message from you goes to their chats list.
3. If the person is under 18, stop there. The Teen Account setting protects the teen. Your message can go through only if the teen follows you.
4. Don't send the same message again many times. According to Instagram's page on message limits, Instagram limits direct messages to stop spam. If you continue after a warning, you can lose the ability to send direct messages for a period of time.

Some guides tell you to change your own birthday. This doesn't help, because the condition is on the other person's account, not yours. Instagram's birthday page also says that there's a limit to how many times you can change your birthday. And according to the page on confirming your age, Instagram can ask you to verify your age with an ID or a video selfie before you change it.

Reinstalling the app or trying a different phone doesn't change the other person's settings either.

What if nobody can message you?

Sometimes the problem is the opposite: people that you don't follow see this notice when they try to message you. In the Reddit thread above, a shop owner reported that some followers, whom the shop didn't follow, got the notice. Other people that the shop didn't follow could still message it. Check your own account:

1. Check your Message requests setting. If you chose not to get requests, people you don't follow can't message you. The steps are below.
2. Check if your account is a Teen Account. If you see Teen Account settings under Settings and activity in the menu, your account has the Teen Account settings.
3. Open Account Status. Instagram's Account Status page says that it can show features that you can no longer use, so you can see if Instagram restricted your account. Go to your profile, tap Menu, and find Account Status under More info and support.
4. Use Instagram's troubleshooting steps: update the app and your phone's software, restart the phone and check your connection. If the problem continues, report it to Instagram.

To change who can send you message requests, use the steps on Instagram's message requests page:

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture at the bottom right.
2. Tap Menu at the top right.
3. Below How others can interact with you, tap Messages and story replies.
4. Tap Message requests.
5. Choose if requests from people that you don't follow go to your Message Requests folder, or if you don't get them.

You must accept a message request before the chat goes into your chats list. Messages from people that you follow go directly to your chats list. The same page says that this setting doesn't change messages from your Messaging Ads, or from products that you shared.

A Teen Account changes this setting in a different place: Menu, then Teen Account settings, Who can interact with you and Messages. According to the Teen Account settings page, a teen aged 13 to 15 needs a parent or guardian to supervise the account before the teen can make these settings less protective.

What does this mean if you use iLS?

instagram Last Seen (iLS) reads a contact's activity status from your existing DM chat with that person. You must already have a chat with them, which means that you sent them at least one message. You and the contact must also both have activity status on. The guide to turning on Instagram activity status explains both conditions.

If this notice stopped your first message, you have no chat with that person. Then iLS can't find the person in your DMs, and its check fails with "We couldn't find that person in your Instagram DMs." The steps to add a contact are in how to add and manage contacts in iLS. iLS doesn't send messages or follow accounts for you, so it can't get around this notice.

To read the status, iLS opens the chat with an automated browser, so the contact's messages to you can show as read. Using iLS also breaks Instagram's terms, and Instagram can restrict your account. The guide to the account risk of using iLS explains this. iLS alerts are browser notifications, and they don't work on iPhone yet.

What can't the notice tell you?

• Which of the two settings the person uses.
• When the person chose the setting, or why.
• If the person blocked you.
• If the person knows that you tried to message them.

If your message did go through but you get no answer, see what it can mean when someone is active but not replying.