Instagram Hidden Words list: spam words, phrases and emojis to copy

Hidden Words is Instagram's free filter that hides comments and message requests containing words, phrases, numbers or emojis you list. Below is a starter list of 116 entries, grouped by the spam creators actually get (promotion, fake collabs, crypto, adult, Hinglish), with the exact steps to add it and the cases it will miss.

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What is Instagram Hidden Words?

Hidden Words is a section of Instagram's settings with three parts:

Hide unwanted comments hides comments with common offensive words, phrases or emojis. It is on by default.
Hide unwanted message requests moves message requests that may contain scams or offensive words into your spam folder. It is off by default.
Custom words and phrases is your own list. Matching comments on your posts and matching message requests are hidden.

Two things surprise people: a hidden comment still counts in your total comment count, and the person who wrote it isn't told it was hidden.

Source: Instagram Help Center, checked 11 October 2026.

How do I set up Hidden Words on Instagram?

In the Instagram app:

Go to your profile and tap the menu (three lines) to open your settings.
Under How others can interact with you, tap Hidden Words.
Check that Hide unwanted comments is on. Turn on Hide unwanted message requests if spam reaches your DM requests.
Tap Manage custom words and phrases.
Paste the words you want hidden, separated by commas, and save.

On instagram.com the path is More, then Settings, then Hidden Words under How others can interact with you, then Manage custom words and phrases. Enter your list separated by commas and click Submit. Instagram notes that the message-request part of the custom list doesn't work on web browsers, and that filtering options can differ between web and app.

Steps from the Instagram Help Center as of 11 October 2026. Menu names move between app versions; if you can't find it, search "Hidden Words" in settings.

The starter Hidden Words list

Copy a row, paste it into Manage custom words and phrases, then delete anything that real followers on your account might say. A fitness coach can keep "follow back" off the list; a finance creator can't hide "trading tips" without hiding real questions.

Category	Paste into Hidden Words (comma separated)
Growth and promotion spam	`promote it on, promote on, dm for promo, dm for promotion, paid promotion, promotion available, boost your page, grow your page, gain followers, free followers, buy followers, real followers, increase followers, followers sale, check my bio, check my profile, check my page, visit my profile, link in my bio, follow back, follow for follow, f4f, l4l, sub4sub`
Fake collab and ambassador offers	`dm to collab, dm us to collab, send us a dm to collab, send dm to collab, dm for collab, collab with us, brand ambassador, ambassador program, become an ambassador, become our ambassador, just pay shipping, pay for shipping, use code for discount`
Money, crypto and trading scams	`crypto, bitcoin, btc, forex, trading tips, binary options, investment plan, invest with, guaranteed returns, guaranteed profit, 100% profit, double your money, passive income, earn daily, account manager, recovery expert, recover your account, hacked account recovery, sugar daddy, sugar mommy, claim your prize, giveaway winner, you have been selected`
Moving you off Instagram	`whatsapp me, telegram me, message me on whatsapp, dm me on telegram, text me on, t.me/, wa.me/`
Link fragments (read the warning below)	`bit.ly, tinyurl, http, www.`
Adult and dating spam	`onlyfans, hot pics, nudes, sexy video, hookup, lonely tonight, 18+, sugar baby`
India and Hinglish spam	`promotion ke liye dm, paid promotion ke liye, dm karo, inbox karo, followers badhao, followers chahiye, ghar baithe kamao, ghar baithe paise, daily earning, part time job, work from home job, online kamai, paisa double, trading sikho, free trading tips, instant loan, loan chahiye, bio check karo, telegram join karo, whatsapp karo, satta, matka, betting tips, colour prediction, color prediction`
Hindi in Devanagari	`प्रमोशन, फॉलोअर्स बढ़ाओ, घर बैठे कमाओ, पैसे डबल, लोन चाहिए`
Emojis spam accounts lean on	`🔞, 💸, 🤑, 💹, 🍆, 🍑, 💦`

Warning on link fragments: http, www. and bit.ly also hide fans who share a useful link. Add them only if link spam is a real problem on your account.

Abuse words: we don't print slurs here. Add the insults you actually receive, in both Roman script and Devanagari if your audience writes in Hindi, plus the spellings people use to dodge filters.

How do I build a list that doesn't hide real fans?

Prefer phrases over single words. "dm to collab" is safe; "collab" alone would hide a real brand saying hello.
Avoid very short entries. Instagram doesn't document how it matches parts of words, so a two-letter entry can hide more than you expect.
Add what you see, in the form you see it. Copy the exact line from a spam comment, including the spacing and emoji.
Test from a second account. Comment one listed phrase on your own post, then check from a third account or logged out whether it shows.
Review hidden comments weekly. Under a post, tap View hidden comments at the bottom of the comments and tap Unhide on anything that was a real fan.

What will a Hidden Words list miss?

New wording. Instagram says it also hides common misspellings of words on your list, but deliberately disguised versions, such as letters swapped for numbers, extra dots or a new sentence that means the same thing, can still get through.
Links as a class. Every scam link is different, so a list only catches the fragments you typed.
Other languages and scripts. A word in Roman script doesn't hide the same word in Devanagari, Tamil or Bengali.
Meaning. "This product ruined my skin, check my page for the real one" contains nothing on the list.
Other people's posts. The list applies to comments on posts you share and to your message requests.

Misspellings: Instagram announcement. If your list keeps missing, read why Hidden Words is not working.

Where does a comment moderation tool help?

Keep Hidden Words on: it is free and catches the known phrases. For spam that changes wording, links and abuse in Hinglish, SuperProfile comment moderation reads the comment instead of matching a list:

Three rules: spam and promotion, links, and abuse or harassment
For each rule you choose Ignore, Hide or Delete
Optionally describe what counts on your account in your own words (Hinglish works); otherwise default definitions apply
A strictness setting, and posts you can skip entirely
An activity view with Hidden and Deleted tabs showing which post each comment came from, with one-click unhide or delete, kept for 30 days
Works on new comments on your Instagram posts and Reels

On SuperProfile, comment moderation is part of SuperProfile's paid plans, with up to 1,000 moderated comments per creator per month. The full side-by-side of Instagram's filters and a moderation tool is in how to hide spam comments on Instagram.

Comment moderator settings with Hide for spam, Delete for links and abuse, an optional note on what counts, strictness and skipped posts — Sample data. Instead of a word list, pick Ignore, Hide or Delete for spam, links and abuse, and describe what counts on your account in your own words.

Instagram Hidden Words mein kaunse words daalein?

Settings mein Hidden Words kholo, Manage custom words and phrases mein upar wali list paste karo, aur har word comma se alag karo. "promotion ke liye dm", "ghar baithe kamao", "paisa double", "telegram join karo" jaise phrases Indian spam mein bahut aate hain. Hindi words Devanagari aur Roman dono mein daalo.

List sirf wahi pakadti hai jo aapne likha hai. Nayi spelling, links aur gaaliyan alag tarah se likhi ho to nikal jaati hain. Iske liye SuperProfile comment moderation comment ka matlab padhkar Hide ya Delete karta hai, aur aap apne shabdon mein (Hinglish bhi) bata sakte ho ki aapke account pe spam kya hai.

Frequently asked questions

What words should I add to Instagram Hidden Words?

Start with the phrases spam accounts reuse: "dm to collab", "promote it on", "free followers", "check my bio", crypto and trading lines, and the Hinglish ones like "promotion ke liye dm". Then add the exact lines you see under your own posts, and remove anything real followers might say.

Does Hidden Words hide comments on Reels?

Instagram's help page says custom words are hidden from comments on posts you share, and doesn't list Reels separately. Test it: comment a listed phrase on one of your Reels from a second account and check whether others can see it.

Does Hidden Words filter DMs?

It filters message requests, meaning messages from people you don't follow. Your custom words hide matching requests in the app, and Hide unwanted message requests moves likely scams to your spam folder. Chats in your main inbox aren't filtered.

Will people know their comment was hidden?

No. Instagram doesn't tell the person, and the hidden comment still counts in your total comment count.

Can I add emojis and numbers to Hidden Words?

Yes. The custom list accepts words, phrases, numbers and emojis, separated by commas.

Is there a limit to how many words I can add?

Instagram's help page doesn't state one. Phrases work better than long lists of single words, because they hide less by accident.

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Last updated 11 October 2026.