Instagram doesn’t have a setting that turns Reels off. The way to block Reels on Instagram on your iPhone is Scroll Less: it blocks full-screen Reels inside the real Instagram app, while your DMs, Stories, Search and profile keep working. Instagram’s own tools and Screen Time can make Reels less tempting or put a timer on them, but they can’t make them go away.
That’s the short answer. Here’s the long one, with every option and how each one actually holds up.
Picture this: you open Instagram to look up a restaurant’s address. Just the address. Forty minutes later you know how to fold a fitted sheet, you’ve watched a raccoon steal an entire bag of cat food, and you still don’t have the address. (So you call the restaurant. Like it’s 2004.)
If you’re here, you’ve probably had your own raccoon moment. Let’s fix it.
Can you turn off Reels on Instagram?
No, not with Instagram’s own settings. Meta publishes an official list of the controls it offers on Instagram (it’s long, and nobody reads it for fun). There’s Not interested, Your Algorithm, Hidden Words, snoozing suggested posts and a daily time limit reminder. There’s no switch that turns Reels off.
Which, when you think about how much Instagram wants you watching Reels, isn’t a huge shock.
So “how do I block Reels on Instagram” really comes down to four options:
- Block full-screen Reels inside the app with Scroll Less. They go, everything else stays.
- Train the algorithm with Not interested and Your Algorithm. Reels stay, but you get some say in what’s in them.
- Put a timer on it with Instagram’s daily limit or iPhone Screen Time. Reels stay until the timer goes off.
- Delete Instagram. Reels go, and so does everything else.
Let’s go through them, starting with the one that actually blocks Reels.
How to block Reels on Instagram with Scroll Less
Scroll Less works inside the real Instagram app on your iPhone, logged into the account you already use. Not a lookalike app. Not Instagram squeezed into a browser. The same app on your home screen, minus the part that ate your evening. And Scroll Less never asks for your Instagram password to block Reels.
Setup takes a couple of minutes:
- Download Scroll Less from the App Store.
- Open it and follow the setup steps.
- Choose Reels as the thing to block, then start the Blocker.
- Go back to Instagram and use it like you normally do.
Now when your thumb wanders into a full-screen Reel (out of pure muscle memory, it’s always muscle memory), Scroll Less blocks it. You get stopped at the door instead of forty minutes in.
And the rest of Instagram keeps working:
- DMs: read, reply, keep the group chat alive.
- Stories: keep up with what your friends are doing.
- Search: find the exact account you opened the app for. (Restaurants, for example.)
- Your profile: your posts and settings, same as always.
If keeping your messages is the whole reason you can’t just delete Instagram, there’s a separate guide on how to block Instagram Reels but keep your DMs. It covers the classic problem of a friend sending you a Reel. (Short version: it stays blocked in Instagram, but you can watch that one Reel in Scroll Less’s built-in browser.)
And if you’re wondering whether blocking Reels inside the actual app is even possible on an iPhone, since half the internet says it isn’t, here’s the full explanation of how you can block Reels inside the real Instagram and YouTube apps.
How to block Reels on iPhone with Instagram’s own settings
To be clear up front: none of these block Reels. But they’re built into Instagram and they can take the edge off, so here’s exactly where each one lives.
Tap Not interested on Reels you don’t want
On a Reel, tap the three-dot Options menu, then tap Not interested. Instagram says this helps it show you fewer posts like that one.
The catch is that you’re telling Instagram what kind of Reels to show you, not to stop showing them. It’s a bit like asking a slot machine for different fruit.
Tune Your Algorithm
In the Reels tab, tap the icon in the top right corner (two lines with little hearts) to open Your Algorithm. You’ll see a summary of the topics Instagram thinks you’re into, and you can tell it what you want to see more or less of.
This is genuinely handy if your Reels have turned into wall-to-wall content about one thing you’re sick of. (Cold plunges, say. For someone who has never once done a cold plunge.) But it’s a steering wheel, not a brake. The feed is still endless. It’s just endless about different things.
Set Instagram’s daily time limit
Go to your profile, tap the menu in the top right, then under How you use Instagram tap Time management. Tap Daily limit and pick an amount of time.
Worth knowing: Instagram describes this as a reminder. It tells you when you’ve hit your time. It doesn’t block Reels, and it doesn’t block anything else either. (It can also be dismissed with the speed of a professional.)
Use Screen Time on your iPhone
In the Settings app, tap Screen Time, then Time Allowances. From there you can set how long you get with categories like social media each day.
The problem is the same as with any timer. It limits Instagram, not Reels. Until the time runs out, Reels are right there. Once it runs out, your DMs are locked up right along with them.
Delete Instagram
It works, technically. It also takes your group chat, your messages and the one account you follow for work with it. Then someone asks why you didn’t answer about dinner, you reinstall it “just to check”, and you’re back in Reels before the app finishes loading. (Delete, reinstall, repeat. It’s less a plan and more a cardio routine.)
Which way to block Reels should you pick?
Here’s how I’d decide:
- You want full-screen Reels gone but Instagram still useful: Scroll Less.
- You don’t mind Reels, you just hate what’s in them: Not interested and Your Algorithm.
- You want a nudge when you’ve been on too long: Instagram’s daily limit or Screen Time.
- You want to quit Instagram completely: delete it. (Respect.)
If Explore is your personal weak spot too, Scroll Less’s built-in browser can hide it, along with the main feed, suggested posts and Stories. Here’s how to hide the Instagram Explore page on iPhone. And if YouTube is your other rabbit hole, here’s how to block YouTube Shorts on iPhone the same way.
Still comparing options? Here’s a roundup of the best apps to block Reels and Shorts on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
How do you block Reels on Instagram on iPhone?
Instagram doesn’t have a setting that turns Reels off. Scroll Less blocks full-screen Reels inside the real Instagram app on iPhone, while your DMs, Stories, Search and profile keep working.
How do I remove Reels from Instagram?
You can’t remove Reels with Instagram’s own settings. Not interested and Your Algorithm only change which Reels you see. To actually block them, Scroll Less blocks full-screen Reels in the Instagram app you already use.
Can I block Reels and still use Instagram DMs?
Yes. With Scroll Less, DMs keep working normally. A Reel someone sends you stays blocked in Instagram, but you can watch it in Scroll Less’s built-in browser.
Does Instagram’s daily limit block Reels?
No. Instagram describes its daily limit as a reminder that tells you when you’ve spent a set amount of time in the app. It doesn’t block Reels.
Does Scroll Less use an in-app browser?
No for Reels and Shorts: those are blocked inside the real Instagram and YouTube apps. The built-in browser is an optional extra for hiding things like Explore and the feed.
Keep Instagram. Lose the Reels.
You don’t have to quit Instagram to stop losing evenings to it. Keep the DMs, the Stories and the people. Just lose the endless Reels that were never really about them.
Get Scroll Less on the App Store.
Then go look up that restaurant’s address. Just the address.