Instagram: How To Stop Strangers From Video Calling You | Metro News

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There’s a way to turn off incoming video chats on Instagram. Credit: Unsplash

Instagram has been full of new updates recently to improve users’ wellbeing but there are older features that could use some work. One feature that users seem to be particularly annoyed with is the Instagram video call feature.

In 2018, Instagram introduced the video calling on Direct Message that allowed people to start a video chat with just one person or a group. 

While video calling could be considered a convenient feature, on Instagram, it meant that anyone who followed you could video call you.

Many users have taken to Twitter to complain about the intrusive feature, with some women complaining that they received random video calls from unknown men.

There’s this guy that just Instagram video calls me whenever he wants me and it drives me mad

— Stitch ≅ (@Stitch_Knight13) December 19, 2021

The placement of the video call button in the Instagram chat window also makes it easy to accidentally video call people, often leading to awkward situations.

https://twitter.com/lizfraser1/status/1471759974917459969

Luckily, there’s a way to turn off incoming video chats.

To turn off incoming video chats on Instagram: 

Open the Instagram app, go to your profile, and click on the top right sandwich icon and go to Settings > Notifications > Direct Messages and Calls

Screenshot of Instagram settings video call
You can choose to opt-out of the video calling feature entirely.

Under Video Chats, select the ‘From people I follow’ option to restrict video calls from people you follow alone.

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You can also choose to opt-out of video calls entirely by selecting the ‘Off’ option.

You can do the same for Message Requests, Messages, Group Requests and Rooms.

No one is a fan of video calls from strangers, especially on a social media app where some of us might have hundreds or thousands of followers. This is an easy enough fix to protect your privacy and peace of mind.

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