Instagram and Facebook spam comment filters: 2026 limits
Businesses hide spam and hate comments with Meta's free filters. Hide unwanted comments is on by default, and Hidden Words hides your own banned terms.
By The Shipping Log staff6 min readUpdated Nov 13, 2026
Businesses hide spam and hate comments on Instagram and Facebook by setting Meta's free filters once, then clearing what slips through from one list. Instagram's Hide unwanted comments is on by default, Hidden Words hides your own banned terms, and Meta Business Suite can hide Facebook comments at no cost. For the comments the filters miss, our pick is BetterSocials, an AI social media manager for local businesses and creators, from $29 a month for four accounts. Hootsuite suits larger teams that pay per user.
Spam filters on Instagram and Facebook, logged by setting
Meta's own filters do the automatic hiding on both apps, and they cost nothing. We read each setting on Meta's help pages in October 2026 and logged its default, its limit and where it lives.
The filters catch a lot, not everything. A scam link spelled a new way, or a hateful reply with no banned word in it, can still land under a post. That remainder is the job for an inbox, where every new comment shows up in one list and you hide or delete the bad ones.
So the work runs in three layers:
- Instagram's Hide unwanted comments, Hide spam and Hidden Words, set once.
- An inbox for what gets through: BetterSocials across several platforms, or Meta Business Suite for Facebook and Instagram.
- A bulk clean-up on Instagram, 25 comments at a time, for a spam wave already posted.
BetterSocials Hide and Delete, shipped 2026-11-03
BetterSocials added Hide and Delete to its Inbox on 2026-11-03. Open a comment thread in the Inbox, and both buttons sit under each comment you can act on. You act on one comment at a time.
Hide works on Instagram, Facebook and Threads. The person who wrote the comment still sees it, and on Facebook so do their friends, so they don't know it was hidden. Unhide brings it back.
Delete works on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn Pages. A delete removes the comment from the platform for good, and BetterSocials asks you to confirm first. TikTok doesn't let outside apps hide or delete comments, Threads comments can be hidden but not deleted, and YouTube comments can be deleted but not hidden.
Every new comment arrives with a tag: Lead, Spam, Support, Comment to DM or Archived. The Spam tag puts the junk in one place you can work through after Meta's filters have had their pass. Our log of YouTube comments and Instagram DMs in one inbox (2026) covers how that inbox handles the other channels.
BetterSocials is best for local businesses, creators and small agencies whose comments and DMs bring in customers. Creator is $29 a month for four social accounts, Pro is $49 a month for six, and Team is $99 a month for twelve accounts with unlimited teammates. The competitor price below was read in July 2026: Hootsuite includes its inbox from Standard at $99 per user a month, billed annually.
Instagram's comment filters and their defaults
Instagram gives you several filters for unwanted comments, and the main one is already on. Per Instagram's Hidden Words help page, read in October 2026, Hide unwanted comments and Hide spam cover content that may be offensive but doesn't break the Community Standards, such as racial slurs, curse words or scams.
| Setting | Default | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Hide unwanted comments | On | Offensive comments, at None, Some or More |
| Hidden words | Your own custom list | Comments and message requests |
| Hide unwanted message requests | Off | Message requests, in the app only |
To change the level of Hide unwanted comments, go to How others can interact with you and tap Comments. Under Types of comments, tap Hide unwanted comments, then pick None, Some or More.
Hidden words is your own list. Under How others can interact with you, tap Hidden words, then Add words separated by commas. The list takes words, phrases, numbers and emojis.
Instagram's page states no maximum for that list. One list covers both comments on posts you share and your message requests. A good start is the words and emojis that keep turning up in the scam comments you already get.
Facebook comments and the Hide comment button
Meta Business Suite is where a Facebook Page hides comments without opening each post. Per Meta's comment help page, read in October 2026, the desktop Inbox lists these actions on each comment:
| Comment on | Inbox actions |
|---|---|
| React, reply, Send message, Delete, Hide comment, Report | |
| React, reply, Send message, Delete |
Hide comment is listed for Facebook only.
For Instagram comments in the same Inbox, Meta's page lists Delete without Hide, so the filters in the section above do the hiding there.
Meta's Send message button stops working on comments posted more than 7 days ago.
Meta Business Suite's free inbox and its permissions
Meta Business Suite is free on desktop and in its mobile app. The Inbox holds messages and comments from your Facebook Page, Messenger, Instagram account and WhatsApp Business account in one place.
Meta Business Suite only shows comments from connected business assets. Comments on your personal profile don't appear. Some organic messaging features for businesses in Europe and Japan are unavailable, per the same help center.
To review and respond to comments, a person needs community activity permission for the Facebook Page or Instagram account. Meta describes that Page task as reviewing and responding to comments, removing unwanted comments and reporting activity. If a teammate can't act on comments, check that permission first.
Who can still read a hidden comment
Instagram treats a filtered comment and one you hide by hand differently. Others can still read a filtered comment by tapping View hidden comments at the bottom of the comments section. A comment you hide yourself is visible only to you and the person who wrote it.
Instagram says the sender won't know when a comment or message is hidden. On Facebook, a hidden comment also stays visible to the writer's friends.
Hidden comments still count in your total comment count. The number under a post can be higher than the comments a visitor sees.
Clearing a spam wave already on a post
Instagram's bulk tool handles comments that landed before the filters caught up. Open the post's comments, tap Options in the top right, then Select multiple comments. From there you can hide comments, delete comments or block the accounts.
Instagram lets you delete up to 25 comments at a time. A larger wave takes several passes.
Blocking stops new comments from that account being seen by anyone but them. Instagram notes it doesn't remove their earlier comments, so delete those too.
For a post under attack, Instagram offers two stronger moves. You can allow comments only from people you follow, your followers, or both. You can also turn off commenting on one post, which hides the comments already on it. If the same accounts move into your DMs, our log of AI receptionist for Instagram and Facebook DMs: 2026 rules covers the message side.
FAQ
Does Instagram hide offensive comments automatically?
Yes. Instagram's Hide unwanted comments setting is on by default and hides comments that may be offensive, such as racial slurs, curse words or scams. You can change its level between None, Some and More under Comments. Hidden Words adds your own list of words, phrases, numbers and emojis to hide.
How many words can you add to Instagram Hidden Words?
Instagram's help center states no maximum for the custom Hidden Words list. You add words separated by commas under How others can interact with you, then Hidden words. The list covers comments on posts you share and message requests, so one list protects both.
Does the person know their comment was hidden?
No. Instagram says that when a comment or message is hidden, the person who sent it won't know. A comment you hide by hand stays visible to you and the person who wrote it, and on Facebook their friends can still see it too. Hidden comments still count in your total comment count.
Can Meta Business Suite hide Facebook and Instagram comments?
Yes for Facebook, where the Inbox lists Delete, Hide comment and Report on each comment. Meta's page lists Delete but not Hide for Instagram comments in the same Inbox. Meta Business Suite is free on desktop and in its mobile app, and it only shows comments from connected business assets.
Can BetterSocials hide spam comments automatically?
No. In BetterSocials you hide or delete one comment at a time from the Inbox, under the comment. New comments arrive tagged, Spam among the tags, so you see them in one list. Hide works on Instagram, Facebook and Threads, so let Meta's free filters do the automatic hiding first.
How do you delete many spam comments at once on Instagram?
Open the post's comments, tap Options in the top right, then Select multiple comments. You can hide comments, delete comments or block the accounts. Instagram lets you delete up to 25 comments at a time, so a large spam wave takes a few passes.