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How to Report a Misleading or Disturbing Ad on Instagram

Use Report Ad to flag a possible policy concern on Instagram, or Hide Ad to indicate that you do not want to see it. Here’s what to expect.
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Open the sponsored post’s options menu and choose Report Ad, then select the closest reason Instagram offers and follow the prompts. If you only want to see less of an ad, choose Hide Ad instead; hiding and reporting are different actions.

How to report an Instagram ad

  1. Find the sponsored ad in your Instagram feed, Stories, or another placement.
  2. Open the ad’s options menu, usually shown as three dots or a similar menu icon.
  3. Tap Report Ad, if that option is available.
  4. Choose the reason that most accurately describes your concern, then complete the on-screen prompts.

Instagram’s menu labels and available reasons can vary by app version, language, and region. Follow the choices currently shown rather than expecting a fixed list. The Singapore regulator’s 2024 Instagram online-safety report includes screenshots of the ad menu’s Hide Ad and Report Ad options; a 2020 guide describes the general reporting flow.

Report the ad or hide it?

Action Use it when What it does
Hide Ad The ad is irrelevant or you simply do not want to see it. Communicates a preference about what you see; it is not a policy report.
Report Ad You believe the ad may violate Instagram’s rules, for example by being misleading or otherwise concerning. Submits a concern for review under Instagram’s policies; it does not guarantee removal.

The options may appear together in the ad menu. Choose based on whether you want to change your ad experience or flag a potential policy problem. The distinction is also reflected in the regulator’s screenshots and a secondary walkthrough.

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What to do if the ad is disturbing

Report the content if you believe it breaks a rule, and describe the concern as accurately as the available prompts allow. Disturbing imagery is not automatically prohibited: Instagram’s Community Guidelines say it may remove intense graphic violence, while recognizing that graphic imagery may also be shared to condemn violence or for awareness and education.

Select the closest reason actually offered in the app. Do not assume that every upsetting ad qualifies for removal or that a particular report category will be available.

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Check a report’s status

Instagram says users can review some submitted reports and decisions in Support Requests in the app. Some decisions may offer a way to request another review, but not every report appears there and some report types do not provide that option. See Instagram’s Help Center information about Support Requests for details; the available page is localized in Turkish, so labels may differ in your app’s language.

Instagram does not guarantee that a reported ad will be removed or specify a response time. Reporting also does not itself block the advertiser or ensure that similar ads will stop appearing.

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