Instagram has no setting that removes the Explore page, only tools that change what it shows. If you want Explore and Reels gone while your DMs keep working, the most direct option is minulo, an iPhone app that opens Instagram with those tabs hidden, and hiding them is free. Locking the official Instagram app is free for up to 2 hours per block, and schedules come with minulo Pro.
You tap the magnifying glass to look up a friend's new account. Before you can type her name, the grid below the search bar has already caught you: a pasta video, a stranger's apartment tour, a clip from a show you don't even watch. You find your friend twenty minutes later.
A lot of people search for a way to remove the Explore page for exactly this reason. Here is what Instagram lets you change, what it doesn't, and how to make the tab go away on iPhone.
Before I go on: I'm Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo, an iPhone app that opens Instagram with Reels and Explore hidden while DMs keep working. I'll explain it near the end, including what it can't do. Facts about Instagram here come from Instagram Help and Meta's announcements, checked on 2026-10-23. Menu names can change with app updates.
The short answer
Instagram has no setting that removes the Explore tab. I couldn't find one in Instagram's help as of October 2026.
Inside the Instagram app you can only change what Explore shows: tap Not interested on posts, set Sensitive content to Less, or reset suggested content. To make Explore disappear, you have to open Instagram in an app that hides it.
Every option, compared
| Method | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Not interested (touch and hold a post in Explore) | Hides that post and shows fewer like it. | One post at a time. The Explore tab stays. |
| Sensitive content › Less (Content preferences) | Shows less content that may be upsetting in Explore, Search, Reels and feed recommendations. | Only covers sensitive content. Explore keeps showing everything else. |
| Reset suggested content (Content preferences) | Starts your recommendations over across Explore, Reels and Feed. | Cannot be undone. Recommendations personalize again as you use Instagram. |
| Your Algorithm (Reels and Explore) | See more or less of certain topics. | Meta says it is available in English-speaking countries. The tab stays. |
| iPhone Screen Time | Limits or blocks the whole Instagram app. | Cannot target Explore. Blocking the app blocks DMs too. |
| minulo (free) | Opens Instagram with the Reels and Explore tabs hidden. DMs keep working. | The official Instagram app itself does not change. |
How to see less of what you don't want in Explore
These steps change what Explore shows. They don't remove the tab.
- Tap Explore (the magnifying glass) at the bottom of Instagram.
- Touch and hold a post you don't want to see, then tap Not interested. You can also tap Options (the three dots) on a post and choose Not interested.
- To cut back on posts that may be upsetting, go to your profile, tap Menu at the top right, tap Content preferences, then Sensitive content.
- Tap Select next to Less, then tap Confirm.
Instagram's help says Sensitive content applies to Explore, Search, Reels, comments, accounts you might follow, hashtag pages and recommendations in your feed. Teen Accounts are set to a 13+ content setting automatically.
The catch with Not interested is that it works one post at a time. You can press and hold on thirty cooking videos, and the grid will still be full the next time you open it, just with something else.
Starting over with Reset suggested content
If Explore is full of things you no longer care about, Reset suggested content under Content preferences starts your recommendations over across Explore, Reels and Feed at once.
A few things to know before you tap it:
- It cannot be undone.
- It doesn't change who you follow.
- Instagram's help says suggestions become personalized again as you like, share and interact with content.
So a reset gives you a cleaner Explore for a while. The tab itself is still there, and it learns again.
What does not remove Explore
These come up in a lot of answers online, so it's worth being clear about what each one does:
- The Following feed removes suggested posts from your feed while you're in it. The Explore tab is still there.
- Snoozing suggested posts pauses suggested posts in your Feed for 30 days. It doesn't cover Explore.
- Your Algorithm lets you see more or less of certain topics in Reels and Explore. Meta says it is available in English-speaking countries. It changes the topics, not the tab.
- iPhone Screen Time works on the whole Instagram app, so it can't block only Explore. Blocking the app blocks DMs too, which is a problem if your class group chat or your family lives in Instagram DMs.
- No third-party app can change the official Instagram app itself.
Hiding Explore with minulo
minulo opens Instagram's official website inside the app, with the parts you choose hidden.
- Install minulo from the App Store.
- On the home screen, tap Add a service and choose Instagram.
- Tap the gear next to Instagram and turn on Reels and Explore tabs. Explore and Reels are hidden together with this switch. You can also hide suggested posts, Stories, or every tab but DMs.
- If you keep opening the official app out of habit, open the Block tab, allow Screen Time and choose Instagram in Apps to block. Tapping its icon then shows a Blocked screen with a button that opens minulo.
Hiding stays on until you turn it off. DMs, posts from people you follow and search keep working, so looking up your friend's account is just a search again.
Hiding Explore, Reels, suggested posts and Stories is free. Blocking the official app is free for up to 2 hours per block, and you can start a new block when it ends. minulo Pro adds schedules that switch by day and time, blocks longer than 2 hours, Hard Mode and multiple block lists.
The limits
- No Android. minulo is for iPhone.
- The official Instagram app stays the same. minulo shows Instagram's website inside its own app. If you open the official app, Explore is still there. That's why the block option exists.
- Notifications stop while the official app is blocked. Its notifications don't arrive, and minulo doesn't send any of its own. Block it only at times when you can miss them.
Which approach fits you?
- Explore is mostly fine, a few topics bother you: Not interested and Sensitive content › Less.
- Explore has drifted somewhere you don't like: Reset suggested content, knowing it can't be undone.
- You want the tab gone and your DMs kept: hide Reels and Explore tabs in minulo for free.
The full guide, with Instagram's help pages linked for each step, is here: How to hide the Explore page on Instagram on iPhone
Top comments (0)