[HN Gopher] Show HN: uBlock filter list to blur all Instagram Reels
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       Show HN: uBlock filter list to blur all Instagram Reels
        
       A filter list for uBO that blurs all video and non-follower content
       from Instagram. Works on mobile with uBO Lite.  related:
       https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47016443
        
       Author : shraiwi
       Score  : 79 points
       Date   : 2026-03-02 19:50 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (gist.github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (gist.github.com)
        
       | apples_oranges wrote:
       | i was hoping Instagram would add a toggle to get rid of this
       | stuff!
        
         | xeckr wrote:
         | Too bad that would hurt their bottom line.
        
         | in_a_hole wrote:
         | On the mobile app you can tap the Instagram logo and there's an
         | option to show only posts from your follows. It's not sticky,
         | unfortunately.
         | 
         | Also if you're on android I recommend:
         | 
         | distractionfreeapps.com/
         | 
         | They make a bootleg version of the app with the ability to
         | remove certain feeds, e.g. reels, discover, stories
        
           | iib wrote:
           | It's sticky on the web though:
           | 
           | https://www.instagram.com/?variant=following
        
       | kgwxd wrote:
       | I did something similar for myself a few years ago:
       | 
       | ||instagram.com^
        
       | hmokiguess wrote:
       | I don't use the app so I confess I'm a little confused, I saw
       | your screenshot and it seems like the end result is just
       | scrolling through nothing. Why would you want that? Isn't it
       | better to just not open it altogether? Like, block the entire
       | thing? Why scroll through a bunch of blur
        
         | Forgeties79 wrote:
         | Same reason people use app timers when they can elect to not
         | use the app instead.
        
         | shraiwi wrote:
         | The screenshot was to demonstrate what blocked posts look like.
         | I scrolled past the posts of my friends since I didn't want to
         | dox them, but organic posts do show up near the top of my feed.
         | 
         | The goal isn't to scroll through nothing, but rather have a
         | clean feed that shows me just my friends and nothing else.
        
           | SirMaster wrote:
           | So why blur and not just hide?
        
             | yard2010 wrote:
             | It says in the post OP didn't want to fix the layout (and
             | it is implied that empty space is less friendly than
             | blurred content)
        
       | maurelius2 wrote:
       | > I'm trying to make Instagram be what my parents said Facebook
       | was. Christ, I'm old.
        
       | varenc wrote:
       | From the gist:
       | 
       | > I'm trying to make Instagram be what my parents said Facebook
       | was
       | 
       | This sure makes me feel old. It's a great goal though. I miss the
       | golden era of Facebook when it was really just friend content.
        
         | sodapopcan wrote:
         | It took a nosedive the day the news feed was released. I
         | remember people were angry about it and it's one of those
         | things that didn't just take getting used to, it still sucks
         | all these years later.
        
       | kelnos wrote:
       | > _I 'm trying to make Instagram be what my parents said Facebook
       | was._
       | 
       | Hell, you're trying to make Instagram be what Instagram used to
       | be. Back in the early (pre-Meta) days, it was just a reverse-
       | chronological feed of the posts from people you followed.
       | 
       | A decent part of why I bailed on Instagram back in 2019 or so was
       | because it had stopped being this for a while (posts reordered,
       | some not even shown, so many ads).
        
         | hbn wrote:
         | You can still get a chronological feed if you tap the Instagram
         | logo at the top and click "Following"
         | 
         | But you can't turn that mode on as a default, and it
         | essentially kicks you from the normal app hierarchy into a
         | separate barebones screen. I find it's all for naught anyway
         | because my friends have long since stopped making regular posts
         | on Instagram, it's more common to use stories.
        
           | CincinnatiMan wrote:
           | Do Stories show up differently than posts? Asking as someone
           | that has not used Instagram beyond looking at a few specific
           | profiles.
        
       | deafpolygon wrote:
       | My solution is rather simple: don't use Instagram.
        
         | spike021 wrote:
         | there are plenty of positive things that can come from using a
         | platform like Instagram.
        
           | dylan604 wrote:
           | That's what they said about facebook. That's what they said
           | about twitter. Not once has it actually been true for me.
        
       | gutafoki wrote:
       | I think this is already possible. You can snooze suggestions and
       | then if you scroll to the top of Instagram, you can select
       | "Following" instead of "For you". Maybe this is not possible in
       | browsers though, I've only ever done this on my phone.
        
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       (page generated 2026-03-02 23:00 UTC)