Short answer
1. Document: screenshot every message, comment and profile with usernames, links and dates before anything is deleted. 2. Report in the app (Instagram: Report → Bullying or harassment; TikTok: Report → Hate and harassment). Reports are anonymous. 3. Protect yourself: Restrict, Limits and Hidden Words on Instagram, comment filters on TikTok, block. 4. Escalate if nothing happens: in Australia eSafety can order removal of serious adult cyber abuse; in the UK Report Harmful Content can review platform decisions (now on a limited basis); in the EU the DSA gives you a complaint route. Threats, stalking or doxxing: contact the police.
Document before you report
- Screenshots with the username, profile link, date and time visible.
- Links to the posts and comments — Instagram’s harassment form needs the link.
- A simple log: date, platform, what happened, what you reported, any reference numbers.
- Don’t engage or retaliate; it can complicate your reports.
Report on the platform
- Instagram: report the post, comment, message or profile and choose bullying or harassment. For repeated abuse, or a hate account using your likeness, report the account itself. There is also a dedicated harassment form that needs the content link.
- TikTok: press and hold → Report → Hate and harassment → Harassment and bullying, or report the account from its profile.
- X, Facebook, YouTube: use the report option on the post or profile and choose harassment or abuse.
- Reports are anonymous — the reported person isn’t told who reported them.
Turn on the protection tools
- Instagram: Restrict (their comments are visible only to them, and they aren’t notified), Limits (temporarily hides comments and message requests from people who don’t follow you or followed recently), Hidden Words (filters offensive comments and DM requests).
- TikTok: keyword filters, approve-only comments, bulk delete or block up to 100 comments or accounts, and controls on who can message you.
- Everywhere: block, make the account private for a while and limit who can tag or mention you.
Escalate when the platform doesn’t act
- Australia: report to the platform first. If it doesn’t act, eSafety can investigate serious adult cyber abuse — intended to cause serious harm and menacing, harassing or offensive — and issue removal notices; platforms then have 24 hours. Children have a separate cyberbullying scheme.
- United Kingdom: Report Harmful Content (UK Safer Internet Centre) can review platform decisions for users aged 13+; since April 2025 it operates on a limited basis. Ofcom regulates platforms under the Online Safety Act but doesn’t resolve individual complaints.
- European Union: under the DSA, platforms must explain decisions on your reports and keep a complaint route open for at least six months, plus certified out-of-court dispute settlement: your DSA rights.
- Other countries: where to report, by country.
When it’s a crime
- Threats of violence, stalking, publishing your address (doxxing), intimate images or sextortion: contact the police — in an emergency, call your emergency number.
- Instagram says it can’t share non-public account information without a warrant or subpoena, so a police report is what makes identification possible.
- Intimate images: removal tools and the sextortion guide. Personal data: removing personal information.
- Fake accounts and persistent content: our content and account removal service files reports through official channels.
Frequently asked questions
Will the person know I reported them?
No. Instagram and TikTok say the reported account isn’t told who reported it.
Does Restrict notify the other person?
No. On Instagram, people aren’t notified when you restrict them.
The platform rejected my report. What now?
Request a review if offered and report each item separately, then escalate: eSafety (Australia), Report Harmful Content (UK), a DSA complaint (EU), or the police for criminal behaviour.
Can Instagram tell me who is behind an anonymous account?
Not directly. Instagram says it can’t share non-public information without a warrant or subpoena — that starts with a police report.
Sources: Instagram — report harassment or bullying, Instagram Help — how to address abuse, Instagram — anti-bullying tools, TikTok — bullying prevention, eSafety Commissioner — report adult cyber abuse, Report Harmful Content (UK Safer Internet Centre), Digital Services Act — Regulation (EU) 2022/2065