How to Fix Instagram Story Mentions Not Working?

If you tag someone in your Instagram Story and nothing happens, no link, no ping, no “mentioned you” message, it’s usually because the tag never fully connects on Instagram’s side, meaning the platform doesn’t turn it into an actual mention.

It usually happens because:

• You typed the username but didn’t tap the correct account from the list, so Instagram never linked it.
• The person’s privacy settings limit who can mention them.
• Instagram didn’t register the tag properly because of a brief connection issue or upload error.
• The account is temporarily restricted, blocked, or the mention cap (the maximum number of people you can tag in one story) has been reached.

The tag still appears in your Story text, but it shows up as plain text instead of a tappable mention. The other person never receives a “mentioned you” notification. It looks perfectly normal on your end, which is why most people don’t realize anything is wrong until much later.

Here’s the good news: this problem is usually easy to fix. A few quick checks can get story mentions working again.

Many story mentions fail simply because the username is typed as plain text instead of being linked to an actual account. The easiest way to avoid this is to either use the @Mention sticker or tap the username from the autocomplete list instead of just typing it out.

1. Make Sure Both Accounts Allow Mentions

If the person you’re tagging has set their mention privacy to “People you follow” or “No one”, your tag won’t link or notify them even if everything looks fine on your end. The same applies to your own account if their Story tagging is affected by your settings.

To make sure the mention goes through, both you and the other person should set Tags and Mentions to Everyone in your Instagram privacy settings. This ensures Instagram doesn’t silently block the tag before it connects.

Make sure both accounts follow these steps:

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Go to Menu (☰) in the top right corner.
   
3. Scroll to Tags and mentions.
   
4. Under Mentions, select Everyone or Allow tags from people that you follow.
   

Repeat these steps on the other account if possible. Both sides need to allow mentions for the tag to work properly.

2. Update the Username or Display Name

If the account you’re trying to mention recently changed their username, or if their current display name has unusual formatting (such as special symbols or invisible characters), Instagram’s system can fail to recognize the tag.
In some cases, even a small mismatch or a cached old username can prevent the mention from linking.

To fix this, you will need to ask the person to update their username or display name.

1. Ask the person you’re trying to tag to go to their Instagram profile.
2. Tap Edit profile.
   
3. Update their name or username. Even adding or removing a single character can refresh Instagram’s recognition.
   
4. Save the changes.
5. Try tagging them again using the @Mention sticker or autocomplete suggestion.

3. Turn off “Limits / Limited Interactions”

If the person you’re tagging has Limits (also called Limited Interactions) turned on, Instagram can block people outside their selected group from mentioning them. In this case, the tag won’t just fail to notify, it won’t link at all. You will need to ask them to temporarily disable Limits:

1. Open Instagram.
2. Go to Menu (☰) → Limit Interactions.
   
3. Toggle Off or remove any active limits.
   
4. Try tagging them again using the @Mention sticker or by tapping their username from the list.

If none of these fixes work and the issue persists for more than 1–2 days, you can report the problem to Instagram through Settings → Help → Report a problem. This doesn’t guarantee an instant fix, but it flags the issue on their end.