Comments turned off on an Instagram shop: should you worry?

What it looks like

On a post with comments turned off, there's no box to write in and no comments to read. Sellers can switch them off one post at a time or limit who can comment at all.

On VouchKart seller pages, "No comments to read on their recent posts" means comments are off on their account, or off or empty on most of their recent posts. Pinned posts don't count, because sellers often pin old posts that still have comments.

Why it matters

When something goes wrong with an Instagram order, most buyers have nowhere official to complain. They go back to the shop's posts and say so in the comments, where the next buyer can see it. Switch the comments off and that record disappears, along with every warning in it.

From the outside, a shop that hides every complaint looks exactly like one that never gets any. That's why comments being off counts against a seller until you've checked them some other way.

It often comes with fewer other ways to check a seller, too. When we compared the sellers we've checked, those with comments off were about one and a half times as likely to sell only on Instagram, with no website or other channel to check them by.*

Why some honest sellers switch them off anyway

• Scam bots and impersonators. Fake accounts reply under shop posts pretending to be the shop's "customer care", or tell people they've won a giveaway, then pull them into DMs and ask for money. Switching comments off is the quickest way for a small seller to protect their buyers from that.
• Spam. Bots leave the same few comments again and again: links, "DM me" offers and promotions. Cleaning them up takes time a one-person shop doesn't have.
• Other shops and price talk. Some sellers prefer to share prices only in DMs, and don't want other shops dropping their own links under every post.

So comments being off doesn't prove a seller is hiding something. It means you can't tell, and the rest of this guide is about finding out.

How common it is

Of the 41,055 sellers in India that VouchKart had checked by 3 Nov 2026, 5,392 (13%) have comments off or empty on their recent posts. That's about 1 in 8.

• Sellers in India5,392 of 41,055 sellers
  Sellers in India: 13% (5,392 of 41,055 sellers)

  13%
• Sellers elsewhere4,148 of 22,551 sellers
  Sellers elsewhere: 18% (4,148 of 22,551 sellers)

  18%

Share of checked sellers, as of 3 Nov 2026. A seller counts when comments are off on their account, or off or empty on most of their recent unpinned posts.

It's a little more common outside India (18%). Some of these shops are small and simply haven't had comments yet, which is another reason to judge comments-off alongside everything else you can check.

Less worrying, worth a closer look or a red flag

• ✓

  Less worrying

  Comments are off, but the shop is easy to check another way: a website that links back to their Instagram, a phone number that matches, an account that's been around for years and buyers who tag them in their own posts.

• i

  Worth a closer look

  Comments are off and there's only a little else to go on: a short history, reviews only as screenshots in their highlights or prices only in DMs.

• !

  Red flag

  Comments are off and there's nothing else to check them by: no website, no buyers tagging them, a new or renamed account. Even more so if prices are far below everyone else's and they push you to pay in advance by UPI or QR code.

That last pattern is how many fake shops work. In one case Delhi Police broke up a network behind about ₹30 crore of fraud that used fake Instagram shops: a buyer saw a kurti ad, was sent to a WhatsApp number and paid an advance by QR code.

How to check a seller when comments are off

1. Open their Tagged tab. On their profile, tap the tab with the person icon. It shows posts where other people tagged the shop. Real buyers posting what they got are worth far more than the shop's own reposts.
2. Tap "About this account". On their profile, tap the three dots, then About this account. It shows when the account joined Instagram and how often its username has changed. A shop that says it's been around for years but joined last month, or has changed its name several times, needs care.
3. Search their handle outside Instagram. Search the handle with words like "scam", "fraud" or "review" on Google and on consumer complaint sites.
4. Treat review screenshots as ads. Screenshots in their highlights are easy to fake. Look for reviews from accounts you can tap and see are real.
5. Check their website and number. A website that links back to their Instagram, and the same phone number in their bio and on their site, are good signs.
6. Check their UPI ID or number at cybercrime.gov.in's Suspect Search. A match means others have reported it. No match doesn't prove it's safe.
7. Look them up on VouchKart. Seller pages bring these checks together: their website, phone numbers, handle history and what other buyers say.
8. Start small. For a first order, choose cash on delivery or a small item if you can.

If something goes wrong

If you've paid and the seller blocks you, call 1930 straight away and see what to do after a UPI scam. If the seller still replies but won't fix a problem, complain to the National Consumer Helpline on 1915 or on WhatsApp at 8800001915.

Then find the seller on VouchKart and leave a review. With comments off, their posts can't show what happened to you, so your review may be the only public record the next buyer can find.

These figures come from VouchKart's snapshot of 41,055 checked sellers in India as of 3 Nov 2026. *The comparison comes from re-checking sellers added by that date, on 27 Oct 2026, and covers sellers in India. This guide is general information, not legal advice. How we check sellers.