Have you ever wondered how to read your Instagram direct messages without letting the other person know you’ve seen them? Or, have you ever felt stressed to reply immediately after seeing that the other person has read your message? If so, you’re not alone! Instagram’s read receipts can sometimes cause unwanted pressure or anxiety. But don’t worry; there are some simple workarounds you can try to turn off read receipts on Instagram. In this article, we’ll reveal four methods to help you keep your message-read status a secret and explain why you might want to do so. Get ready to take control of your Instagram DMs!

What are Read Receipts on Instagram?

Read receipts on Instagram are a feature that lets you know when someone has read your direct message (DM). When you send a DM to someone, and they open it, a small eye icon appears under the message, indicating that the recipient has read it. Similarly, when someone sends you a DM, and you read it, the sender will see the eye icon under their message, letting them know you’ve read it. The purpose of read receipts is to confirm that a message has been delivered and read, but it can also create pressure or expectation for a quick response, which some users might prefer to avoid.

What Happens When You Turn Off Read Receipts On Instagram

When you turn it off, read the receipts on Instagram:

• The other person won’t be able to see if you have read their messages or when you have read them.
• The other person won’t be able to see if you are online or when you were last active on Instagram (if you turned off active status).
• The other person may think you haven’t received their messages or are ignoring them (if they don’t know that you turned off read receipts).
• The other person may feel hurt, confused, or frustrated by your lack of response (if they care about your thoughts or feelings).

How to Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram

There are four ways to turn off read receipts on Instagram: using airplane mode, turning off message notifications, restricting the sender, or turning off active status. Here are the detailed steps for each method:

1. Using Airplane Mode

The most common and effective way to turn off read receipts on Instagram is using airplane mode. This method works by disconnecting your phone from the internet and preventing Instagram from updating your online status and activity. Here’s how:

• Open the Instagram app on your phone and log in to your account.
• Tap on the messenger icon at the top right corner of the screen. It’s the icon with a paper plane that shows all your DMs.

• Load all the messages you want to read but don’t open them yet. Just scroll through your inbox and wait for them to load completely.
• Turn on airplane mode on your phone. This will disable your cellular data and Wi-Fi connection. To do this, swipe down from your screen to access the quick settings menu and tap the airplane icon. Alternatively, you can go to your phone’s settings and turn on airplane mode.

• Open and read the messages that you loaded earlier. Since you are offline, Instagram won’t be able to signal to the other person that you have read their messages.

• Close the Instagram app and log out of your account. To do this, tap on your profile picture at the bottom right corner of the screen, tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right corner, tap on Settings at the bottom of the menu, scroll down and tap on Log Out.

• Turn off airplane mode on your phone. This will reconnect your phone to the internet. To do this, swipe from your screen to access the quick settings menu and tap the airplane icon again. Alternatively, you can go to your phone’s settings and turn off airplane mode.

• Log back into your Instagram account. The messages you read while offline will still appear unread in your inbox and the other person’s inbox.

2. Turning Off Message Notifications

Another way to turn off read receipts on Instagram is turning off message notifications. This method prevents Instagram from sending you alerts when you receive a new message. This way, you can avoid mistakenly tapping on a message notification and triggering a read receipt. Here’s how:

• Open the Instagram app on your phone and log in to your account.
• Tap on your profile picture at the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen.

• Tap on Settings at the bottom of the menu.

• Tap on Notifications under ACCOUNT.

• Tap on Messages under DIRECT MESSAGES.

• Tap on Off under MESSAGE REQUESTS and MESSAGES.

3. Restricting The Sender

Another way to turn off read receipts on Instagram is by restricting the sender. This method limits how certain people can interact with you on Instagram. When you restrict someone, their messages will be moved to Message Requests instead of your inbox, and they won’t be able to see if you have read their messages or if you are online. Here’s how:

• Open the Instagram app on your phone and log in to your account.
• Search for the username of the person you want to restrict or tap on their profile picture if they appear in your feed or stories.
• Tap on their profile picture again to open their profile page.

• Tap on Following under their bio.
• Tap on Restrict at the bottom of the menu.

• Confirm that you want to restrict them by tapping Restrict Account.

4. Turning Off Active Status

Another way to turn off read receipts on Instagram is turning off active status. This method works by hiding your online activity from other users on Instagram. When you turn off active status, other people won’t be able to see when you are online or last active on Instagram. This may make them less likely to expect a quick reply or check if you have read their messages. Here’s how:

• Open the Instagram app on your phone and log in to your account.
• Tap on your profile picture at the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen.
• Tap on Settings at the bottom of the menu.

• Tap on Privacy under ACCOUNT.
• Tap on Activity Status under CONNECTIONS.

• Toggle off the switch for Show Activity Status.

Why Would You Need to Turn off Read Receipts on Instagram

You may want to turn off read receipts on Instagram for many reasons. Some of them are:

• You may want to turn off read receipts to read a message without letting the other person know. For example, if you are busy, uninterested, or need time to think before replying.
• You may want to turn off read receipts if you want to avoid the pressure of replying right away, for example, if you don’t want to seem rude, impatient, or desperate, or if you don’t want to get into an argument or a conversation that you don’t enjoy.
• You may want to turn off read receipts to protect your privacy and personal space. For example, if you don’t want other people to know when you are online or what you do on Instagram.

Conclusion

To summarize, we have provided four easy methods to turn off read receipts on Instagram. Using these methods, you can read your DMs without letting the other person know you have seen them and avoid the pressure of responding immediately. We hope this article has helped improve your Instagram experience.

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