How To Turn off Seen on Instagram DMs: New Feature for 2024

Can you turn off seen for a specific conversation or all your Instagram DMs? This among others are some of the questions Instagram users have been asking for a few months now.

Yes, Instagram allows you to turn off seen on your DMs.

This newly released feature on Instagram lets you turn off seen for specific chats in your DMs based on your preferences. For example, you could turn off seen for the person in your situation who sends you unsolicited memes that you don’t find humorous and leave read receipts on for everyone else so that both of you can be informed when the other person has received your messages. In this comprehensive guide, I will show you how to turn off seen and read receipts on Instagram DMs.

But before we learn how to use this new feature on Instagram, let’s establish a firm grasp of a read receipt.

What Is Read Receipts on Instagram?

Read receipts on Instagram are a feature that lets users know when the recipient has read their direct messages. This feature is automatically enabled and can be turned off.

When you send a direct message (DM) to someone on Instagram, you’ll initially see a “delivered” notification under the message. Once the recipient opens the message, the “delivered” notification changes to “seen,” a timestamp indicates when the message was read. This is called a read receipt.

It’s important to note that read receipts are only available for Instagram direct messages, not comments or post captions.

How Do Read Receipts Work?

Read receipts on Instagram indicate whether a recipient has viewed a direct message (DM). When a message is “Seen,” the recipient has opened and read the message. This feature is part of Instagram’s messaging system and provides real-time feedback on your messages’ status. To modify settings, you should have a stable internet connection.

Here’s how to read receipts work on Instagram:

Message Delivery Status: When you dispatch a direct message via Instagram, the platform transmits the message to the recipient’s device. You can confirm this status by observing a checkmark next to the message.
Read Message: Once the recipient views the message, the status changes from a checkmark to “Seen.” The platform shows this timestamp to indicate when the recipient reads the message, and it appears beneath the message.
Group Chats: The system records the read status of each participant in group chats individually. This means that you can see who has viewed the message and when.
Voice Messages and Videos: Like text messages, read receipts apply to voice messages and videos. The platform notifies the sender when the recipient listens to a voice message or views a video.
Disappearing Messages: Users can utilize a feature on Instagram where messages vanish after they view them and exit the chat. In this case, read receipts function in the same way as with regular messages.

Privacy Considerations Checklist

Many texting networks have read receipts turned off as standard privacy practice. To help you along the way, I have provided a checklist to guide you through the process:

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Lamphills Privacy Considerations Checklist

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Why Are Read Receipts on Instagram Important?

Read receipts allow you to see who has seen your story. This can be helpful in several ways, such as knowing if someone has read your message but has yet to respond. Additionally, read receipts can help you gauge your story’s popularity. It’s likely interesting and worth your time if many people read it. Ultimately, read receipts are a helpful tool that can give insights into how your story is received.

Read also INSTAGRAM MANAGEMENT TOOLS: Uses, Free Tools & Pricing

How Do I Turn off Read Receipts?

As was already established, there isn’t a clear way to turn off read receipts on Instagram. However, there are a few effective methods for reading Instagram messages without alerting the sender to your presence.

Disable Instagram Message Notifications

One way to turn off Instagram read receipts is to disable message notifications. As previously stated, reading receipts is triggered by touching the Instagram message alerts. Checking your Instagram messages should be your first step before using the app. That’s where turning off messages can help you. Let’s see how this can be done.

1. Open the Instagram app and tap the “Profile” icon.

2. Once you open your profile, select the hamburger menu by pressing it once. A menu will pop up from below the screen. Tap on “Settings.”

3. On the settings page, tap the “Notifications” option.

4. Once you reach the “Notifications” page, locate the “Messages and calls” option and tap on it.

5. Under the “messages and calls” option, locate the “messages” and “message requests” options. Once you reach here, press the circles beside the “off” option.

When you have done all this, message request notifications will not appear on your phone. Hence, there won’t be any chance of opening a message accidentally because of the appearance of notifications.

Turn on Airplane Mode and Log out

Another way to read messages on Instagram without reading receipts is to activate Airplane mode on your phone. Turning off Airplane mode works similarly to going offline. Adopt the following procedure to implement this method.

1. Open the Instagram app and tap on “Messenger,” available in the upper right corner of the “Home” page

2. When your message inbox appears, swipe down your phone’s top part to see the Notification panel.

3. From the Notifications panel, turn on “Airplane Mode.” Once the Airplane mode is turned on, your phone will automatically disconnect from the internet you are using. To be safe, you can also turn off the mobile data or Wi-Fi, so your phone is not automatically connected to a nearby internet source.

4. With Airplane mode activated, you can return to your inbox and tap on the message you want to read.

In this way, you will read the message without letting the sender know that you have read it.

Note: As with the first strategy, it is important to note that it is also temporary. The sender will be notified that you have viewed the message as soon as your device is online and the read receipt appears.

How To Turn Off Seen on Instagram DM

Is there a way to turn off seen messages on Instagram DMs? Well, not as a standalone feature. However, techniques exist for viewing Instagram direct messages discreetly without triggering a read receipt. Here are five reliable approaches.

Here are five proven methods that apply to various situations and address turning off “seen” notifications on Instagram DMs. No matter your situation, at least one of these options will work for you.

Offline

1. Avoid tapping on message notifications to prevent immediate marking of messages as read.

2. Launch the Instagram app and go to the Messenger section from the home page. Refresh your message inbox to load the messages without marking them as read.

3. Swipe down on your screen to access the phone menu. Turn off both mobile data and WiFi by tapping their respective icons.

4. You can open your messages inbox without sending a read receipt with no internet connection.

Airplane Mode

To use airplane mode on Instagram, turn off WiFi and data connections, putting you offline. This method ensures Instagram won’t establish a connection, especially on Android devices that reactivate WiFi.

1. Launch the Instagram app and refresh your inbox without interacting with the notification.

2. Swipe down to access your phone’s menu, then activate airplane mode, completely severing your internet connection.

3. Return to your message inbox and peruse your messages.

Just like manually disabling WiFi and data, remember that this approach is temporary. Upon deactivating airplane mode, the other party will receive a read receipt.

Turn Off Active Status

Turning off the activity status conceals your active status and turns off read receipts. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open the app and go to your profile picture in the lower left corner.

2. Access the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) at the upper right corner and choose “Settings.”

3. Locate the “Privacy” option and select it.

4. Within this section, tap “Activity Status,” which will unveil further settings.

5. Adjacent to “Show Activity Status,” you’ll find a toggle button. Activate it to turn off your activity status and the “Show When You’re Active Together” feature.

6. Once deactivated, the toggle will appear grey instead of blue. This applies even if you’re currently online. Now, you can use Instagram without revealing your active status and read messages without triggering a read receipt.

Restrict Sender

To manage interactions with only a few individuals, consider restricting them instead of blocking read receipts for everyone. It allows them to send messages without notifying you.

Here’s how to restrict someone:

1. Log in to your Instagram account and go to the profile page of the person you wish to restrict.

2. You can do this by clicking on their username in your message inbox or searching for them from your homepage.

3. Press the menu icon situated in the upper right-hand corner.

4. Select the “Restrict” option.

5. You’ll receive confirmation that you’ve restricted a person. You won’t receive notifications from them anymore, and their messages will be in your inbox.

This feature helps manage problematic accounts but has a limit on user restrictions.

Read Messages From the Notification Bar

Message notifications are a significant cause of people getting left on reading. Accidentally tapping to read can lead you to the message inbox, and the same can happen when dismissing notifications.

To completely turn off notifications, take the following steps:

1. Launch the Instagram application and select your profile in the lower right corner.

2. Access the menu in the top right corner of your profile page and select “Settings.”

3. Within the Settings page, navigate to the Notifications tab.

4. Locate the “Messages and Calls” option and tap to expand it.

5. You’ll find options such as “Messages” and “Message Requests.” Switch both to the “Off” position.

Following this, Instagram will refrain from sending messages or requests to your phone. This means you won’t have to worry about accidentally tapping a notification. To check your messages, you must manually open the app and go to your message inbox.

Pros and Cons of Turning Off Read Receipts on Instagram

As a frequent Instagram user, I had to decide whether to turn off read receipts. The benefits initially appeared obvious and ok: I could read texts privately and not feel compelled to respond immediately. Some experience showed a downside, though. Most of my friends and colleagues felt ignored, leading to misunderstandings and strained relationships. I gave up eventually and turned them back on.

It was insightful to get the experience. While I regained privacy, I sacrificed transparency and trust. Ultimately, the choice rested on priorities: privacy or connection. Read receipts were retained as a reminder that real communication is more important than the desire for privacy.

Although everyone wants privacy, remember anything with advantages has disadvantages. Turning off read receipts has major pros and cons. Here are some of them from my experience

Pros:

Privacy: When read receipts are disabled, privacy is preserved since other users cannot see when you have viewed their messages. This can be helpful if you wish to remain somewhat anonymous or don’t want anyone to know about your online activities.
Reduced Pressure: It relieves having to reply immediately when you see a message. When read receipts are disabled, you can take your time responding, as the sender won’t know exactly when you read their message.
Avoid Awkward Situations: Sometimes, you can avoid potentially awkward circumstances when you reply to a message slowly or not at all. In certain situations, turning off read receipts can be helpful because it keeps the sender from knowing when you’ve viewed their communication.

Cons:

Breakdown in Communication: You risk missing crucial hints on the status of your emails if you don’t receive read receipts. You won’t be able to tell if your message was understood, which could result in misconceptions.
Anticipating Reaction: Turning off read receipts could help the sender feel less need to reply immediately, but it could also frustrate them as they could not know if their message was received. This absence of response can be annoying, particularly when a deadline is involved.
Perception of Disinterest: Some people might interpret not reading the receipts as impolite or uninterested. They can assume you purposely ignore their signals, resulting in relationship tension or lost chances.

Should I Turn Off My Read Receipts?: Bottom Line

The choice is all yours. Although it’s a privacy setting in theory, and we encourage all social media users to utilize the privacy settings offered by social media apps, this one depends on how you interact with your friends and family.

Some people turn off read receipts because they don’t want to “leave their friends on read” or believe it will be impolite if they “see” a message but don’t have time to respond. Not all social circles or friendship groups operate in this manner.

Overall, this feature on Instagram and other platforms is good because it allows users to read messages at their own pace and discloses less information about their activities. Of course, it works best if used in combination with a hidden activity status.