How to turn read receipts off on Instagram
The rumors are true: You can change your read receipts on Instagram.
The feature rolled out recently and allows you to turn read receipts on or off for an individual chat or all chats, depending on your needs. For instance, you might want your read receipts off for your situationship who keeps sending you unsolicited memes that you do not find funny but you might want to keep read receipts on for everyone else, so they know when you've read your messages and you know when they've read yours.
How to turn all of your Instagram DM read receipts off
- 1 min
- iPhone
- Instagram app
Step 1: Navigate to "settings and privacy."
To turn off read receipts for all messages, go to your main "settings and privacy."
Step 2: Scroll down to "messages and story replies."
Scroll down to "messages and story replies" and click it.
Step 3: Click "show read receipts."
You can toggle "show read receipts" on or off depending on if you'd like to show read receipts or not on all of your DMs on Instagram.
How to turn Instagram DM read receipts off for specific recipients
- 1 min
- iPhone
- Instagram app
Step 1: Navigate to the DM you want to edit.
To turn off read receipts for a specific message, start at your individual DM with that person.
Step 2: Click their name and navigate to "Privacy & safety."
Click their name at the top of your DM conversation. Under "theme," click "Privacy & safety."
Step 3: Toggle "read receipts" on or off.
When you toggle "read receipts" on or off through a specific person's DMs, it will only edit that specific DM.
Instagram announced these changes along with a whole host of other updated features to DMs in early March.
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"People connect daily on Instagram through posts and stories, but especially privately through messaging, so we’re excited to be bringing these new messaging features to Instagram," the company said in a blog post about the updates. Users can also edit messages after they've already sent them, pin the messages they want to see at the top of their DM page, and more. The changes make direct messaging on the platform a lot more like texting on iMessage which, while none of he changes are particularly revolutionary, they are a welcome addition.
And with the power to edit read receipts, now you can be just that much sneakier — or more telling.
Topics Instagram
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
