Instagram is one of the most successful social media platforms in the world today. The app gets roughly one billion active users every month. Most of your friends and family will likely also use this social media platform. Maintaining your privacy online has become difficult. Due to this reason, many users have asked, “how to turn off seen on Instagram?”
Is this what you’re wondering as well? Well, then, you’re in the right place. This article will answer all your questions and outline the steps you must follow to turn off read receipts on Instagram. Read on to know more!
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What does “Seen” on Instagram mean?
If you’re an active Instagram user, you’ve probably noticed the word ‘Seen’ show up in your chats with people. It will appear below your messages after the person you’re talking to has viewed them. This feature is also referred to as “read receipts.”
Instagram is not the only social media platform that has this feature. In fact, read receipts are a common feature found on almost all messaging apps. This feature lets you know when the person you’re talking to saw your recent message. Due to this, users can determine if they should still be waiting for a reply.
Can you turn off “Seen” on Instagram?
We’ve discussed that read receipts are common in many social media messaging apps. Many of these apps provide the option to turn off this feature. Users can view the messages they’ve received without the other person being informed that they have done so. Is this option also available on Instagram? Well, it’s complicated.
Unfortunately, Instagram does not provide the option to turn off this feature within the app settings. You can not directly turn off read receipts on Instagram. However, there are still ways to view another person’s message without Instagram notifying them. The methods to do this are not as straightforward as turning off the ‘read receipts’ option on another app. Don’t worry; we’ll go through the steps in detail.
Ways to Turn off Seen on Instagram
There are a few ways to view another person’s message on Instagram without notifying them. We will go through these methods in this section.
Method#1: Turning off WiFi or Mobile Data
The easiest way to turn off the read receipts on Instagram is to turn off your WiFi or Mobile Data. Users that do so can view messages they’ve received without alerting the other person.
To turn off seen on Instagram by going offline, complete the following steps:
- When you receive a message on Instagram, don’t open it.
- Instead, open the Instagram app and go to Messages. You can do this by tapping the icon in the top-right corner.
- Refresh your inbox.
- Swipe down to open your phone’s control settings.
- Turn off the Internet by turning off your device’s WiFi or Mobile Data option.
- After you have disconnected, you may open the message from your inbox.
- The ‘Seen’ message will not appear until you have reconnected to the Internet. You may read the message without the other person being informed that you have done so.
This is the easiest method to view someone’s message on Instagram without the app informing them. However, it is important to remember that as soon as you connect to the Internet, the ‘Seen’ message will appear in the chat. Make sure you reply immediately if you don’t want the other person to know you saw their message earlier.
Method#2: Turning on Airplane Mode
You may also view another person’s message on Instagram without their knowledge through the Airplane Mode feature. To do so, complete the following steps:
- When you receive a message on Instagram, don’t open the message directly.
- Open the Instagram app and go to Messages. You can do this by tapping the icon in the top-right corner.
- Refresh your inbox.
- Swipe down to open your phone’s control settings.
- Turn on the Airplane Mode feature on your device. To do this, tap the airplane icon in the control settings.
- Turning on Airplane Mode disconnects you from the Internet. You may open the message from your inbox.
- The ‘Seen’ message will not appear until you have reconnected to the Internet. You may read the message without the other person being informed that you have done so.
Once again, it is essential to remember that as soon as you connect to the Internet, the ‘Seen’ message will appear in the chat. Make sure you reply immediately if you don’t want the other person to know you already saw their message earlier.
Method#3: Restrict An Account
Restricting an account is one of the most efficient methods to turn off read receipts on Instagram.
When you restrict an account on Instagram, their messages will appear in your inbox’s ‘Requests’ section. You will have to permit them to message you. Instagram allows you to view the message before you do this. You can view message requests without the other user being notified of this.
To turn off read receipts by restricting an account, complete the following steps:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Go to the Search Bar.
- Search for the username of the person whose message you wish to view.
- Go to their account. Tap the three dots on the top-right corner of their profile.
- Choose the option that says ‘Restrict’.
Restricting an account allows you to view any messages you have received without Instagram informing the other user. However, this method is not recommended as a permanent solution. When you restrict an account, the user’s messages appear in your inbox’s ‘Requests’ section. You will not receive any notifications from them.
There is also a limit on the number of times you can restrict an account on Instagram. Due to this reason, we recommend that you use this method sparingly.
Method#4: By disabling the Activity Status
The Activity Status feature on Instagram lets you know when other users you have added to your account were last active. They will also be informed of when you were last active or if you are currently online.
You may turn off the Activity Status feature on Instagram so that this information is not shared with your followers. However, most people don’t know that disabling this feature can allow you to turn off read receipts on Instagram.
For this method, complete the following steps:
- Open the Instagram App.
- Tap on the “Profile” icon shown on your account.
- Tap on the Menu icon shown in the top-right corner of your profile.
- Go to Settings and select Privacy.
- Select the option that says Activity Status.
- Here, you can turn off Activity Status by tapping on the toggle.
- You can turn off the ‘Show When You’re Active Together’ feature similarly.
Disabling these features allows you to use Instagram without your followers knowing that you’re online.
Final thoughts
Read receipts are a standard feature found in many messaging apps. Many of these apps provide the option to turn off this feature. Unfortunately, Instagram does not allow you to disable this feature directly. However, there are some ways to view a person’s message on Instagram without the Seen message appearing in the chat.
This article has provided a list of four such methods. We have outlined the steps you can follow to view messages you have received from other users without their knowledge. Users that wish to turn off read receipts on Instagram will find this guide helpful. Read the article closely; we’re positive you won’t encounter any difficulties. Good luck!