How to Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram

There are times when you may not want others on Instagram to know that you are active and have read their messages. When you read someone’s DM, Instagram will show a “Seen” label underneath the text to indicate that you have opened the chat. The good thing here is that Instagram now finally allows you to disable read receipts and in this post, we will show you how to do it.

Disable Read Receipts for Individual Chat

1. Open Instagram and tap on the Messenger icon in the top right corner. You can also swipe left on the app’s main screen to access your Instagram DMs.
2. On the next screen, select a conversation where you wish to disable read receipts.
3. Tap on the username at the top of the chat window.

4. Next, tap on Privacy & safety.
5. Turn off the Read receipts toggle here.

Doing so will turn off read receipts for that particular chat. This works both ways as you won’t be able to tell if the other person has seen your message either. Also, as mentioned in the screenshot above, turning off read receipts will not apply to vanish mode in Instagram.

Disable Read Receipt for All Instagram Chats

You can also opt to turn off read receipts for all chats, new and old on the platform. Here’s how:

1. Open Instagram and tap on your profile icon at the bottom right corner.
2. Next, tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
3. Then, go to Settings and privacy -> Messages and story replies.

5. Now, tap on Show read receipts and turn off the toggle for Read receipts.

Disable Activity Status for someone on Instagram

Besides turning off read receipts, Instagram also offers a way to hide your activity status from others on the platform. When you turn off your activity status, Instagram will remove the green dot next to your profile icon, so others won’t be able to tell whether you are online. Here is how to disable activity status on Instagram.

1. Open Instagram and tap on the profile icon at the bottom right corner.
2. On your profile page, tap on the hamburger menu and select Settings and privacy.
3. Now, tap on Messages and story replies under “How others can interact with you.”

4. Next, go to the Show activity status section.
5. Here, turn off the Show Activity Status toggle. Doing so will also disable the Show When You’re Active Together toggle.

Now people won’t know if and when you are online, so you can scroll or text with someone peacefully.

This sums up this guide on disabling read receipts on the Instagram app. As someone, who doesn’t reply on time, this feature has saved me from a lot of difficult conversations. If you did not know that you could do this or never tried it before, now’s your chance to give it a shot.

Besides this, if you make plenty of mistakes and spelling errors while typing, here is another quick guide to edit sent messages on Instagram. Let us know in the comments what you think about the ability to disable read receipts and whether you are using it.