How to Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram (And What Your Partner Sees)
Instagram does not give you a built-in option to turn off read receipts entirely. Once you open a Direct Message, the sender sees a "Seen" notification automatically. The only workaround is reading messages in Airplane Mode or using the message request preview. This limitation frustrates many users, especially those wondering what their partner is actually doing in their DMs.
- Who this affects: Anyone using Instagram DMs who wants more privacy, or anyone suspecting a partner is hiding message activity
- Key trade-off: You can delay a "Seen" receipt, but you cannot permanently disable it on Instagram
- What you can track instead: SnoopInsta tracks who your partner newly follows on Instagram in real time, giving you visibility into their account activity without them ever knowing
Can You Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram?
No, Instagram does not offer a native setting to disable read receipts. Unlike iMessage or WhatsApp, which give users a toggle to hide "Read" indicators, Instagram marks a Direct Message as "Seen" the moment you open it, and that status is immediately visible to the sender. As of July 2026, Meta has not introduced a privacy toggle for this feature.
That said, there are several workarounds people use to delay or avoid triggering the "Seen" notification. None of them are perfect, and some carry their own risks when it comes to relationship transparency.
How to Avoid Triggering Read Receipts on Instagram
Method 1: Use Airplane Mode
The most commonly used workaround involves enabling Airplane Mode before opening a DM:
- Wait for Instagram to fully load and for the message to download in your feed
- Turn on Airplane Mode (disable all network connections)
- Open Instagram and read the message while offline
- Close the app completely before turning Airplane Mode off
- Re-enable your connection only after the app is fully closed
This method prevents Instagram from syncing the "Seen" status to its servers, so the sender never receives notification that you read the message. However, it requires precise timing and does not always work reliably, especially if the app partially synced before you activated Airplane Mode.
Method 2: Read the Message Preview Without Opening It
If the sender is not someone you follow back (a message request), Instagram shows a preview of the message without marking it as "Seen." You can read the first portion of the message from the notification or message requests folder without opening the full thread. Once you tap into the conversation, the read receipt is triggered.
Method 3: Use the Notification Banner
If push notifications are enabled, the notification banner on your phone may display part of the message text. You can read this preview on your lock screen or notification shade without opening Instagram at all. This avoids triggering the "Seen" status entirely, but only works if the message fits within the preview length.
Method 4: Restrict the Account
Instagram's Restrict feature, originally designed to quietly limit interactions from bullies, also affects DM read receipts. When you restrict someone:
- Their DMs go to a separate "Message Requests" folder
- They do not see when you are active on Instagram
- They cannot see read receipts for messages you receive from them
To restrict someone: Go to their profile, tap the three-dot menu (or swipe left on their message), and select "Restrict." They will not be notified that you have restricted them. This is the closest Instagram offers to a native read receipt workaround for specific contacts.
Method 5: Vanish Mode
Instagram's Vanish Mode lets messages disappear after they are seen, but it does not disable read receipts. In fact, it still shows the "Seen" status before the messages vanish. This mode is not useful for hiding that you've read a message.
What Does Instagram Show by Default?
| Feature | Visible to Others? | Can You Hide It? |
|---|---|---|
| DM "Seen" receipt | Yes | Partially (via Airplane Mode or Restrict) |
| Active status ("Active now") | Yes (by default) | Yes (toggle in Settings) |
| Story views | Yes | No (viewing anonymously requires third-party tools) |
| New follows | Publicly visible on profile | No native alert system for followers |
| Following list changes | Publicly listed | No real-time alerts exist natively |
How to Hide Your Active Status on Instagram?
Go to Settings and Privacy, then select "Messages and story replies," then "Show activity status" and toggle it off. This hides your "Active now" or "Active X minutes ago" status from your DM contacts. Note: when you turn this off, you also lose the ability to see others' active status.
What Can Your Partner Hide on Instagram?
If you are concerned about a partner's Instagram activity, understanding what they can and cannot hide is important. They can delay read receipts using the methods above, hide their active status, and restrict your account without your knowledge. What they cannot easily hide is their following activity.
Every time someone follows a new account on Instagram, that follow is logged. While Instagram does not notify you when your partner follows someone new, tools like SnoopInsta are built specifically to surface this information. SnoopInsta tracks who a target account follows in real time and sends you email alerts the moment a new follow happens, all without the tracked person ever knowing.
Over 23,000 suspicious partner accounts are currently being tracked on SnoopInsta. Users like Hannah (age 23) discovered a partner was following multiple new accounts in the middle of the night. Andrew (age 35) uses SnoopInsta while dating to understand who new matches are actually engaging with on Instagram.
Read Receipts vs. Following Activity: Which Tells You More?
Read receipts tell you one thing: whether a message was opened. Following activity tells you much more. When someone starts following new accounts suddenly, especially late at night or after a pattern changes, that is often a more meaningful signal than whether a single message was read.
| Signal | What It Reveals | Can It Be Tracked? |
|---|---|---|
| DM read receipt | Message was opened | Only within the conversation thread |
| New follows | Who they are actively engaging with | Yes, via SnoopInsta with real-time alerts |
| Active status | When they are online | Only if they haven't turned it off |
| Story views | Whether they viewed your story | Yes, Instagram shows you natively |
How Does SnoopInsta Work for Tracking Instagram Activity?
SnoopInsta gives you a three-step process to monitor any Instagram account's following behavior without them ever knowing you are watching. It works on both public accounts and private accounts you already follow.
- Pick a profile: Enter the Instagram username you want to monitor
- See who they follow: View a chronological history of all new accounts they have followed
- Get alerts: Receive email notifications the moment a new follow happens
Unlike scrolling through someone's following list manually (which is unsorted and incomplete), SnoopInsta surfaces follows in the exact order they happened. There is no need to manually check. No detection by the tracked account. No guesswork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you turn off read receipts on Instagram completely?
No. Instagram does not have a native setting to disable read receipts. The only workarounds are reading messages in Airplane Mode, using notification previews, or restricting the sender's account. None of these options are available in the main Settings menu under a dedicated toggle.
Does restricting someone on Instagram hide read receipts?
Yes. When you restrict an account, their messages are moved to a separate requests folder, and they cannot see read receipts or your active status. They will not be notified that you have restricted them. This is the closest native option to hiding read receipts from a specific person.
Can my partner hide who they follow on Instagram?
Not easily. Instagram's following list is publicly visible on any public account, and even on private accounts you follow, the follows are logged. Tools like SnoopInsta surface new follows in chronological order so you can see exactly who was followed and when, without any detection.
Will the person I am tracking on SnoopInsta find out?
No. SnoopInsta operates without interacting with the tracked account in any way that would trigger a notification. The tracked person has no way of knowing their following activity is being monitored. Your monitoring remains completely private.
Does SnoopInsta work on private Instagram accounts?
SnoopInsta works on public accounts and on private accounts that you already follow. If the account is private and you do not follow them, you would need to be an approved follower first to access their following data.
Does the Airplane Mode trick always work to avoid read receipts?
Not always. The Airplane Mode method depends on the DM being fully cached before you disconnect. If Instagram has not downloaded the message yet, going offline will not help. Timing matters, and the method is inconsistent across device types and app versions. The Restrict feature is more reliable for specific contacts.
Key Takeaways
- Instagram has no native toggle to disable read receipts, unlike WhatsApp or iMessage
- The Restrict feature is the most reliable built-in workaround for hiding read receipts from specific senders
- Airplane Mode and notification previews can work, but are inconsistent and require precise timing
- Hiding active status is easy via Settings but removes your ability to see others' status too
- Following activity is harder to hide than read receipts, and tools like SnoopInsta track it in real time with email alerts
- If relationship transparency is your concern, new follows often reveal more than whether a message was seen