How to Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram

Chatting with your friends on Instagram and don’t want them to find out when you’ve read their messages? Find out how to turn read receipts off on Instagram in this article.

Instagram comes with a built-in chat feature called Messenger that allows you to send messages, also known as Direct Messages or DM, to other people that are on Instagram, such as your friends and family members.

When you send messages to others, Instagram displays something known as “read receipts”. A read receipt is an indicator that appears below a message to let you know that the recipient has read your message.

Whenever you send a message to someone in Instagram and they read it, a label appears below the message that says “Seen”. This is called the Read Receipt.

Read receipts were introduced in Instagram a few years ago and the feature received mixed reactions. Some people appreciate it while others dislike the feature as reduces their privacy.

If you’re against this feature, you might be wondering how to turn read receipts off. The next section explains if it possible to do this.

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How to turn off read receipts on Instagram?

It is not possible to turn off read receipts on Instagram. The app does not provide an option to disable read receipts to avoid others finding out when you read their messages.

Many people suggest that you should disable your mobile data, such as WiFi and 4G/LTE, and turn on Airplane Mode to prevent Instagram from showing read receipts when you read messages sent to you by others.

However, Instagram is smart enough to figure this out and will still display read receipts when you turn on your mobile data again.

Although it is impossible to disable read receipts on Instagram, there is a neat little trick to read Instagram messages without others knowing. Find out about this in the next section.

How to read messages on Instagram without others finding out

Since Instagram doesn’t let you turn off read receipts, you can take advantage of the Instagram message notifications that appear on your lock screen to read the messages without them knowing.

To use this trick, you must turn on message notifications on Instagram. Here’s how:

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.

2. Tap the menu icon in the top right corner, then select Settings.

3. Tap on Notifications.

4. Go to Messages and Calls.

5. Under Messages, select the On checkbox.

Now that the notifications are enabled, whenever someone sends you a message on Instagram, a notification will appear on your lock screen that displays the content of the message.

You can now read messages without opening Instagram and this will prevent the app from sending read receipts to the recipients.

Note that this method works with text messages only so if you receive a photo or video, you have no choice but to open the Instagram app to view them.

FAQ

Can you turn off read receipts on Instagram?

You cannot turn off read receipts on Instagram as the app doesn’t provide a setting to disable it. As such, read receipts will always be enabled and displayed when you read messages.

Does Instagram still show read receipts?

Yes, Instagram still shows read receipts and does not allow users to disable it.

What does it mean when someone leaves you “on read”?

The term “on read” means that someone has read your message but does not respond to it. When you are left on read, it means that you have been ignored.

How to turn off Seen on Instagram?

You cannot turn off the Seen indicator in Instagram. When you read someone’s message on Instagram, a Seen indicator will be added to the message so that the recipient knows you read it. Instagram doesn’t allow you to disable this feature.

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