How To Turn Off Read Receipts On Instagram

In the digital age of always being expected to be constantly switched on, reading and replying to messages can become stressful.

These days, more often than not, people want a response to their DM fast. And if you do not reply quickly enough but they see that you have read the message?

Then they assume you are ignoring them. So, how do you get around this problem?

You might want to be able to turn off the read receipts to avoid it showing that you have read the message. Unfortunately, you cannot turn off this feature.

Fear not though, because there are a few ways to get around it, and it is all to do with reading the message offline or restricting users.

This way, you can read a message and it still says unread.

In this article we shall take a look at how to avoid a person seeing that you have read their message. Sneaky!

Can You Turn Off Your Read Receipt On Instagram?

Even though we put our lives out there in the digital world for all to see on social media platforms, it does not necessarily mean that we want to be constantly available.

The problem is, we know for a fact that most people are glued to their phones.

Even so, that does not mean that you have the time or energy to reply to every message that is sent to you.

And because our lives are so busy, it is easy to read a message on-the-go, but not have time to reply to it. Or, you just do not know what to say yet.

While the other person may panic and see that you have read the message, and maybe they will send follow up DMs to see if you are there, it can be exhausting.

So, can you turn off those pesky read receipts?

As we stated before, it is not actually possible, but there are things you can try to avoid a message being marked as read. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Turn Online Status To Offline

One of the best ways to avoid the dreaded read receipt is to go offline.

Just like the restricting option (see below), it can be an annoying task to do every time you want to avoid somebody noticing that you have seen the message.

Even so, if you are at your wits end and really want to read a message but do not want to reply to it yet, then this is a good way to stop the message being marked as read.

Here is how to do it:

• On Instagram, open up your inbox but do not click on any messages.
• Wait until every message has loaded in and turn off the Wi-Fi connection. You can also just put your airplane mode on because it does the exact same thing.
• Now you can click on the message and read it without it saying it has been seen.

However, there is a downside to this option. Once you turn the Wi-Fi back on, the message will instantly say it has been read.

So, if you are avoiding the message being seen, then perhaps stay offline for a while!

Switch Off Notifications

Another option is just to turn off the Instagram notifications from coming through to your phone.

Sometimes we might take a look at a message on our lockscreen and accidentally click through to it opening up on the app.

It will also take away any desperate need to read a DM, or to stay constantly wired to social media.

While this is not a fool proof way of removing the ‘seen’ message from DMs, it does stop you from knowing the messages are there.

Restrict Other Accounts

If you want a surefire way to avoid people seeing that you have read their messages, then restricting an account could be a possibility.

While probably not great for the BFF, it can be helpful for other accounts. So, what even are restricted accounts?

Once an account is restricted, or if they are not followed by you, when they send a message you can read it without them knowing.

If you accept the message that was sent from that account, then the read receipt appears.

Here is how to restrict an account on Instagram:

• Once logged into Instagram, use the explore page to search the account’s username in the search box at the top, or click on their profile from your follow list.
• Once found, click on the profile.
• You will see three dots at the right corner on the top of the screen. Click and choose the option that says ‘Restrict’.
• On a browser page, you will have the option to confirm the action. If you are using the app, then you will not.
• Once you are ready to reply back to their message, go back onto the profile and follow the same steps to remove the restriction from their profile. However, if you are on the app, you can do it on the message itself.

If the account follows you but you do not follow them back, then the above does not need to happen. The messages will always be sent within the requested area of the inbox.

However, this is not the best option if you have a lot of people to restrict, or if you don’t want Instagram to become suspicious of your activity.

Final Thoughts

If you are wanting to read a DM or two but do not want the dreaded ‘seen’ from appearing because you are not ready to reply yet - if at all - then there are ways of getting around it.

Unfortunately, you cannot turn off this feature officially. For this reason, you will have to try other ways to have the message appearing as unread, despite having already read it.

In a time where our real and digital lives are entwined with being constantly switched on online, it can be a breath of fresh air not to have to reply instantly.

If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post on ‘How To Send GIFs On Snapchat’.