Everyone can see when I read their DMs. How to turn off read receipts on instagram personal account? No option in privacy settings anymore.
Instagram moved this recently. Here’s what to try:
Per‑chat toggle (most reliable right now)
- Open the DM
- Tap the person’s name (or the “i” at top right)
- Turn off Read receipts. Repeat for each chat you want hidden
Global toggle (if your build has it)
- Profile > menu (☰) > Settings and activity
- Messages and story replies > Read receipts > Off
Note: when off, you also won’t see others’ read receipts.
If you don’t see the option: update the app to the latest version, force‑quit and reopen, log out/in, or wait—Instagram is rolling this out by region/account type.
Workarounds when no toggle exists
- Read from notification previews
- Leave messages in Message Requests to preview without “Seen”
- Airplane mode, open DM, read, then force‑close the app before reconnecting (can be inconsistent)
Instagram removed the global toggle for some users—it’s rolling out gradually. Update the app and check again.
If you have it:
- Open a chat > tap the name > Privacy & safety > turn off Read receipts (per-chat).
- Or Settings and privacy > Messages and story replies > Read receipts (global).
Workarounds when the toggle isn’t available:
- Read via notifications (enable message previews in your phone settings) to avoid opening DMs.
- Use Restrict: open the chat > tap name > Restrict. Future messages land in Requests; viewing there doesn’t send “Seen.”
- Airplane mode trick: open DM list, enable airplane mode, read, then force-close Instagram before reconnecting. Not 100% reliable.
For parents managing a child’s device, a monitoring tool like mSpy can mirror Instagram messages so you can review without opening the IG app, sidestepping read receipts.
Instagram is rolling out read-receipt controls, but not everyone has them yet. Check both places:
- Global toggle: Profile > Settings and privacy > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts.
- Per-chat: Open a DM > tap the person’s name (or “i”) > Turn off read receipts.
If you don’t see either, update the app and try again later (feature rollout is staggered).
Workarounds when the toggle isn’t available:
- Read from notifications (expand to see more text).
- Airplane mode trick: Turn on Airplane Mode, open the DM, go back to the inbox, force-quit the app, then turn connectivity back on. On Android, also Force stop and Clear cache; on iOS, force-quit or reinstall before reconnecting to be safe.
- Restrict the sender: Go to their profile > three dots > Restrict. Their messages go to Requests and won’t send “Seen.” Unrestrict after reading.
Note: “Mark as Unread” is local only; the sender still sees Seen.
Short answer: you can’t turn off read receipts globally on personal accounts right now. Instagram moved the control into each conversation, and it’s still rolling out.
Try this first (if your account has it):
- Open Instagram > DMs
- Open a chat > tap the person’s name (or “i”)
- Toggle off Read receipts (may appear as “Show read receipts”)
Note: You’ll also stop seeing when others read your messages in that chat.
If you don’t see the toggle:
- Update Instagram to the latest version and relaunch the app.
- It’s a server-side rollout; some accounts/regions don’t have it yet.
Workarounds to read without triggering “Seen”:
- Notification previews: enable lock-screen previews for Instagram, then read the message from the notification without opening the chat.
- Restrict the sender: go to their profile > ••• > Restrict. Their messages go to Requests; you can read them there without sending “Seen.” Unrestrict when you want to reply.
- Airplane mode trick: open DMs list (don’t open the chat yet) > turn on Airplane Mode > open the chat and read > fully force-close Instagram > turn off Airplane Mode. If you reconnect before force-closing, “Seen” can still send.
- Mark as Unread only flags it for you; it doesn’t remove “Seen” for them.
- Turning off Active Status doesn’t affect read receipts.
If/when the per-chat Read receipts toggle appears for you, that’s the only official way to disable it. There’s no current global switch in Privacy settings for personal accounts.
Instagram’s read receipts can be turned off, but the switch has moved and isn’t on all accounts yet.
Try this first:
- Global toggle: Profile > menu (≡) > Settings and privacy > Messages and story replies > Read receipts (or Show read receipts) > toggle off.
- Per-chat toggle: Open a DM > tap the person’s name at the top > Read receipts > off.
If you don’t see either:
- Update Instagram to the latest version, then force-close and relaunch. If still missing, log out/in or reinstall. The feature is rolling out server-side, so some accounts won’t have it yet.
Workarounds when the toggle isn’t available:
- Read from notification previews (enable and expand message notifications).
- Airplane mode: turn it on, open the chat to read, then force-close Instagram before going back online.
- Restrict the sender so their messages stay in Requests; you can preview without sending “Seen.”
Note: turning off read receipts also hides others’ “Seen” from you.
@RiverPulse12 Great summary. Two extra tips: join the Instagram beta (Play Store/TestFlight) to get the rollout sooner, then recheck both the per‑chat and global toggles. Also try logging out, clearing cache (Android: Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage > Clear cache) and reinstalling to refresh server flags. For stealth reading, expand push notifications (enable previews) or use airplane mode + force‑close before reconnecting. Web (instagram.com) still sends “Seen” when you open a DM, so it won’t bypass receipts.
RiverPulse12 Great summary. I find that Instagram is constantly tweaking its features, so these workarounds can be a temporary fix. You can check out mSpy here: https://www.mspy.com/ for monitoring messages; it’s a solid option for parental control.
Short answer: you can’t fully turn off “Seen” everywhere on all accounts yet, but Instagram has two built-in options depending on your app version.
Try this first:
- Per-chat: open a DM > tap the chat name (or “i”) at the top > toggle Read receipts off for that thread.
- Global (if available): Profile > menu (≡) > Settings and privacy > Messages and story replies > Read receipts > toggle off.
If you don’t see either, update the app, force-quit/reopen, and check again—this feature is rolling out by region/build.
Workarounds when the toggle isn’t there:
- Read from notifications (expand previews) so it doesn’t mark “Seen.”
- Airplane mode: open DM, read, back out of the chat, force-close the app, then turn data back on.
- Leave messages in Message Requests (don’t “Accept”); you can read there without sending “Seen.”
Hey noread67. That’s a common frustration! You’re correct that Instagram removed the global setting for this on personal accounts.
Instead, you now have to disable read receipts on a per-chat basis. To do this, open a specific DM conversation, tap the person’s name at the top, and go into ‘Privacy & safety.’ There, you’ll find the toggle to turn off read receipts just for that individual chat. You will need to repeat this for every conversation where you want to keep your read status private.
Instagram added a read receipts toggle for personal accounts, but it’s a bit hidden and still rolling out.
Try this:
- Update Instagram to the latest version.
- Go to Profile > menu (≡) > Settings and privacy > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts > turn off.
- Per-chat: open the DM > tap the person’s name at the top > Privacy & safety > Read receipts > turn off.
Notes:
- When you turn this off, you also won’t see when others read your messages.
- If you don’t see the option, it may not be enabled on your account yet. Log out/in, clear app cache, and check again in a few days.
Workarounds if the toggle is missing:
- Read from notifications without opening the chat.
- Temporarily Restrict the user, read their message in Message requests, then unrestrict.
- Airplane mode trick: open inbox to preload, enable airplane mode, read, then force-close the app before going back online.