Nobody likes that quiet pressure of knowing someone has seen their message and chosen not to reply. Instagram‘s “Seen” tag does exactly that — the moment you open a DM, the sender gets notified. Whether it is a clingy contact, a work conversation you are not ready to deal with, or just someone you want to read on your own time, that little receipt can feel like an obligation.
The good news is that Instagram has let you turn off message read receipts since early 2024, and the feature is still fully supported in 2026. Better yet, you get two levels of control: you can switch it off for one specific conversation or kill it across all your chats at once. Here is how both work.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start
Before you dive in, there are some important quirks to this feature:
- It works both ways. When you turn off read receipts, the other person will no longer see when you have read their message — their end will just show “Sent.” But you also lose visibility on their end. You will not know when they have read yours either. It is a mutual trade-off, similar to how WhatsApp handles it.
- Mobile only. This setting is not available on the Instagram web or desktop version. You need the mobile app.
- Vanish Mode is exempt. Disappearing messages in Vanish Mode still send read receipts regardless of your settings.
- Marking as unread does not help. If you have already opened a message and the receipt has been sent, marking the chat as unread afterward will not reverse it.
- Your settings sync across devices. Change it on your phone, and it applies everywhere you are logged in.
Turn Off Read Receipts for All Your Instagram Chats at Once
If you would rather switch this off globally and not think about it on a per-person basis, Instagram has a master toggle that covers every conversation at once.
- Open the Instagram app and head to your profile screen.
- Tap the hamburger menu (the three lines in the top-right corner).
- Scroll down and tap Messages and story replies.
- Tap Show read receipts.
- Toggle off Read receipts.
Once this is off, no one across any of your chats will know when you have read their messages.
Turn Off Read Receipts for a Specific Person on Instagram
If someone messages you frequently and you want to read their DMs without triggering that “Seen” notification every time, you can turn off read receipts only for this specific sender without affecting your other conversations.
- Open Instagram on your iPhone or Android device and go to your DMs. Tap on the conversation with the person you want to adjust. If you do not have an existing chat with them, search for their profile and tap Message — you do not need to actually send anything, just get to the chat screen.
- Once you are inside the conversation, tap their name at the top of the screen.
- Tap Privacy & safety.
- Toggle off Read receipts.
That is it. From this point on, that person will not see when you have read their messages, and you will not see when they have read yours. The message status on their end will stay as “Sent.”
Note: Read receipts are always active in Vanish Mode. If you swipe up on a conversation to activate it, receipts will still go through regardless of this setting.
Make an Exception for Someone After Turning It Off Globally
Turning off read receipts for all chats does not mean you are locked in. If you want one specific person to be able to see when you have read their message — say, a close friend or someone you are actively coordinating with — you can override the global setting for just that one conversation.
Go to their chat, tap their name at the top, select Privacy & safety, and toggle Read receipts back on. This creates an individual exception without changing anything for the rest of your inbox. It also means you will be able to see when they have read your messages again.
Do Not Stop There: Hide Your Active Status Too
Turning off read receipts only solves half the problem. If your active status is still visible, people can see that you are online or check when you were last active — and it does not take much to put two and two together when their message sits unread while you are clearly active.
To fully protect your privacy, you should also turn off your Active Status on Instagram. This prevents others from seeing your online indicator or last active time, which pairs well with read receipts being off and keeps the whole picture private.
For the most current steps or if the interface looks slightly different on your version of the app, you can always check Instagram’s official help page at help.instagram.com/1586876252167004.
