What read receipts are and why you might want to turn them off
Read receipts on Instagram are small indicators that show when someone has seen your direct message. When you send a message to another person, Instagram displays a tiny icon — usually a small circle with a checkmark or an eye symbol — that changes once the recipient opens and reads your message. This happens automatically unless you change your settings.
Many people turn off read receipts because they want privacy about when they read messages. Without read receipts, the other person cannot see whether you have opened their message, which means you can respond on your own schedule without feeling rushed or obligated to reply when ready. Some people also turn them off to avoid seeming rude if they read a message but do not respond right away.
The important thing to know: turning off your read receipts is a one-way change. When you disable them, others cannot see when you read their messages — but you can still see when they read yours, unless they have also turned off their own read receipts.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show other people when you have opened and read their direct messages on Instagram.
- You can turn off read receipts in your Instagram settings under Privacy, and the change takes effect when ready.
- Disabling read receipts prevents others from seeing when you read their messages, but you can still see when they read yours.
- Turning off read receipts does not hide the fact that you are online or active on Instagram — only that you have read a specific message.
How to turn off read receipts on Instagram (mobile app)
Open the Instagram app on your phone and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner. This takes you to your profile page. From there, tap the three horizontal lines (called a menu icon) in the top right corner of the screen.
Scroll down and tap Settings and privacy. Then tap Privacy. Look for the section labeled Messages and story replies and tap it. You will see an option that says Read receipts. Tap the toggle switch next to it to turn it off. The switch will change color or position to show it is now disabled.
Once you have turned off the toggle, the change is when ready. You do not need to restart the app or confirm anything else. Other people will no longer see when you read their messages going forward.
How to turn off read receipts on Instagram (web browser)
If you use Instagram on a computer, the process is similar but the layout is slightly different. Log into Instagram.com and click your profile icon in the top right corner. From the dropdown menu, click Settings and privacy.
On the left side of the screen, click Privacy. Scroll down to find Messages and story replies and click it. You will see the Read receipts toggle. Click it to turn off read receipts. The change takes effect right away, just as it does on the mobile app.
What happens after you turn off read receipts
After you disable read receipts, people who message you will no longer see any indicator that you have read their messages. From their perspective, your messages will appear unread indefinitely, even if you have opened and read them multiple times. This applies to all your direct messages, not just new ones.
One thing that does not change: people can still see if you are active on Instagram. If your activity status is turned on, others will know you are using the app right now — they just will not know whether you have specifically read their message. If you want to hide your activity status as well, that is a separate setting in the same Privacy menu.
You can turn read receipts back on at any time by following the same steps and toggling the switch back to the on position. There is no penalty or waiting period for changing this setting back and forth.
The difference between read receipts and activity status
Activity status and read receipts are two separate features that work differently. Activity status shows people when you are currently using Instagram — it displays a green dot next to your name in conversations and on your profile. Read receipts show when you have opened a specific message.
You can turn off activity status without turning off read receipts, or vice versa. Many people turn off activity status because they do not want others to know they are online right now, even if they are not ready to respond to messages. Read receipts are about whether people can see that you have read a message that was sent to you in the past.
Both settings are found in the same Privacy menu, so you can adjust them together or separately depending on what level of privacy you want.
Why Instagram shows read receipts by default
Instagram turns on read receipts automatically because the feature helps people know whether their messages have been seen. From Instagram's perspective, this encourages more conversation — if you know someone has read your message, you might feel more confident that they will respond, or you might follow up if they have not.
The downside is that read receipts can create pressure. Some people feel obligated to respond quickly once someone knows they have read a message. Others worry that not responding when ready will seem rude. That is why Instagram gives you the option to turn them off — the company recognizes that not everyone wants that level of visibility into their message-reading habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off read receipts for just one person?
No. Instagram's read receipt setting applies to all your direct messages at once. You cannot disable read receipts for one person while keeping them on for everyone else. If you want to hide whether you have read messages from a specific person, your only option is to turn off read receipts for all conversations.
If I turn off read receipts, will old messages show as unread?
No. Turning off read receipts does not change the read or unread status of messages you have already received. It only affects messages going forward. People will not see that you have read new messages after you disable the setting, but messages you read before turning it off will still show as read on their end.
Can I see when someone else has read my messages if they turned off their read receipts?
No. If someone has disabled read receipts on their account, you will not see any indicator that they have read your messages, even if they have opened and read them. You will only see read receipts from people who have the feature turned on.
Does turning off read receipts hide my activity status too?
No. Read receipts and activity status are separate settings. You can turn off read receipts while keeping your activity status on, or turn off activity status while keeping read receipts on. To hide both, you need to disable each one separately in your Privacy settings.
Will people know I turned off read receipts?
Not directly. People will notice that they can no longer see when you read their messages, but Instagram does not send them a notification saying you have disabled read receipts. They will straightforward see that your messages no longer show a read indicator.