Can you turn off read receipts on Instagram? Yes, here’s how (2026)

Yes, you can turn off read receipts on Instagram. The original version of this article said you could not, and suggested workarounds like airplane mode. That answer is outdated. Instagram added a native read receipt toggle that is now widely available, and it works both globally across all your chats and per-conversation for individual threads.

Managing read receipts matters more than it might seem, especially for social media managers and agencies handling client communications. How you manage DMs is a small but real part of your overall Instagram marketing strategy, and getting the settings right helps you control response expectations without damaging relationships.

Before jumping into the steps, one important clarification: turning off read receipts is a reciprocal change. When you disable them, you also lose the ability to see when others have read your messages. There is no one-sided version of this setting. If you manage multiple Instagram accounts and need a reliable way to stay on top of your publishing schedule while handling DMs separately, an Instagram scheduler keeps your content going out consistently regardless of your messaging settings.

Also Read: Can you unsend Instagram messages?

How to turn off read receipts globally (all DMs)

This disables the “Seen” indicator across all your one-on-one private chats at once. It is the fastest option if you want account-wide privacy.

Step 1: Open the Instagram app and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner.

Step 2: Tap the three-line menu icon in the top right corner.

Step 3: Select Settings and activity.

Step 4: Under the “How others can interact with you” section, tap Messages and story replies.

Step 5: Tap Show read receipts.

Step 6: Toggle the switch OFF.

To verify the change worked, open any one-on-one chat and read a message. The “Seen” indicator should no longer appear below your opened messages from the sender’s side.

Important: This setting is reciprocal. Once turned off, you will also stop seeing read receipts from others in your chats. This applies immediately and across all standard one-on-one DM threads.

How to turn off read receipts for a specific chat

If you want to disable read receipts for one person while keeping them active for others, the per-chat setting handles this. This is especially useful when managing Instagram DMs across both personal and business contexts, where you may need to maintain visible read receipts for clients or active leads while switching them off for lower-priority conversations.

Step 1: Open your DM inbox and tap into the specific conversation you want to modify.

Step 2: Tap the contact’s name or username at the top of the chat screen.

Step 3: Select Privacy and safety.

Step 4: Toggle off Read receipts for that thread.

This overrides the global setting for that individual conversation only. Other chats continue to follow whatever your global preference is. You can apply this selectively to as many conversations as you need.

How to turn off read receipts on Instagram desktop

Step 1: Go to Instagram.com in a desktop browser and log in.

Step 2: Click Settings from the left-hand navigation.

Step 3: Select Messages and story replies.

Step 4: Toggle off Show read receipts.

If the toggle has not appeared in your desktop version yet, changing the setting via the mobile app automatically syncs your preference across devices. The mobile app toggle is the more reliable option.

What does and does not work: important exceptions

Group chats: read receipts cannot be turned off

Neither the global toggle nor the per-chat setting affects group chats. Instagram group DMs always display who has seen the latest messages, regardless of your read receipt preferences. This is a platform-level limitation. If you have read receipts turned off globally but join a group conversation, every member can still see when you have read the thread.

There is no current workaround for group chat read receipts. This is worth knowing before assuming your privacy settings extend everywhere.

Vanish Mode: read receipts stay active

Vanish Mode is the disappearing message feature accessed by swiping up in a chat. Even if you have read receipts turned off globally or per-chat, Vanish Mode activates its own read receipt behaviour by default. Messages sent in Vanish Mode will still show read status regardless of your account settings.

If Vanish Mode privacy matters to you, treat it as a separate context with its own rules.

Airplane Mode: no longer a reliable workaround

Older guides recommended using Airplane Mode to read messages without triggering the “Seen” indicator. This no longer works reliably. Instagram now queues read events on the client side, meaning the read receipt fires automatically the moment your connection is restored after going offline.

If you used Airplane Mode expecting privacy, the receipt was simply delayed, not prevented. With the native toggle now available, airplane mode is not a useful workaround.

Quick reference: read receipt behaviour by context

Context	Global toggle works?	Per-chat toggle works?	Read receipts always visible?
One-on-one DMs	Yes	Yes	No, can be disabled
Group chats	No	No	Yes, always on
Vanish Mode	No	No	Yes, always active
Desktop (Instagram.com)	Yes (syncs from mobile)	Not available on desktop	Follows mobile setting

Read receipt strategy for brands and social media managers

Turning off read receipts globally can create friction with clients or leads who send DMs and expect acknowledgement. A better approach for business accounts is to use the per-chat toggle selectively: keep read receipts on for client and prospect conversations, and turn them off only for personal or low-priority threads.

This gives you control without signalling to important contacts that their messages are being ignored. For accounts managing multiple Instagram profiles or running DM-heavy campaigns, documenting which threads have custom settings prevents confusion when multiple team members handle the inbox.

Conclusion

Instagram now gives you two ways to control read receipts: a global toggle that applies to all one-on-one DMs, and a per-chat override for individual conversations. Both are available in the app and sync to desktop. The setting is reciprocal in both cases, so disabling read receipts means you also lose visibility into whether others have read your messages.

Group chats and Vanish Mode are not affected by either setting. And airplane mode, once a popular workaround, no longer prevents read receipts from firing due to client-side queuing.

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