How to Turn Off Read Receipts on Instagram

You can turn off read receipts on Instagram for every chat at once, or for just one person. For all chats, go to your profile, tap the menu, open Settings and privacy, then Messages and story replies, and switch read receipts off. For one chat, open it, tap the chat name, tap Privacy & safety and switch read receipts off there. "You can turn read receipts on or off for a specific conversation or for all of your DMs," as Mashable puts it.

We read Instagram's help center, CNET, Mashable and Yahoo as Google showed them on October 23, 2026. Instagram's help pages refuse our reader, so the steps are quoted from Google's view of them.

How do you turn off read receipts for all chats?

1. Go to your profile and tap the three-line menu.
2. Open Settings and privacy (Instagram's help center calls it Settings and activity).
3. Scroll down to Messages and story replies.
4. Open the read receipts setting and switch it off.

CNET described the same path in March 2024, when Instagram added the switch: "hit the three-dash menu and go into Settings and privacy. Next, scroll down and go into Messages and story replies."

"How to turn off read receipts on instagram" gets about 27,100 searches a month.

How do you turn off read receipts for one chat?

Instagram's help center gives the steps for a single conversation:

1. "Tap Messages at the bottom."
2. "Tap a conversation in your chats list, then tap the chat name at the top."
3. "Tap Privacy & safety."
4. Switch Read receipts off.

Turn off for	Where	Steps
All chats	Settings and privacy, Messages and story replies	4
One chat	The chat, its name, Privacy & safety	4

Instagram's help center, CNET (March 8, 2024) and Mashable, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026.

The two settings can overlap, and that's where it gets confusing. Instagram's help center gives an example of turning read receipts on for one chat and then off for all chats, so check the single chat too if a friend still sees Seen.

Does turning off read receipts hide that you're online?

No, that's a separate setting. Read receipts only control the Seen label under messages you've read. Showing you as online is a different setting called activity status, which our guide to turning off active status on Instagram covers. If you want to hide like counts as well, our guide to hiding likes on Instagram has the steps.

More privacy on Instagram

Read receipts are just one of the privacy switches you've got. Our guides to making your Instagram private and Close Friends cover the bigger ones. To take back a message you've sent, see how to delete Instagram messages. Hclout's free tier gives 12 free Instagram likes on a public post, with no password, on the free page. A short Cloudflare check runs before each claim.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off Seen on Instagram?

Go to Settings and privacy, then Messages and story replies, and switch read receipts off. For one person, do it in that chat's Privacy & safety.

Can I turn off read receipts for one person on Instagram?

Yes. Open the chat, tap the chat name, tap Privacy & safety and switch read receipts off.

When did Instagram add read receipt controls?

CNET reported in March 2024 that you could "finally disable read receipts for DMs" on Instagram.

Does turning off read receipts hide my activity status?

No, it doesn't. Activity status is a separate setting.

Why does my friend still see Seen?

Check that chat's own setting, since it's separate. A per-chat setting can differ from the all-chats switch.

Sources

• Instagram Help Center, "Turn read receipts on or off," and its Facebook mirror, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
• CNET, March 8, 2024; Mashable; and Yahoo, December 31, 2024, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
• Google Ads Keyword Planner, worldwide, read October 23, 2026