Instagram is a Meta-owned American photo and video-sharing social networking service with over 2.4 billion active users, making it one of the biggest social media platforms as of 2024. With billions of messages sent and received each day, it stands out as a platform that keeps users connected through its Direct Messages feature.

At some point, you might want to turn off the read receipt, so you don’t feel obligated to reply to every DM. Although Instagram currently lacks a built-in feature to disable read receipts, in this guide, we’re going to explore how to read Instagram Direct Messages without letting those noticeable blue checkmarks appear.

1. Airplane Mode Trick

For a more tactical approach, the Airplane Mode trick can be employed. Here’s how:

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  1. When you receive a Direct Message, don’t open it immediately.
  2. Activate Airplane Mode on your device.
  3. Open the Instagram app and read the message.
  4. Close the app and turn off Airplane Mode.

By reading messages in Airplane Mode, your device doesn’t send read notifications to the Instagram servers, allowing you to maintain your stealthy online presence.

2. The Restrict & Unrestrict Trick

If you ever get a message that you want to read without the sender finding out, here’s a neat trick for you: temporarily activate restrict mode on Instagram and then lift the restrictions once you’ve read the message.

Once you’ve hit restrict mode, all the messages from that sender discreetly find their way into the Requests folder, and voila – no more pesky “Seen” label bothering you when you pop into the chat. Read this to find out how to restrict or unrestrict someone on Instagram.

3. Read Messages from Notifications

A foolproof way to read an Instagram Direct Message without triggering read receipts is through notification previews. By accessing the message directly from the notification, you can discreetly review the content without notifying the sender of your interaction. This method provides a seamless and private way to manage your messages on the platform.

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Before you open Instagram, try this:

  1. Swipe down from the top of your screen to see your notifications.
  2. Look for the Instagram message you want to read.
  3. On most phones, you can read a short preview of the message right there, without opening Instagram.
  4. This way, the sender won’t see that you’ve “Seen” it yet.

These methods will help you read messages without worrying about read receipts giving you away.