Do you want to pretend to ignore someone or your friend on Instagram by marking his messages as unread but don’t know how to do it? Or have you accidentally opened a message by clicking on a notification on Instagram that you wished you could see later? If yes, don’t worry. Follow this detailed guide on how to unread a message on Instagram on your iPhone or Android phones, and mark those DMs as Unread.
How to Unread a Message on Instagram? | Who Can Do
Only recently were people with Business or Creator Instagram accounts unread their messages. Personal or private accounts and desktop Instagram users cannot access the “Mark as Unread” feature.
Remember that marking an Instagram message unread does not mean the sender would not know you have read it. The message will be marked as “Seen” for them, and you cannot hide that you have seen it. Marking a message as unread will work only for the receiver rather than for the sender.
How to Unread Messages on Instagram Using a Business Account
You can easily unread a message on a professional Instagram account. However, new users desiring to advertise their business on the Instagram app might need to learn how to do it. For their convenience, we have described some workarounds here.
When you open your inbox on Instagram, you will see three tabs: Primary, General, and Requests. All these tabs help you sort out your messages easily.
The Primary Tab will feature the DMs from people you marked as important, and you will receive a notification when someone important sends you a message. While the General Tab is reserved for all other senders, Instagram will not notify you of these text messages.
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Message Requests are the DMs sent messages by people you don’t know or interact with.
Now that you know Inbox tabs, you can choose which DMs to read and which ones to mark as unread.
Let’s discuss how to mark a Message as Unread on a Professional Account.
- Open the Instagram app and log in if needed.
- Click on the Paper Airplane icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen to open your Direct Message (DM) inbox.
- This will open the Primary, General, and Request tabs. Now, click on Three dots.
- Tap on the “Select Chats” option.
- select the conversation you want to mark as unread.
- After that, tap More from the bottom of the screen.
- Now select Mark as Unread.
- A blue dot will be visible on the chat you marked as unread.
This is how you can unread a message on your Instagram business account on your Android.
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How to Mark Instagram Message as Unread on iPhone?
If you have an Instagram business account on an iPhone, follow these steps to unread messages.
- Open the Instagram app and open your profile.
- Click the messenger icon at the upper right corner to access your Direct Message (DM) inbox. You can also access your DM inbox by swiping to the left from your home screen page.
- Choose the direct message from people you want to mark as unread. Tap and hold it for a few seconds.
- This will open a pop-out window on your screen.
- From there, tap on “Mark as Unread.”
- When you mark it, a blue dot will appear next to that conversation, confirming that it has been marked as unread.
NOTE: Doing this will mark the messages as unread from the receiver. The sender will still see the read receipt you have viewed their message.
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How to Unread Instagram Messages Without a Business Account
As we know, people having business or professional Instagram accounts can only unread Instagram messages. Users with personal or private Instagram accounts cannot unread messages on this platform and will have to switch to a professional account. Also, read the Instagram reports alert.
But there are some workarounds to make unread Instagram for those who need a business account. However, these options are only for those who don’t want others to know you have read their messages.
How to Mark Messages as Unread on Instagram Without Sender Knowing You Have Viewed It
If you wish to keep your profile and never switch to the professional one, you can put some users in the Restrict mode. This will restrict them from seeing your posts and interacting with them. The good side is that you can read messages they sent you without them ever knowing. However, this will make the received Instagram DM readable.
If you want to unread Instagram messages using your profile, you can follow some workaround. By following these tricks, you can read the messages, but the sender cannot detect that you have opened and viewed messages.
Here is how you can do this.
Enable Restrict Mode:
Instagram features a Restrict Mode that helps you to block someone without knowing them. The people you restrict will not be able to see your posts and interact with them. Moreover, you can read the messages they send without letting them know. When you restrict someone, his messages will be moved to the Message Request section.
Here is how you can enable Restrict Mode:
- Open the Instagram app on your phone and select the person you want to restrict.
- Open that person’s profile and click the Following button on his profile.
- From the menu, click the Restrict option.
- On the next menu, read the instructions and click on Restrict account.
- Now open the Message option next to the Following button. Read the messages sent by that person, and he will not know you have read the messages.
Turn off the Internet Connection:
Another way to unread IG messages without the sender knowing you have seen the message is to turn off your internet connection. After that, open an Instagram account and read the messages you received from others. They will not know you have viewed their messages.
NOTE: When you turn on the internet connection, the sender will know you have viewed his message.
Turn On Airplane Mode:
Turning on the Airplane Mode is another way to read the messages without being seen because your connections get disconnected when you enable this feature. This way, Instagram would only know about your activities once you turn off airplane mode.
Follow the steps to turn on airplane mode:
- Open your phone’s Quick Settings or Control Center and Click on Airplane Mode.
- After turning it on, remove the Instagram app if it is running in the background.
- Now open Instagram messages through the notification you received or from your inbox.
NOTE: Whenever you turn off Airplane Mode and connect to the internet, Instagram will attach the seen receipt, and the sender will know you have viewed the messages.
Log Out of Your Instagram Account:
As discussed earlier, as soon as you turn on an internet connection, Instagram will attach the read receipt to the message from the sender. However, there is still a workaround if you want to connect to an internet connection and don’t want Instagram to attach the seen receipt with the message from the sender. This is to log out of your Instagram account and read messages.
Here are the steps to do this.
- Read the messages while staying offline and then on the hamburger icon in the top right of your screen.
- From the pop-up menu, select Settings and tap on the logout option.
- You will get a confirmation message to select the logout option.
After logging out, turn on the internet connection and continue browsing online.
Read Message Through Notification:
Reading a message by tapping the notification you receive on your phone screen is another way to unread an Instagram message. When you open a message through notification without opening the app, Instagram will not attach the seen receipt to the message. Therefore, the person will not know you have seen the message.
All these methods help mark the message unread on Instagram. But, the sender will still be able to know you have viewed the message whenever you are connected to the internet or WIFI.
Tips on How to Manage Your Instagram DMs
Unreading messages on Instagram is an effective strategy to stop unwanted DMs, but you can follow many other tricks to manage your DMs and keep your chats organized. These tips are:
- Use the Mute Feature to stop receiving notifications from a specific chat. Simply hold on to the conversation for a few seconds and tap on Mute Notifications.
- Another tip is to Archive Conversations to keep your inbox tidy. To this, swipe left on the conversations and click the archive icon. You can access the archived conversation later on.
- The third trick is to Block or Report Users if you receive unwanted messages from them. To block a user, open the conversation, tap the user’s name, and choose “Bloc” or “Report.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you unread a Message on Instagram on iOS?
To unread a message on Instagram iOS:
- Open your profile on Instagram
- Click the three horizontal lines.
- From the popping-up menu, select Settings.
- From settings, tap on Accounts.
- Scroll down until you find “Switch to Professional Account” if you don’t have it already.
- After switching to a professional account, open messages.
- Hover over the direct message of that person and swipe left on it.
- You will see three options: More, General, and Unread.
- Tap the Unread option.
How do you unread messages on Instagram’s new update?
The procedure to unread a message on Instagram’s new update is similar to marking a message as unread on iOS. Simply open Instagram, click on horizontal lines, choose settings and click accounts. Create your professional account, then open messages and select the person whose messages you want to unread.
What is the difference between the “Primary” and “General” inboxes on Instagram?
Placing your messages in the Primary tab will help you respond to them quickly because Instagram will send you notifications for these messages. On the other hand, you will not get notifications when you place DMs in the General tab.
Conclusion
We hope now you know how to unread a message on Instagram. Unreading a message on Instagram is an effective way to manage your chats and get control over your inbox. Following the steps mentioned in this blog post, you can easily unread messages on Instagram.
Enabling the Restrict Mode, turning on Airplane mode, or logging out of your account also helps you mark Instagram messages as unread. You can also keep your DMs organized by using the mute feature, archiving conversations, and blocking or reporting the users sending unwanted messages.
