How To Check Messages on Instagram

Instagram is one of the most beloved social media platforms of all time. It’s currently owned by Meta (former Facebook Inc.), but it couldn’t be further from it. This service concentrates rather on publishing photos, videos and short clips. Facebook is about communication and interacting with communities.

Still, there are features present in both these services. For instance, you can DM other users just as you do on Facebook, or any other social media, for that matter. It just works differently, and those accustomed to the normal messaging routine (WhatsApp, Facebook, Discord, etc.) can get confused by the local features.

How to Check Instagram Direct Messages on Mobile

To check DMs on Instagram on mobile, follow this sequence:

• Open Instagram;
• Locate the ‘speech bubble’ sign in the top right corner;
• Click on it;
• Select an existing contact or add a new one

Clicking on any contact you may have in the list will open an up-to-date communication log you had with the person till that point. You can add new people by adding their names or usernames into the search bar and selecting the correct matches. That’s also how you check your feed with people you stopped talking to long ago.

How to Send Messages on Instagram?

Regardless of the Insta version you’re using (mobile website, desktop, app), there are 3 usual ways to do that.

Firstly, you can simply tap on the user’s profile manually, find the ‘message’ button below the user’s profile details or next to their profile picture (depending on the version). This will transport you to the messaging feed with this person/organization.

Secondly, proceed to the messaging menu (as presented in the previous chapter). Click on one of the contacts or add a new contact to the list by typing their name in the search bar above the list of contacts. You’ll be shown a number of users whose names fit fully or partially. Click on the one you were looking for and start messaging.

Thirdly, you can text several people simultaneously. For it, proceed to your inbox and click the ‘new message’ icon. For mobile, it’s a ‘+’ sign in the top right corner. For PC, the button shows a sheet of paper with a pencil on it. It’s usually above the list of contacts.

How to Open/Close Instagram DM Notifications?

There is a way to disable the DM notifications for your account, which is the closest thing they have to disabling the conversations altogether. By closing your notifications, you’ll be able to fully ignore the new mail until you open them again, which can easily be done by flipping the switch on and off.

To access this functionality on mobile, follow these instructions:

• Go your profile;
• Click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner;
• In the emerging menu, click on ‘settings’;
• Go to ‘notifications’;
• Proceed to ‘messages and calls’;
• Press ‘off’ for ‘message requests’ and ‘messages’

On PC, you can access the settings by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner. The section you need is called ‘push notifications’ now, and the settings needing disabling are ‘direct requests’ and ‘direct’ respectively. Click ‘off’ on them.

To turn the notifications back on, switch them from ‘off’ to ‘from everyone’ (or ‘on’, in some versions).

How to Send DM at Instagram Web Site?

This process is very similar to the routine offered on mobile apps. There are some distinctions, however.

From Mobile

The mobile website works a lot like their app. When you click on the inbox menu, you see a single catalogue of possible contacts. Clicking on any of them opens your DMs with the person. The layout, icons and visible elements are slightly different, borrowed rather from the PC website.

From Computer

The PC website opens the history of a specific contact in a dedicated window next to the list of contacts itself. It means you can switch between different conversations at any moment.

When not used, this window displays an explanation of what this menu is, as well as a big ‘send message’ button. Clicking on it serves the same purpose as clicking on the ‘new message’ button – you can select several recipients and send the same text to all of them.

Check DMs on the Instagram App

There are unique bits of content surrounding the DMs that you only get if you use the app.

• Notifications

As you know, the notifications about likes, comments and communication updates appear in your notifications feed. You can find it by scrolling through the general menu (the one that pops down from the top of your screen). If someone texts you, you can go the conversation by clicking on this notification or even make a reply there and then.

There are notifications on the web platform, but they won’t show up if you close the tab. They do work on desktop if it’s booted in the background.

• Hidden videos

In the app, you can send videos that will only be viewed if the other party actively clicks on them. Before then, it appears as a button, labeled ‘video’. There are also limited-time videos that can only be viewed one time. These are identifiable by the ‘burning fuse’ bar on the top of your screen when you open them.

They don’t show up on other platform versions other than mobile applications, and that means it’s the only way to check them, really.

How to Check Instagram DMs on the Desktop?

The desktop version is no different in appearance and work procedure from the PC website. So, the same guidelines are applied for this Insta variety. Namely, there is an inbox menu under the ‘text bubble’ icon, a catalogue of contacts on the left and a dedicated dialogue window on the right.

The Instagram-Facebook Messenger Integration

There is an option to connect the Insta messenger to another Meta product, Facebook Messenger. It’s done to let you chat with your friends and any acquaintances without having to add them on Gram. It’s especially convenient if they don’t have the latter at all.

To do that, open your ‘settings’ menu and find ‘privacy’ menu in the list. Note that it’s only available on Android or iOS.

In this menu, find the ‘messages’ section. Here, click on the ‘add your Facebook account’ option. It’s a quick process that will let you integrate Facebook dialogues with this app. You can thoroughly customize what you want to receive, exactly. There are three categories of recipients: those you messaged on Facebook before, Facebook users in general and people with your phone number.

For each of these, you can set limitations, either allowing them to DM you fully (chats), send requests (message requests) or not receive anything (don’t receive requests).

How to Clone WhatsApp on Another Phone

WhatsApp, another Meta product, has recently added a feature that allows you to basically copy your WhatsApp account, with all your conversations, onto another device. To do that, you need to open the app on the main phone, press the 3-dot icon in the top right corner, select ‘linked devices’ and press ‘link’.

What that will do is reveal the QR code that you can scan on your other phone (up to 4 of them simultaneously). This will immediately copy all your WhatsApp progress onto that new device.