First warning before we go through the article: your favorite photo-and-video-sharing app has a function that shows friends if you’re active or were last online.
You might be familiar with the activity status shown on Facebook Messenger, Instagram’s “Activity Status” setting displays if you were last on the app. By default, the status is now turned off in your account, however, it’s better to be safe.
Let’s go over how it works — then take a look at how to turn off Instagram’s activity status.
How does the activity status function work on Instagram?
The activity status function lets people know you’ve direct messaged (DM’d) if you were active how many minutes/hours ago and whether you’re currently active on Instagram.
Your status is only visible to users you follow. So if a user follows you, you do not follow them back, they will not be able to know your status. The same is true for your friends. You could see when they were final online only when they follow you back.
You could see the status when you tap the plane icon at the top right corner:
Keep in mind: the function only displays whether you’re online and when you last opened the app. Your followers will not see the posts you’ve engaged such as like or comment.
Should you keep activity status on or off?
There are some advantages to keeping it on. It lets you keep tabs on your friends’ status without feeling like you’re intruding. That way, if you want to send a funny photo, meme, or chat with them at just the right moment, you could expect your friend to find it instantly or quickly afterward.
When you turn the status off that gives the great benefit of being able to access Instagram without anybody knowing. That means that you could reply to DMs wherever you want, and you don’t feel as if anybody is keeping tabs on you while you’re active on the app. The one disadvantage is that when you turn the function off, you will not be able to see anyone else’s activity status.
If you want to keep your late-night puppy photo scroll fests completely private, don’t fret. You could turn off Instagram’s activity status function with the below steps.
How to Turn Off Activity Status
- Visit the Instagram app on your phone.
- Navigate to your profile.
- Go to the menu by tapping the three lines icon on the top right corner.
- Choose Setting.
- Tap Privacy to enter your privacy settings.
- Choose Activity Status under the Interactions heading.
- When you see Show Activity Status, toggle it off.
Here is the setting you are looking for:
After the setting is toggled off, you are free to resume scrolling undetected. The best part? You could turn it on at any time when you change your mind. Just do the same steps above but toggle it on at the last step.
Stay Private by Turning Off Instagram’s Activity Status
Staying private on social media is not simple honestly. To make sure that you aren’t accidentally showing your activity status to those whom you’ve DM’d, turn it off in your settings. That way, you could enjoy privacy while you’re active on the app.