Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Hidden DMs On Instagram

You probably check your Instagram DMs at least once a day, but even if you think you’re all caught up with your chats, you could be missing out. While you likely see all the messages rolling in from your BFFs, there are other DMs you may not even realize you’re receiving. Once you know how to hide messages on Instagram — and how to find the hidden DMs — you’ll be able to stay on top of all your communications on the app.

You probably know the basics of using DMs on Instagram, but you may not know if you can hide DMs without deleting them or where to find hidden DMs. There’s actually a way to do both, and technically, hidden messages could be lurking in your Instagram app.

To start getting the most out of your Instagram inbox, you’ll want to know your way around these hidden messages. From unseen requests to Instagram’s recently released vanish mode, there are a few ways to find unknown messages and make your messages disappear after they’re read. Here’s everything you need to know about hidden messages on Instagram:

How To Find Hidden Messages On Instagram

When someone you don’t know messages you on Instagram, that message ends up in a different spot from your main inbox. To find out if you have unseen DMs, you’ll need to make sure you’re on the Instagram home page. Then, tap on the message icon in the top right corner. From there, look for a blue “Request(s)” note underneath the inbox search bar. If you have requests, you’ll see a number of how many message requests you have (e.g. “1 Request”).

Tap on that, and you’ll be taken to the message requests inbox, where you can preview the messages without the sender receiving a notification. Once you tap “Accept Request,” they’ll see you’ve seen it, and you can reply. The conversation will then appear in your primary inbox.

How To Hide Messages On Instagram

Unfortunately, regular Instagram users don’t have the option to hide messages in their inbox. However, you can long-press on a message thread to delete them or mute the thread, so you won’t receive notifications.

If you have an Instagram Creator account (or want to switch to one), you can access a few different inboxes in your DMs tab, which allows you to hide messages from your Primary inbox by moving them to your General inbox. Of course, you can always move the messages from General to Primary later if you wish.

How To Use Vanish Mode

If you prefer to keep messages hidden permanently, you can always use Instagram’s vanish mode, which lets you send a message, photo, or video in the chat for a set amount of time before it disappears forever. To turn it on, you just need to tap on an existing chat to enter it and then swipe up. You should see the background for your chat change to black when it’s on, as well as a message at the top that says it’s on.

After you turn it on, it works a lot like Snapchat — when you send a message, it’ll disappear after your friend sees it. Of course, you can turn it back off by swiping up again. Keep in mind that viewers can still screenshot your messages sent in vanish mode, though, and they can also be included if someone reports you.

Now that you know how to navigate different hidden messages on Instagram, you’ll be able to keep on top of your inbox.