How to Turn Off Your Online (Active) Status on Instagram

What Instagram activity status shows

When activity status is on, the accounts you follow and anyone you've messaged can see whether you're on Instagram right now or when you last were. It appears in three places, all tied to messaging:

• Next to your profile picture in messaging, as a green dot (currently active) or a timestamp.
• In their inbox, as a short line under your name, such as Active 25m ago, Active yesterday, Seen or Typing...
• Inside an open chat, with live labels such as In the chat or In the camera.

People who don't follow you and have never messaged you don't get this information. It also doesn't appear on your profile, posts or Stories.

How to turn off activity status on iPhone and Android

The steps are the same in both apps:

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right.
2. Tap Menu (the three lines) in the top right.
3. Under How others can interact with you, tap Messages and story replies.
4. Tap Show activity status.
5. Switch off the toggle next to Show activity status.

The change takes effect straight away. To turn it back on later, return to the same screen and switch the toggle on. If you manage more than one account, check this screen on each account you use.

How to turn off activity status on desktop

On instagram.com in a browser:

1. Click More in the bottom left, then click Settings.
2. Under How others can interact with you, click Messages and story replies.
3. Click Show Activity Status.
4. Switch off the toggle next to Show Activity Status.

For other settings that live in the browser version, see our guide to using Instagram on a computer.

The trade-off: you can't see others either

Activity status works both ways. Instagram's Help Center says that when you turn yours off, you won't see when the people you follow or chat with are active, were recently active, or are in the same chat as you. You also won't see anyone else's activity status at all.

This also explains a common confusion. If a friend's green dot has disappeared, it doesn't necessarily mean they've hidden from you specifically. Either of you may have switched the setting off, and Instagram only shows status when both accounts have it on.

What turning it off doesn't hide

Switching off activity status removes the dot and the "Active" timestamps. It doesn't make you invisible:

If your main goal is to stop someone knowing when you're around, combine the settings below rather than relying on activity status alone.

How to turn off read receipts in Instagram DMs

Read receipts let others in a chat see when you've viewed their message. You can turn them off everywhere or only in certain conversations.

For all chats

1. Go to your profile and tap Menu.
2. Under How others can interact with you, tap Messages and story replies.
3. Tap Show read receipts.
4. Switch off the toggle next to Read receipts.

For a single chat

1. Tap Messages, then open the conversation.
2. Tap the chat name at the top.
3. Tap Privacy & safety.
4. Switch off Read receipts.

A per-chat choice overrides your account-wide setting. Instagram gives the example that if you turn read receipts on for one chat and then switch them off for all chats, that one chat keeps them on.

Hide your status from one person with Restrict

If there's one account you'd rather not share your status with, Restrict is often a better fit than switching activity status off for everyone. According to Instagram, a restricted person can't see when you're online or whether you've read their messages. Their chat moves to Message Requests, where you can read new messages without them seeing a read receipt.

To restrict someone from a chat, open the conversation, tap their name at the top, tap Options, then tap Restrict and confirm. You can also go to Menu, then Restricted under How others can interact with you. For harassment or safety concerns, blocking goes further, and our guide covers both.

Sleep mode changes your status too

Sleep mode pauses notifications during hours you choose and auto-replies to messages. While it's active, Instagram changes your activity status to In sleep mode and swaps the green dot for a moon icon, so people know why you're not responding. Find it under Menu, then Time management, then Sleep mode. Teen Accounts have it on from 10 PM to 7 AM by default.

If you're turning off your status because notifications keep pulling you back in, our guides to managing Instagram notifications and Instagram's time-management tools may help more than hiding the dot.

Other privacy settings worth checking

• Private account. Only approved followers see your posts. Anyone can still see your profile photo, name, username and bio.
• Hide your Story from specific people in your Story settings.
• Message controls under Messages and story replies, to choose who can message you.

It's also worth knowing what Instagram doesn't reveal. Instagram doesn't show anyone a list of people who viewed their profile, whatever apps claim; we explain the facts in can you see who views your Instagram. If you share privacy tips on your own account, our #socialmedia and #instagram pages have tag sets for that kind of post.