Turning off your online status is a great way to protect your privacy while using social media. Privacy is crucial for safety when browsing these platforms.

What’s Instagram’s Online Status?

For those new to Instagram or not familiar with all its features, Instagram (owned by Meta) has an online status indicator. You can see this in the Direct Message (DM) section. When someone is online, a green dot appears on their profile picture. Even if you go offline, it will show when you were last active.

This feature helps users see who’s currently online, making it easier to connect. But if you prefer to keep your activity private, you might want to hide your online status. Here’s how you can do it.

How to Turn Off Online Status in Instagram DM

We’ll walk you through two ways to hide your online status on Instagram: through the app and via a web browser.

Using the Instagram App

Here’s how to hide your online status directly from the Instagram app on your smartphone:

1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. Log in to the account where you want to hide the online status.
3. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
4. In the Profile menu, tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
5. Tap “Settings.”
6. Go to “Privacy,” which has a lock icon.
7. Scroll down and tap “Activity Status.”
8. Turn off the “Show Activity Status” toggle. It should turn gray.
9. Done!

To make sure the setting is off, check your DMs in Instagram.

Using a Web Browser

If you’re on a laptop or PC, you can also turn off your online status through Instagram’s web version. Here’s how:

1. Open your preferred web browser on your laptop or PC.
2. Go to Instagram.
3. Log in to the account you want to adjust.
4. Click your profile icon in the top right corner.
5. Click “Settings.”
6. Go to “Privacy and Security.”
7. Under “Activity Status,” uncheck the box next to “Show Activity Status.”
8. Done! Your activity status is now hidden.

Conclusion

Before you hide your online status, remember that you also won’t be able to see other users’ online statuses. This mutual privacy setting is similar to WhatsApp.

That’s it for our guide on how to hide your online status in Instagram DMs. Hope you find this useful, and happy browsing!