Hide your active status on Instagram

Important notes

• Activity status can show when you are active or recently active on Instagram.
• Turning it off helps hide your active status from others.
• When you turn off activity status, you may also lose the ability to see other people's activity status.
• This is different from muting, restricting, or blocking someone.

Steps on mobile

1. Open Instagram and go to your profile.
2. Tap the menu icon.
3. Open settings.
4. Look for Messages and story replies.
5. Tap Show Activity Status.
6. Turn off the activity status option.

Steps on desktop

1. Open Instagram in your browser and log in.
2. Click More.
3. Open Settings.
4. Look for Messages and story replies or activity status settings.
5. Turn off Show Activity Status if the option appears.
6. If you cannot find the setting on web, use the Instagram mobile app.

Common problems

People can still message me.

That is expected. Activity status controls visibility of your active state, not whether people can message you.

I cannot see when other people are active.

That can happen when you turn off your own activity status.

I cannot find the setting.

Update Instagram and check settings again. The setting may appear under message-related privacy controls.

FAQ

Does turning off activity status make my account private?

No. It only affects whether others can see when you are active or recently active.

Will people be notified when I turn it off?

No. Instagram does not notify people when you change this setting.

Can I turn activity status back on later?

Yes. Go back to Show Activity Status and turn the setting on again.

Official source note

This guide is based on Instagram's official help article about seeing when people are active on Instagram.