Keep Your Privacy at the Top of Your Priority List : How to Disable DMs on Instagram Guide

Let’s face it: sometimes we get unwanted messages on Instagram. Knowing how to disable DMs on Instagram can be a great way to limit the amount of spam messages you get notifications for. Sometimes, especially if your business page has been growing, you want to be able to control who sends you Direct Messages (or DMs), or at least which DMs you have notifications turned on for. Thankfully, with a few steps, you can learn how to do so hassle-free! Below is a list of steps that you can follow to disable and organize your DMs how you would like. 

To turn off Direct Messages Entirely: 

1.     Go to your own account page (while logged in)

2.     Go to the “three horizontal lines” bar at the top right

3.     Press the “Settings” option

4.     Press the “Notifications” option

5.     On the “Notifications” tab, press the “Messages” option

6.     You will then see options for turning on or off “Message Requests,” “Group Requests,” and “Messages”

7.     Depending on how you want to filter messages in your Direct Messages, you can disable “Message Requests” (meaning those who don’t follow you cannot send you message requests, “Group Requests” (meaning others cannot add you to DM groups)

8.     To sort between message types more generally, turn your account into a “Professional” account by going to “Settings,” then “Account,” then “Switch to Professional Account”

9.     Once changed, you will then see your DMs split into two categories: “Primary” and “General”

10.  Your “Primary” DMs list will send you notifications, whereas your “General” DMs will not

11.  To update your “Primary” and “General” lists, simply click on the account in your DMs, and you will see an option for “Move to General” alongside options like “Mark as Unread” and “Flag”

12.  Go to the “three horizontal lines” bar at the top right

13.  Press the “Settings” option

14.  Press the “Notifications” option

15.  On the “Notifications” tab, press the “Messages” option

16.  Below “Message Requests” and “Group Requests,” you will 

17.  To completely disable or organize the influx of your messages, you will see three options: “Off” (meaning no one can send you messages), “From Primary Only” (meaning you only receive messages from your “Primary” account list, or “From Primary and General,” meaning you will be able to receive messages from all types of accounts

18.  Choose how you want to organize your DMs, and if you wish to turn them off completely you can from this 

There Are Times You Just Don’t Want Certain DMs In Your Inbox – How to Block Direct Messaging on Instagram