An Instagram DM notification pops up on your lock screen.
You're surprised that this person is messaging you because you follow each other on Instagram, but you don't really talk. You can't figure out from the preview what the message is actually about. "Hi there! ..." is not enough information to go on. (Thanks Instagram for always cutting those previews off at the worst place.)
Now you're filled with anxiety about reading it because you know as soon as you read it they'll know you've read it? Yeah. We've all been there. We have the hack for how to read that DM without the other user knowing you've read it, giving you the time you need to think of your response without the pressure of them knowing you've read their DM hanging over your head.
1. Go to the profile of the person who messaged you, and tap on the Following button.
2. Tap on the word "Restrict" and then "Restrict Account". The user will not know that you have restricted them.
3. Now when you look at your Instagram feed, the message notification has gone away because the message has been moved to Message Requests.
4. When you click on the message in your requests, you can now read it without the sender knowing. Notice at the bottom the message that says "They can't see when you're online or when you've read their messages."
You can unrestrict the person with the button at the bottom of their message or by going back to their profile and reversing the process we went through earlier. When you unrestrict them, they will be able to see that you've read their message. This little hack is such a great trick, especially for women - who are often prey to unwanted messages online. Try this out and let us know what you think! Does your anxiety go down knowing you can read a message without the sender knowing? It definitely does for us!
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