One of the great things about Instagram is the plethora of different methods through which users can connect and communicate with others.
From grid shares and Instagram stories to Close Friends lists and Direct Messages, you can be as open and public, or as private with your content as you want.
Direct Messages are one of the easiest ways of connecting with individual users on a one-to-one basis, and support the sharing of reels, posts, emojis, gifs, and standard text messages. You can also send photos directly from your device to another user via Direct Message – and you can even unsend messages and mute chats that you no longer want to engage with.
Safe to say, DM’s are popular for a reason.
But how do you check your messages?
Checking Your DM Inbox
If you have a new message in your DM inbox, this will be highlighted from the homepage – in the form of a red ‘1’ on the airplane icon in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Clicking on this will take you to your inbox, where any message in bold indicates a new message has been sent.
Checking Your DM Requests and Hidden Messages
Not all new messages are as obvious as the paper airplane notification.
If a user who doesn’t follow you wants to send you a direct message, this will likely be sent to your ‘Requests’ inbox – which is filtered, with no outward notification on your Instagram homepage.
If you have a new message Request, the ‘Requests’ heading will signify a new message waiting. Clicking into this inbox, you can approve a message to move it to your standard inbox or delete it.
What Are Hidden Requests?
These messages which are hidden behind a third option are called Hidden Requests and are most likely to be spam messages sent by bots and by spam accounts.
Instagram filters these messages, deeming them as containing unwanted or offensive content – meaning that the chances are you won’t want to engage with them.
Nonetheless, checking all of these inboxes on a regular basis will help to ensure that you never miss an update – particularly if you manage a business or creator account and don’t want to miss potential questions and messages from clients or customers.
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