How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

Does it ever happen that you want to read someone’s message on Instagram without letting them know? This usually happens when you are ignoring someone or you don’t want to reply at that moment.

How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode


Whenever you get a new message, Instagram will send it to you via push notification. You can read the message from your phone’s notification tab, however, sometimes you may delete that notification in hurry.

You can also read the message in your DM (Direct Message or Inbox), but if there are more than one messages or if the message is longer in length, you won’t be able to read it completely.

Now if we talk about WhatsApp, there is a feature named Read Receipts which when turned off allows you to read messages without showing blue ticks to the sender. Unluckily, Instagram doesn’t have any such feature.

Here we have shared two simple workarounds that can help you to read messages on Instagram without letting the sender know that you have read their messages.

  • Read Instagram messages without seen
  • Use an app to read Instagram messages
    • Limitations of the app

In this method, first you have to disconnect your phone from the internet and then you can read the messages. After that, you just have to logout from your Instagram account. It’s quite simple and there is no need to use any third-party app also.

Follow this step-by-step guide to read messages on Instagram without seen –

  1. If mobile data or Wi-Fi is turned on, then turn it off from the notification tab. You can also switch on the flight (or airplane) mode to disconnect your phone from the internet.

    How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

  2. Now open Instagram app and go to your DM (or Inbox). Here open the chat of the user whose messages you want to read.

    How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

  3. Once you have read the messages, go to your Instagram profile and tap the menu button (three-parallel lines at the top-right corner of the screen).
  4. After this, go to Settings and click “Logout” option.

    How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

  5. Now you can connect your phone to the internet and login to your account again. Once you login, you will find that the message is still unread.

Note: Please don’t connect your phone to the internet before logging out of your account. If you do so, the sender will get to know that you have read their messages.

Use an app to read Instagram messages

There is an app available named Notification History that can help you to save notifications on your Android phone. With this app, you can read your Instagram message notifications that you have removed accidentally. Here’s a step-by-step guide for this method –

  1. Download and install Notification History app from Google Play Store.
  2. As you open the app, you will be asked to allow two permissions on your phone. One is for the Accessibility Service and the other is for the Notification access.

    How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

    You only need to enable Notification access as it allows the app to record notifications on your phone. Simply, tap on the option and it will take you to the phone settings where you can enable access to the app.

  3. You have completed the setup process. Now when you will receive a new message on Instagram, it will be saved by the app automatically and you can read it anytime without letting the sender know.

    How to read instagram messages without being seen airplane mode

Limitations of the app

There are a few limitations of this method which are mentioned below –

  • You can only read those messages that have come up after installing the app i.e. you can’t retrieve old messages.
  • The app will not work even if you have muted the chat notifications. So make sure to unmute all chat notifications.
  • There is a character limit of 100 words in Instagram message notification. So if the message is longer than this limit, you will be able to read only the first 100 words.
  • You can’t view image and video messages. Apart from this, you can’t listen to voice notes also.
  • Related tutorial: How to read unsend messages on Instagram

So these are two simple methods that can help you to read messages on Instagram without letting them know. We hope you liked this tutorial. If you want to ask something, feel free to share it in the comment section below.

How do you check Instagram messages without Airplane Mode?

Open Instagram on your phone..
Head to the person's profile whose direct messages you want to read without marking them as seen..
Click the three-dot menu at the top right corner..
From the available options, select Restrict..
Click on Restrict Account to confirm..

Does Airplane Mode Turn off read receipts on Instagram?

Once you disable Wi-Fi and put your phone in airplane mode, you can read through your Instagram messages. Read receipts won't be sent until you reconnect to the internet. It's also worth noting that if you want to read their messages via the web, you can put a Chromebook in airplane mode and then read your messages.