Did you recently saw the status, “Active today” on your direct message list on Instagram?
If you did, you might be wondering what exactly does the status mean.
The status might be self-explanatory, but there are certain questions that arises when it comes to the characteristics of it.
In addition, the status is more complicated than you think it is.
In this article, you’ll learn the definition of the “Active today” status, and other frequently asked questions.
If you read until the end of the article, I guarantee that you’ll learn a new thing or two about the statuses.
Move on to the table of contents for an overview of what you’ll learn.
- What Does “Active today” Mean on Instagram?
- What is the difference between active today and active now on Instagram?
- Is active now on Instagram accurate?
- Why does Instagram say active today instead of hours?
- How long does active now last on Instagram?
- How many activity statuses are there on Instagram?
- Conclusion
What Does “Active today” Mean on Instagram?
The “Active today” status means that the person has not been on Instagram for 8 to 24 hours.
For example, if someone has used Instagram once in the last 24 hours, you’ll be able to see the status, “Active today” under their username in your direct message list.
However, if the person opened Instagram once in the last 8 hours, the status will show the minutes or hours that they are last active instead.
When there is an “Active today” status under the person’s username, it means that they have not been on Instagram for more than 8 hours, but not more than 24 hours.
However, if the person has been on Instagram in the last 8 hours, the status will show the minutes or hours they are last active instead (e.g. Active 1h ago).
If the person happened to open Instagram once in the last 8 hours, their activity status will show the minutes or hours they are last active instead (e.g. Active 1h ago).
Here’s a scenario if someone you messaged recently opened Instagram 4 hours ago:
- Your friend last opened Instagram 4 hours ago.
- If you have direct messaged them recently, you’ll be able to see their activity status.
- Their activity status will show, “Active 4h ago”.
However, if the person set their status to private, you will not be able to see when they are last active.
In the event that the person set their activity status to private, you won’t be able to see it under their username—it’ll just be blank.
This might be a little hard to grasp, but fundamentally, Instagram will only show the specific activity status of the person if they opened Instagram in the last 8 hours.
Here’s another instance if someone you recently direct messaged opened Instagram 12 hours ago:
- Your friend last opened Instagram 12 hours ago.
- If you have recently direct messaged them, you’ll be able to see their activity status.
- Their activity status will show, “Active today”.
Now you know how the activity changes.
However, it’s important to note that you are only able to see the activity status of someone if you recently direct messaged them and if they didn’t set their status to private.
What is the difference between active today and active now on Instagram?
What is the difference between active today and active now on Instagram?
“Active today” means that the person has been on Instagram in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, “Active now” means that the person has been on Instagram in the last 5 minutes.
Active today: The person has not been on Instagram for 8 to 24 hours.
Active now: The person has been on Instagram in the last 5 minutes.
The activity status on Instagram will change depending on the given circumstances.
It’s worth noting that there are four activity statuses on Instagram in total—”Active today”, “Active now”, “Active (x)h ago”, and “Active yesterday”.
There are three activity statuses on Instagram in total—”Active today”, “Active now”, “Active x ago”, and “Active yesterday”.
Since I have already shown the differences between the “Active today” and “Active now” statuses on Instagram, it’s time to compare them with the “Active x ago” and the “Active yesterday” statuses.
Active x ago: The person has not been on Instagram in the last 5 mins to 8 hours.
Active yesterday: The person has not been on Instagram for 24 to 48 hours.
The “Active x ago” status (e.g. Active 4 hours ago), will be shown if the person has opened Instagram in the last 5 minutes to 8 hours.
On the other hand, the “Active yesterday” status means that the person has been not been on Instagram in the last 24 to 48 hours.
Take a moment to read through each status again before you move on as there is a lot of information to take in.
Is active now on Instagram accurate?
No, the “Active now” status on Instagram is not 100% accurate. This is because the person might have exited the app already, but the status might still show.
The “Active now” status on Instagram is not 100% accurate.
At times, the “Active now” status may still show even if the person has exited Instagram moments ago.
The “Active now” status shows that the person has been on Instagram in the last 5 minutes.
However, the status may still be there if the person has left Instagram between in 1 to 4 minutes.
This is because the Instagram app might be still running on their background.
Unless they force close the app on their background, the “Active now” status might still show even if they’ve left Instagram a moment ago.
Even if they force close the app, Instagram might still register that they’re active on Instagram just because they’ve opened Instagram in the last 5 minutes.
Why does Instagram say active today instead of hours?
Instagram says “Active today” instead of hours if it has been over 8 hours since the person last opened Instagram.
Here’s the difference between the two statuses once more:
Active today shows if the person has not been on Instagram for 8 to 24 hours.
On the other hand, the status shows when the person was last active in minutes/hours if the person has not been on Instagram for more than 5 minutes to 8 hours.
Active today shows when the person haven’t opened Instagram over 8 hours.
On the other hand, the status shows the specific time that the person was last active if they haven’t been on Instagram for more than 5 minutes to 8 hours.
How long does active now last on Instagram?
The “Active now” status lasts for 5 minutes on Instagram. In other words, if the person has to be on Instagram in the last 5 minutes for the status to show.
The “Active now” status lasts for 5 minutes on Instagram.
After 5 minutes, the status will change from “Active now” to “Active (x)min/h ago”.
Here’s an example of when the status will change:
- The person you direct messaged with recently has been on Instagram in the last 5 minutes.
- Their activity status will be, “Active now”.
- The person exited Instagram for 10 minutes.
- Their activity status will now be changed to, “Active 10min ago”.
How many activity statuses are there on Instagram?
There are a total of 4 activity statuses on Instagram.
Here is a table of all the statuses and their descriptions:
| Activity Status | Description (of when it is shown) |
| Active now | Active in the last 5 minutes. |
| Active x min/h ago | Has not been on Instagram for 5 minutes to 8 hours. |
| Active today | Has not been on Instagram for 8 to 24 hours. |
| Active yesterday | Has not been on Instagram for 24 to 48 hours. |
Active now – Active in the last 5 minutes.
Active x min/h ago – Has not been on Instagram for 5 minutes to 8 hours.
Active today – Has not been on Instagram for 8 to 24 hours.
Active yesterday – Has not been on Instagram for 24 to 48 hours.
Conclusion
Activity statuses on Instagram are more than meets the eye.
It changes depending on the given circumstances (e.g. when the person was last active on Instagram).
Whether you believe it or not—it’s almost rocket science.
Further Reading
How to Know if Someone is Stalking You on Instagram
What Does “This story is no longer available” Mean on Instagram?
