Can you tell if someone screenshots your Instagram DM (Direct Message)?
Will Instagram notify you if the other person screenshots your Instagram DM?
If you’re sending a message, you might want to be able to tell if the other person takes a screenshot of it.
This is because you might be sending something sensitive, and you don’t want the other person to save it.
In this article, you’ll learn whether Instagram notifies you when someone takes a screenshot of your direct message.
You can use the information in this article to make conscious decisions before sending a direct message.
Table of Contents
- Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a DM?
- Can You Tell If Someone Screenshots Your Instagram DM?
- How to screenshot Instagram DM without them knowing
- Does Instagram notify when you save a DM picture?
- Conclusion
Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a DM?
No, Instagram will not notify the other person when you screenshot a DM.
Instagram will not notify the other person when you screenshot your chat with them.
However, Instagram will notify the other person if you took a screenshot of the photo they sent you that has a “View once” or “Allow replay” option.
Unlike Snapchat, Instagram will not notify the person when you screenshot your chat with them.
However, Instagram will notify the person if you took a screenshot of a photo they sent you that has a “View once” or “Allow replay” option.
In other words, if the person sent you a photo that has a “View once” or “Allow replay” option, Instagram will notify them if you take a screenshot of it.
But if they sent you a photo that has a “Keep in chat” option, Instagram will not notify them if you take a screenshot of it.
Here is a table to aid your understanding.
| Type of DM | Will Instagram notify a screenshot? |
| Chat messages | No |
| “View once” photo | Yes |
| “Allow replay” photo | Yes |
| “Keep in chat” photo | No |
| Photo from gallery | No |
From the table, you can see that Instagram only notifies the other person if you took a screenshot of their photo that has the “View once” or “Allow replay” option.
On the other hand, if you were to screenshot the chat messages or a photo that is kept in chat, Instagram will not notify the person of it.
Keep these points in mind the next time you want to screenshot a DM on Instagram.
Can You Tell If Someone Screenshots Your Instagram DM?
No, you will not be able to tell if someone screenshots your Instagram DM.
You won’t be able to tell if someone screenshots your direct messages.
You will only be able to tell if someone screenshots a photo that you sent that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”.
When someone screenshots your direct messages, you won’t be notified of it.
However, you will be notified if someone screenshots a photo you sent them that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”.
On the other hand, if you sent a photo from your gallery or a photo that is set to “Keep in chat”, you won’t be notified if the person took a screenshot of it.
So, the next time you send a direct message on Instagram, keep in mind that you won’t be notified if someone took a screenshot of it.
Similarly, you will not be notified if the person took a screenshot of a photo that you sent from your gallery or a photo that is set to “Keep in chat”.
How to screenshot Instagram DM without them knowing
To screenshot a photo on Instagram without the person knowing, you need to turn on airplane mode.
To screenshot a photo that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay” on Instagram without the person knowing, you need to turn airplane mode on.
If you don’t turn airplane mode on, the person will be able to tell if you took a screenshot of their photo if it is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”.
Here’s how you can turn on airplane mode on an iPhone:
- Go to your home screen.
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the “Airplane” icon to turn airplane mode on.
Here’s how you can turn on airplane mode on an Android device:
- Go to your home screen.
- Swipe down from the bottom of the screen twice.
- Tap on the “Airplane” icon to turn airplane mode on.
By turning airplane mode on, your mobile data will be disabled.
This means that Instagram won’t be able to notify the other person that you took a screenshot of their photo.
Your Wi-Fi will also be automatically turned off, so you don’t have to worry about Instagram sending a screenshot notification to the other person.
Does Instagram notify when you save a DM picture?
No, Instagram will not notify the other person when you save a DM picture.
Instagram will not notify the other person when you save a picture that they sent you.
To save a picture in your direct messages, press and hold it, then tap on “Save” to save it in your gallery.
Saving a picture that someone has sent you in your direct message will not notify them.
This is because Instagram does not have a feature that detects/notifies the saving of a picture.
However, Instagram will be able to detect and notify a screenshot of a picture.
You won’t be able to long-press and save a photo that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”.
So, if you took a screenshot of a photo that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”, the person will be notified of it.
How to know if someone screenshots your Instagram DM photo
You will be able to know if someone screenshots your Instagram DM photo if there is a “windmill” icon beside it.
When someone screenshots your photo that is set to “View once” or “Allow replay”, there will be a “windmill” icon beside the photo message.
If there is a “windmill” icon beside your photo message, that means that the person has taken a screenshot of it.
In late 2018, Instagram released an update that tells people if you’ve screenshotted their photo in your direct message.
So, if someone screenshots your photo that you set to “View once” or “Allow replay”, Instagram will notify you of it.
When someone screenshots your photo that you set to “View once” or “Allow replay”, there will be a “windmill” icon beside the photo message.
Instagram will also notify you from an in-app notification if you’re using the app while the person takes a screenshot of your photo.
On top of that, you can press and hold the photo message and tap on “Details” to see when the photo was screenshotted.
Conclusion
As of late 2018, Instagram will tell people if you’ve screenshotted their photo that is set to “View once” or “Replay only”.
The person will be notified of your screenshot if the photo isn’t from their gallery or isn’t set to “Keep in chat”.
You can also press and hold your photo messages to see the exact time it was screenshotted, delivered, and seen.
With this in mind, be sure to think twice before taking a screenshot of someone’s photo in your direct message.
Further Reading
> Can Someone See That I Viewed Their Instagram Highlight?
> If You Accidentally Liked a Photo on Instagram And Then Unlike It, Will They Know?
> How to Change Your Instagram App Icon (New Guide)
Author: Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
