How to disable Instagram Instants: Step-by-step guide to hide new feature

Instagram introduced a new feature named “Instants” on May 13, 2026. However, users have mixed reactions to the feature.

The feature enables users to share unedited, instant photos to followers directly, which disappear after 24 hours. This acts more like sharing quick, raw snapshots of your daily life.

Whereas some people find the spontaneity fun, others have been complaining that the continuous presence of temporary content fills up their inboxes. Luckily, however, the process of turning off Instants is rather simple.

How to permanently disable Instants

To ensure that Instants do not appear in your inbox at all, open Instagram and go to your profile page, which can be accessed via tapping on the photo in the lower-right corner of the screen. 

In the menu of the three lines in the upper-right corner, go to "Content preferences," where you should find "Hide Instants in inbox." Turning on this option effectively ensures that you won't see any Instagram Insta.

Turning off Instant notifications

To turn off the notifications only, disable push notifications separately.

To do so, go to your profile, menu icon, settings, notifications, instants. Select “Off” to disable both instant and emoji reaction alerts.

Quick temporary mute Instagram Instants

For those who just need a break without permanently disabling the feature, there’s another method.

Go to the direct messages inbox, press and hold the Instant pile/stack, then swipe right to hide it.

To reverse, simply swipe left on the same area.