How do I stop Instagram showing 'Active now' to everyone? The green dot stresses me out.

I don't love that everyone I've ever DM'd can see the second I'm online. It creates this pressure to reply instantly. Is there a way to turn off the 'Active now' status, and does turning it off mean I can't see anyone else's either?

NNoah Solis3d ago291 views

3 answers

Best answer

Yes: Settings > Messages and story replies > 'Show activity status', toggle it off. The catch, and it's a fair trade, is that once you hide yours you also can't see anyone else's. It's mutual by design. Most people who turn it off say the drop in reply-pressure is completely worth losing the green dots they were stressing about anyway.

DDevon Cruz5d ago

Adding a +1, identical issue and this walkthrough nailed it. – Ingrid Roy 5d ago

Turned it off a year ago and my messaging anxiety dropped by half. Not seeing others' dots turned out to be a feature, not a cost. Reply when you reply.

DDevon Stein4d ago

Tried the top answer and it fixed it instantly. Cheers. – Felix Torres 4d ago

Legend, thank you. – Malik Solis 4d ago

Small thing, but restarting the phone first made every other step work. – June Novak 2d ago

This thread is really useful, bookmarking it.

HHugo Bianchi3d ago

How do I stop Instagram showing 'Active now' to everyone? The green dot stresses me out.

3 answers

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