In April 2020, Instagram added the ability to send direct messages to its desktop website.
This means that Instagram users can now send direct messages, photos, gifs, and other kinds of media, as well as start group chats, unsend messages, and reply to chats using reactions, right from their desktop.
However, some direct message features — like video chats — only remain available In the mobile app version.
Here's how to use the direct message feature on Instagram using your desktop computer.
How to send a direct message on Instagram from a computer1. Using your preferred internet browser, go to the Instagram desktop website and log in.
2. Once you've logged in, select the paper plane icon in the top-right corner to access Direct Messages.
You can access your direct messages from any page. Meira Gebel/Business Insider3. You'll be shown all of your active conversations. Click one to open it, or start a new one by clicking "Send Message" or the pencil-and-paper icon.
There are two ways to start a new conversation.
Meira Gebel/Business Insider 4. When starting a new conversation, begin typing in the name or username of the person you want to message, or select an account from the list of "Suggested" users.
5. Type your message into the text box at the bottom, and then select "Send."
You can also press Enter or Return to send it. Meira Gebel/Business InsiderOnce you've sent a message, you can click the three dots next to it and then click "Unsend" to take the message back.
Once you unsend a message, the message will be removed from the chat, no matter if the recipient has seen it or not. There's no time limit for unsending messages on Instagram.
You can "Unsend" a message at any time. Meira Gebel/Business InsiderYou can also delete an entire chat conversation by clicking the "i" icon in the top-right, and then selecting "Delete chat." Note, however, that this only deletes the chat on your end — the recipient will still be able to see it.
This will delete every message in the conversation — on your end.
Meira Gebel/Business Insider William Antonelli and Kerry Wan contributed to a previous version of this article.
Meira Gebel
Meira Gebel is a freelance reporter based in Portland, Oregon.
She writes about business, culture, and technology for Insider. Her work has been featured in Digital Trends, Willamette Week, USA Today, and more. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and San Francisco State University. Feel free to reach out to her on Twitter, where she can be found most of the time, @MeiraGebel.
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Let’s admit it—we all loved it when Instagram finally brought its Direct Messages (DMs) feature to desktop computers and web browsers for all users worldwide. It had been quite annoying to have to use our phone to check, view, and respond to DMs; but now, not only can we access our DMs on our PC, but we can even start group chats, share photos, and double-tap to react to responses!
We cannot yet start a video call or an audio call through a DM on a PC, but we’re sure that will happen pretty soon as well because Instagram’s parent company, Meta, prioritizes private messaging across all its platforms.
Also, we can now export Instagram messages. Learn more about that here.
Social Media News in a NutshellGet the latest social media news, insights, and marketing tips in your inbox once a week.
Without further ado, here’s how to check and view Instagram messages on your PC:
Although the Instagram desktop version can save a lot of time, unfortunately, it is non-collaborative and allows you to manage only one account at a time.
If you want to manage multiple Instagram accounts, explore Sociality.io and our mobile apps.
Download the Sociality.io app for both iOS and Android to get access to our desktop-level social media management dashboard.
Not only will it allow you to curate, approve, preview, and schedule your content calendars across all your social media platforms on the go, but it will also let you communicate with your clients through DMs.
Through the Sociality.io Instagram Messaging feature, you can send and receive your DMs as text, photos, videos, and stickers from only one team inbox, just as you would if you logged into Instagram.
com via a desktop PC.
On top of that, the Sociality.io Engage module brings the CRM experience into social media engagement and allows social media teams to track performance metrics, collaborate, and assign conversation owners.
Contents:
For some time now, questions from our readers have become more frequent, how to view messages on Instagram from a computer and is it possible? We will say this: a little knowledge and dexterity and it becomes possible. In total, we will talk about four ways to read messages on Instagram from a PC:
There used to be tricks with browser extensions, but now we haven't found any that work. If you know of such, write to us in the comments.
At the beginning of 2020, Instagram pleased everyone with a long-awaited innovation, Direct became available in the browser version. What, you haven't got it yet? Then rather clear the cache in the browser, and for now we will tell you how to use it. nine0003
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The second method is no less simple. You must first install the Instagram app for your computer. I downloaded it from the Microsoft Store.
If the two previous methods did not help you, you will have to complicate the task and play hackers.
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If the previous three options did not work for you, and you are still trying hard to open correspondence from a PC, I will tell you about the most time-consuming method. To do this, we will launch mobile Instagram through an Android emulator. Let's analyze everything using the example of Bluestacks, this is a special program that simulates the operation of a device on the Android OS and helps you run applications designed for mobile operating systems, even on a computer. This is exactly what we need. nine0003
So, for this we need to download and install the emulator itself. Its installation is very easy, when installing, just click on the "Next" button. It will take no more than 10 minutes.
After installation, you will have access to exactly the same application as on your phone, which means that there will be no problems reading messages.
#1. Can I write to people whose accounts are closed?
Yes, of course, you can write to them even if the profile is closed. nine0003
#2. How can I quickly download Instagram after downloading Bluestrack?
Google play store is built into it, so there will be no problems with this.
#3.
How to know if the interlocutor has read the message?
Enter the dialogue, and if the SMS is read, then “Viewed” will appear under it. Unread will not be marked in any way.
Ask us your questions and share your opinion in the comments! And also watch a helpful video on the topic. nine0118
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How to view messages on Instagram (banned in Russia) and how to reply to incoming messages? How direct works, what needs to be done? We talk about everything in detail - you will not have any questions!
How to see the messages that friends (or other users) write to you on Instagram (banned in the Russian Federation) - this is the main question that we will find the answer to right now! After all, direct is intended for correspondence, there is no need to postpone communication.
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Here's how to open messages on Instagram (banned in Russia) - now you can start chatting. Let's see how everything works in the internal messenger?
There are three folders here: General, General, and Requests. The first tab will display all active conversations that you had with other users. Most often, these are people who are already in your subscriptions / in the list of subscribers. nine0003
To see the correspondence, you just need to enter the desired dialogue, everything is at a glance! Read, scroll, look for information that interests you.
How to watch messages on Instagram (banned in the Russian Federation) - figured it out. Let's turn to the second tab "Requests". What is hiding there? There are no secrets, everything is simple, dialogues with people who are not on your list of followers get here!
A simple example: a complete stranger saw your photo and offers you cooperation (you advertise him, and he promotes you).
When he sends outgoing, it will go to the "Requests" folder. The interlocutor will not see that you have viewed the letter, so it can be painlessly deleted and forgotten. Well, if you want to continue communication, just click on the appropriate button - then the chat will be in the shared folder. nine0003
Want to read a message in Yandex.Direct, but make it unread? Find out how to do it at the link.
Now it’s clear how to view messages on Instagram (banned in the Russian Federation) from a phone - let’s look at direct through the desktop version? If you use a social network on a computer, through a browser, you can also easily figure out where to click:
That's it! There is no folder with requests here, there is only the usual section with chats that you once had or are doing right now.
A few words about how to search for messages on Instagram (banned in Russia).
You can use the search bar in the direct to find the recipient by name, but you won't be able to search by text. There is no such function in the messenger!
If you can't figure out how to access messages on Instagram (banned in the Russian Federation) and you don't see incoming and outgoing messages, there are certain steps you can take. These measures will most likely help correct the problems that have arisen. nine0003
