How do I make my Instagram notifications silent?

Social media notifications can often be disruptive and distracting in our daily lives. With platforms like Instagram designed to grab user attention, the constant alerts for likes, comments, messages, and more can lead to compulsive checking behavior and loss of focus. This is especially true for younger users, with research showing Instagram alerts negatively impact teen sleep and schoolwork. Users looking to reduce the interruption of Instagram notifications have several options to silence alerts or customize settings to their preference and needs.

Why Make Instagram Notifications Silent?

Notifications from Instagram can become distracting, disruptive, and reduce productivity for some users. Studies have shown that constant smartphone notifications negatively impact cognition by decreasing concentration and increasing distraction (The effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control and attention). Push notifications produce a measurable decline in task performance and disrupt workflow for many people (An Analysis of the Effects of Smartphone Push Notifications on Task Performance).

With Instagram notifications turned on by default, users can easily become inundated with constant pings and buzzes from likes, comments, messages, and more. This can make it difficult to stay focused on important tasks or have uninterrupted blocks of time for deep thinking and creativity.

Silencing Instagram notifications can help users take back control, focus better, and avoid digital distractions. Turning off notifications prevents irrelevant interruptions without losing access to Instagram entirely. Users can check the app on their own terms when they want to connect and engage.

How to Mute Instagram Notifications

You can easily mute notifications from Instagram temporarily or permanently on both Android and iPhone devices. Here are step-by-step instructions for each:

Android

To mute notifications on Android (source):

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right.
3. Tap the three horizontal lines icon in the top right corner to open the menu.
4. Tap Settings.
5. Tap Notifications.
6. Toggle off “Allow Notifications” to mute all Instagram notifications.

iPhone

To mute notifications on iPhone (source):

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right.
3. Tap the gear icon in the top right to access Settings.
4. Tap Notifications.
5. Toggle off notifications for Posts, Stories, Reels, Video Calls, and Direct to mute specific notification types.
6. You can also toggle off the Sound and Badges options to disable audio/visual cues.

Mute Specific Accounts

You can mute notifications from specific Instagram accounts you want to continue following without seeing constant updates.

To mute an account’s notifications:

1. Open Instagram and go to the profile page of the account you want to mute.
2. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner.
3. Select ‘Mute’ from the menu.
4. Confirm that you want to mute notifications for that account.

This will prevent that account’s posts, stories, lives, IGTV videos, and other activities from triggering notifications on your device. You can unmute the account at any time to resume getting notifications.

Muting is useful for reducing distractions from accounts you want to follow but don’t necessarily need real-time updates from. You can check their profiles on your own time rather than having their content continually appear in your notifications.

For further details, see Instagram’s help guide: Push notifications and multiple Instagram accounts

Customize Notification Settings

You can customize when and which types of notifications you receive from Instagram in your notification settings. This allows you to turn off certain notifications or only receive them during set times.

To customize your Instagram notification settings on iOS:
1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right and go to your profile.
2. Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
3. Select Settings > Notifications.
4. Choose how often you want to receive push notifications and for what types of activity. You can enable or disable notifications for:

• Comments
• Likes and mentions
• Direct messages
• Story updates from accounts you follow

You can also set Quiet Hours to limit when notifications come through. The customizable options allow you to mute notifications during set times, like sleeping hours.Notification Settings, Instagram Help Center

On Android, open your settings and go to Apps & Notifications > Instagram. Tap Notifications and customize your preferences.

Adjusting these settings gives you control over when Instagram can send notifications to your device. You can limit disruptions for certain activities or times when you don’t want notifications.

Turn Off Comment Notifications

One of the most common notification types on Instagram is for new comments on your posts. You likely want to stay on top of engagement on your content, but comment notifications can quickly become overwhelming.

To disable notifications for new comments:

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile page.
2. Tap the three line menu in the top right corner.
3. Select “Settings” from the menu.
4. Tap “Notifications”.
5. Under “From Comments”, toggle off “New Comments”.

With this setting disabled, you will no longer receive push notifications when someone comments on your posts. However, you can still manually check for new comments by opening the app and viewing your posts.

If you prefer to disable notifications for only certain posts rather than all of them, you can turn off commenting on individual posts from the “…More” menu.

Disabling all comment notifications can help reduce distractions and noise from Instagram. But make sure to check back regularly so you don’t miss important comments.

Disable Direct Message Notifications

If you want to disable notifications for Instagram direct messages, here’s what to do:

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile by tapping the profile icon in the bottom right. Then tap the menu icon in the top right corner (three horizontal lines) and choose Settings.

Under Settings, select Notifications. Here you’ll see options for disabling notifications for Comments, Likes, and Follower Requests. To disable DM notifications specifically, toggle off the switch next to Message Requests.

With this setting turned off, you will no longer get notifications on your phone when you receive new Instagram direct messages. The messages will still appear in your Direct inbox, but your phone will not alert you when new ones arrive.

You can also choose to disable message previews in notifications if you want to keep getting notified of new DMs but don’t want the message contents displayed on your lock screen or notification bar. Toggle off the switch next to Show Message Previews to disable previews.

If you ever want to re-enable DM notifications, simply return to the Notification settings and toggle the switches back on.

For more information, see the Instagram Help Center guide on managing notifications: How to turn push notifications on or off on Instagram.

Prevent Interruptions During Specific Times

One of the best ways to silence Instagram notifications is to use your Android device’s Do Not Disturb or Scheduled Quiet Hours features. These allow you to set specific times where you won’t receive any notifications from the Instagram app.

To enable Quiet Hours on your Android device:

• Open the Settings app
• Tap Sound, then select Do Not Disturb
• Tap Schedules to set up your quiet hours
• Select the times you want Instagram notifications silenced

You can customize the schedules to be recurring or for certain days of the week when you need focused time. During the scheduled hours, all Instagram notifications will be silenced while still allowing calls and messages from priority contacts like family (source).

The Do Not Disturb feature works similarly, allowing you to create rules that will block all Instagram notifications during set times or events in your calendar (source). You can also set Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically when certain conditions are met, like connecting to a certain WiFi network or when your screen is off.

Reduce Visual Indicators

Another way to make Instagram notifications less intrusive is to disable the notification dots or badges that appear on the app icon. These colored dots indicate the number of unread notifications, and can encourage you to open the app.

To turn off notification dots on Android 10 and higher:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Turn off “Notification dot on app icon” for Instagram.

On some Samsung devices, you may need to go to Settings > Notifications > App Icon Badges to disable notification dots.

With notification dots disabled, the Instagram app icon will appear clean, removing visual triggers to open the app. You can still view notifications by pulling down the notification shade. But removing the constant visual reminders can reduce the urge to constantly check Instagram.

Source: Control notifications on Android

Conclusion

Managing your Instagram notifications can help reduce distractions and allow you to focus on the content most relevant to you. By muting accounts, customizing notification settings, and turning off certain notifications, you can tailor Instagram to best meet your needs.

In summary, Instagram provides granular control over notifications so you can take charge of your experience. Find the right balance for your usage – whether that’s muting some accounts, turning off comments, or disabling notifications at certain times. The options covered here should provide a good starting point.

At its core, Instagram should be an enjoyable experience. With some adjustments to your notifications, you can ensure you’re seeing the content you care about without constant interruptions. Take time to explore notification settings and find an approach that works for you.