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Turn Off Those Read Receipts!
After introducing it in November, Instagram has now enabled users to turn off read receipts for their DMs, giving them control over when “Read” and “Seen” signs appear (or do not appear) for the sender within message streams.
As you can see in this example, you can now disable read receipts in your IG Direct inbox, so if you don’t want people to know you’ve read their DM, simply delete the “Seen” notification and keep them waiting.
How to access it:
The option is available in each individual chat. To enable the new feature, touch on the user’s name (or group chat name), then select “Privacy & Safety” and disable “Read Receipts”.
It could be a useful approach to reduce unnecessary anxiety over your lack of response, as some individuals become agitated if you do not respond within a reasonable amount of time after receiving a message.
The benefits
Though most people realize that you won’t respond right away, if this causes you unnecessary conflict with certain friends and family, you can now avoid it by turning off these notifications.
You may also disable read receipts for all users under your “Messages and Story Replies” settings, so you don’t have to turn it off for each individual chat.
However, you now have additional alternatives for silencing those irritating notifications, which can get you in trouble with some who want a priority response.
It could also help brands manage client expectations. Of course, you should strive to respond to customer inquiries as quickly as possible, but turning off read receipts may also help to reduce tension.
Thank you, Instagram!
It’s been a long-awaited development, and you can now relieve another source of stress from your social media connections.
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