Social Media

Beginner

4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

How to Use Instagram Direct Messages (DMs)

Send private photos, videos, voice messages, and text to friends on Instagram — without anyone else seeing them — using Instagram DMs.

At a Glance

Open the Instagram app and go to your messages

~18s

Open the Instagram app on your phone. Look at the top right corner of the screen — you'll see a paper airplane icon or a speech bubble icon (Instagram has changed this icon a few times over the years). Tap it to open your Direct Messages inbox.

Start a new conversation

~27s

In your messages inbox, tap the pencil and paper icon (or a compose icon) in the top right corner. A search box will appear. Type the name or username of the person you want to message. Their account will appear in the results — tap their name to select them. Then tap "Chat" or "Next" to open a new message thread with them.

Quick Tip

You can also start a DM from someone's profile. Go to their profile page and tap the "Message" button below their bio.

Send a message, photo, or voice note

~25s

In the conversation, tap the text box at the bottom and type your message. Press the paper airplane send button (or the blue arrow) to send it. To send a photo from your camera roll, tap the photo icon to the left of the text box and choose a photo. To record a voice message, press and hold the microphone icon. To take a photo or video directly in the app, tap the camera icon.

Share a post or Reel with someone

~28s

If you're scrolling through Instagram and see a post or Reel you want to share privately with a friend, tap the paper airplane icon below the post. A list of your recent conversations appears. Tap the person you want to send it to, then tap "Send." The post will appear in your DM conversation with a link they can tap to view it.

Quick Tip

This is a great way to share recipes, funny videos, or news articles with family members who are on Instagram.

Manage message requests

~28s

When someone who doesn't follow you sends you a DM, it goes into your Message Requests folder rather than your main inbox. To see it, open your inbox and look for "Requests" near the top. Tap it to review the message. You can accept the request (adding it to your main inbox), delete it, or block the sender.

Warning

Be cautious about accepting message requests from accounts you don't recognize. Scammers often reach out through Instagram DMs, particularly if you mention personal interests or financial topics in your profile.

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Instagram is primarily known as a place to share photos and videos publicly on your profile. But Instagram also has a private messaging feature called Direct Messages — or DMs — that lets you have conversations that only you and the other person (or people) can see.

With Instagram DMs, you can: - Send text messages, photos, and videos privately - Share posts or Reels from your Instagram feed directly with a friend - Record and send voice messages - Send disappearing photos and videos that delete after the recipient views them - Start group conversations with multiple people at once - React to messages with emojis

DMs are popular for casual conversation between people who follow each other, but you can also send DMs to people you don't follow — though their messages may land in a "Message Requests" folder that they have to accept before they see it.

To use Instagram DMs, you need an Instagram account (free to create) and the Instagram app installed on your phone. You can also access DMs on the Instagram website on a computer, though the app is more feature-rich.

This guide assumes you already have an Instagram account. If you don't have one yet, you can create a free account at instagram.com or in the Instagram app.

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Official Resources

Facebook Help Center AARP Social Media Guide FTC — Social Media Safety

Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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