How to get Instagram notifications only for messages (iPhone, 2026)
We found no single "messages only" switch in Instagram's help, but you can get close. Go to your profile › Menu › Notifications, and below Pause push notifications open each type of notification and turn it off, leaving message notifications on. Then check that Instagram is still allowed in iPhone Settings › Notifications. If one group chat is too loud, mute just that chat. We couldn't confirm the exact names of every notification type in Instagram's help, so go by what each one is about: posts, stories, comments, follows, Live, Reels.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about Instagram and iPhone come from the sources listed below, checked on 2026-10-24. Menu names can change with app updates.
| Where | What you can do | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram › Notifications | Turn off notification types one by one, or pause all push notifications for a while. | There's no single messages-only button. Instagram may add new types later. |
| An account's profile › Notifications | Stop or start alerts for that account's posts, stories, reels and Live videos. | Per account only. |
| A chat › Mute | Mute messages or calls from one person or group. | You stop getting alerts from that chat too. |
| iPhone Settings › Notifications › Instagram | Allow or turn off all Instagram notifications, sounds and badges. | All or nothing for Instagram, unless the app supports Customize Notifications. |
| minulo (free, iPhone) | Hides Reels and Explore, so opening a DM notification doesn't end in an hour of Reels. | minulo sends no notifications. If it locks the official app, that app's notifications don't arrive. |
Turn off everything except messages in Instagram
- Tap Profile or your profile picture at the bottom right.
- Tap Menu at the top right.
- Under How you use Instagram, tap Notifications.
- Below Pause push notifications, tap each notification setting that isn't about messages and turn those notifications off.
- Open the one about messages and make sure it stays on.
Instagram's help says you can turn off kinds of notifications from this screen but doesn't list every category by name, so we can't give you the exact labels. Check again after big app updates, because a new kind of notification may start out switched on.
Stop alerts from accounts you follow
If you once turned on alerts for someone's posts, they come in even after you clean up the main settings. Open that account's profile, tap Notifications, and turn off Posts, Stories, Reels and Live videos.
Mute one noisy chat instead of all messages
To keep DMs but quiet a busy group chat: tap Messages at the bottom, open the chat, tap the name at the top, then Mute, and turn on Mute messages or Mute calls. Instagram doesn't tell people you muted them.
Check the iPhone side
Open Settings › Notifications, then tap Instagram below Notification Style. Allow Notifications has to be on for any Instagram message alert to reach you. Apple's guide says some apps offer Customize Notifications to pick types; we couldn't confirm whether Instagram does, so do the filtering inside Instagram.
Why Instagram message notifications don't arrive
Go through these in order: iPhone Allow Notifications is off; Pause push notifications is on in Instagram; Sleep mode is running; that chat is muted; or an app blocker such as Screen Time, or minulo, has locked the Instagram app. While an app is blocked, its notifications don't come through.
Where minulo fits (and where it doesn't)
minulo is built for the other half of the problem: you tap a DM notification, answer, and then Reels take the next hour. minulo opens Instagram's official website inside an iPhone app with the Reels and Explore tabs and suggested posts hidden. Hiding is free.
minulo itself sends no notifications. If you need DM alerts, keep the official Instagram app installed and unlocked with the settings above, and use minulo when you want to read and reply without Reels. If minulo locks the official app with Screen Time, its notifications stop while it's locked. minulo is iPhone only.
How do I get Instagram notifications only for messages?
Go to Profile › Menu › Notifications. Below Pause push notifications, open every notification type that isn't about messages and turn it off, and leave messages on. Keep Instagram allowed in iPhone Settings › Notifications.
Why am I not getting notifications for Instagram messages?
Check that Allow Notifications is on for Instagram in iPhone Settings › Notifications, that Pause push notifications and Sleep mode are off in Instagram, that the chat isn't muted, and that no blocker has locked the Instagram app.
How do I mute one chat on Instagram?
Open the chat, tap the name at the top, tap Mute, then turn on Mute messages or Mute calls. The other person isn't told.
Does minulo send Instagram DM notifications?
No. minulo sends no notifications, and while it locks the official Instagram app, that app's notifications don't arrive either. To get DM alerts, leave the official app unlocked.
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