How to quit social media before exams and still keep the group chat
Before exams, pick the option that is hardest to undo at 10 pm when you are tired. Deleting the Instagram app takes a minute to reverse, and instagram.com still opens in Safari. Deactivating hides your profile, but Instagram only lets you do it once a week, and logging back in to read a DM ends it. If your class or club chat is on Instagram, a better fit is to remove Reels, Explore and suggested posts and keep the DMs. minulo does that for free on iPhone.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo, so read the minulo parts with that in mind. The Instagram and Apple help pages below were opened and checked on 2026-10-24. minulo figures come from our own anonymous app data, and how each one was counted is written next to it.
| Option | What happens | How easy it is to undo | Group chats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delete the Instagram app | Your account, posts and DMs stay. instagram.com still opens in a browser. | Reinstall from the App Store in about a minute. | Not in the app. You would have to use the browser. |
| Log out | The app stays but asks you to sign in. | Type your password, or tap a saved login. | Not while you are logged out. |
| Deactivate your account | Your photos, comments and likes are hidden until you log back in. Allowed once a week. | Logging back in reactivates it straight away. | Logging in to read them ends the deactivation. |
| Screen Time limit with a passcode | The app won't open during the hours you set. | Easy if you know the passcode, harder if someone else set it. | Blocked along with everything else. |
| Hide only the feed (minulo) | Reels, Explore and suggested posts are gone. | You can turn it back on yourself. Pro's Hard Mode makes that take a few minutes. | Keep working. |
Why exam weeks go wrong
You sit down after dinner with a past paper. The class group chat pings, you open Instagram to read it, someone has sent a reel, and an hour later you are still on question 2. Your willpower didn't suddenly fail. The chat you need and the feed you don't are in the same app, one tap apart.
minulo's anonymous app data shows when this happens. Among users in Korea and Japan aged 17 and under who told the app their age (80 people, last 30 days), 64% of weekday social media opens were between 4 pm and midnight, and only 19% were between 8 am and 4 pm. We counted each time someone opened a social network inside minulo, in local time. For most students the trouble is after school, in the study room or at home, not in class.
How to deactivate Instagram for exams
Instagram lets you deactivate your account for a while. Its help page says your photos, comments and likes are hidden until you reactivate by logging back in, and that you can only deactivate your profile once a week.
- In Instagram, open Settings and tap Accounts Center.
- Tap Manage account (or Accounts, depending on your Accounts Center), then Manage next to your profile.
- Tap Deactivation or deletion, choose Deactivate account and follow the steps.
The catch: to read a DM you have to log in, and logging in reactivates the account. Deactivating suits a full break when classmates can reach you some other way, such as iMessage, WhatsApp or LINE.
Delete the app or just log out?
Deleting the app keeps your account and DMs, and you can reinstall it any time. It helps because the icon is gone, so opening Instagram becomes a decision. It doesn't stop instagram.com in Safari. To block that too, add it to Screen Time's web content limits (steps in How to block Instagram on iPhone).
Logging out only adds one step, your password. If your login is saved, it adds almost nothing.
Lock it with Screen Time during study hours
An App Limit with Block at End of Limit, or a Downtime schedule with Block at Downtime, stops Instagram from opening at the times you choose. It only holds if you don't know the Screen Time passcode, so some students ask a parent or a sibling to set it. It blocks DMs too, and the website still opens unless you limit it as well. The steps are in How to block Instagram on iPhone.
Keep the group chat, drop the feed
If your class or club chat is on Instagram, minulo lets you keep it. It is an iPhone app that opens Instagram with Reels, Explore and suggested posts hidden. Turn on Every tab but DMs and only your DMs and notifications stay. Hiding is free. You can also lock the official Instagram app with Screen Time, so tapping its icon sends you to minulo instead. A free block lasts up to 2 hours and you can start the next one straight away. Schedules, longer blocks and Hard Mode are Pro.
In our data, the average block started in minulo over the last 30 days lasted 74 minutes for users aged 17 and under and 82 minutes for users aged 18 to 24, about one study session.
What minulo can't do: it can't change the official Instagram app, and while minulo blocks the official app, that app's notifications don't arrive. Check the chat in minulo at times you pick. It is iPhone only.
A plan for the last two weeks
- Decide which chats you really need. Tell friends you will reply at a set time, such as 9 pm.
- Move social apps you don't need for chats (TikTok, YouTube) off the Home Screen, or delete them.
- For Instagram, hide Reels and Explore if people message you there. If nobody does, deactivate.
- Block the official apps for each study session, 1 to 2 hours at a time.
- Put the day your exams end in your calendar and undo everything then. Knowing when it ends makes it easier to start.
Should I deactivate Instagram before exams?
Deactivate if you don't need Instagram for messages. Your profile is hidden until you log back in, and Instagram only allows it once a week. If your class chat is on Instagram, logging in to read it reactivates the account, so hiding the feed and keeping DMs works better.
Can I still use Instagram DMs while my account is deactivated?
No. To read DMs you have to log in, and logging back in reactivates the account. If you need DMs, keep the account and remove the feed instead, for example with minulo's free Every tab but DMs setting.
How often can I deactivate Instagram?
Instagram's help says you can only deactivate your profile once a week. Logging back in reactivates it.
Is it better to delete Instagram or log out during exams?
If your password is saved, deleting the app helps more than logging out because the icon is gone. Neither stops instagram.com in Safari, and both cut you off from DMs in the app. A Screen Time limit with a passcode someone else knows is harder to undo.
How do I stay off social media during exams but keep group chats?
Keep the chats and remove the endless feeds. On iPhone, minulo opens Instagram with only DMs and notifications when you turn on Every tab but DMs, hides YouTube Shorts and TikTok's For You feed, and can lock the official apps during study sessions. Hiding is free.
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