Why an Instagram DM lands in Message Requests, and what you can change

You sent a message, or a tool sent one for you, and nothing seems to have arrived. Very often it did arrive. It is sitting in a different folder from the one the other person checks.

This post sticks to what Instagram's Help Centre and developer documentation say. Where they are silent, we say that too.

Why does a message go to Message Requests?

Instagram's Help Centre says: "You can send a message to anyone when using Instagram." Sending is open. What changes is where it lands.

The same page says: "If you send a message to someone who doesn't follow you, depending on their settings, it may appear as a message request in their inbox." Two things decide it: whether the person follows you, and the settings they have chosen.

And once a request is accepted: "If someone accepts your message request, your future messages will go directly to their inbox."

What happens when a business tool replies to your comment?

When someone comments on your post and you reply by DM, Instagram's developer documentation says the reply goes to one of two places: "This reply will be delivered to the Instagram user's Inbox folder, if the Instagram user follows the Instagram professional account, or to the Instagram user's Request folder, if the Instagram user does not follow the account."

So the same comment can produce two different results. A follower sees the message in their inbox. A non-follower sees it in Requests.

The documentation also sets limits on these private replies: "Private replies can be sent within 7 days of when the comment was created", and "Only one message can be sent to the Instagram user who commented." To go further, "Only when the Instagram user responds to the private message can you continue the conversation within the 24-hour messaging window."

Instagram's own feature page also warns people that "Instagram accounts you message may use third party apps or automated services to send messages in chats." Automated replies are an expected part of the product.

How do you change what you receive?

The Help Centre says you can "Choose whether message requests from people on Instagram go to your Message Requests folder or whether to receive them at all."

The steps the Help Centre gives for a computer are: click More, then Settings, then Messages and story replies, then Message controls. The app menus may differ, so check yours.

Two details from the same page are worth knowing. "Note that you'll need to accept message requests in your Message Requests folder before they appear in your Chats list." And: "Messages from people you follow on Instagram will appear in your Chats list."

• If you expect messages from people who do not follow you, check your Message Requests folder as often as your inbox.
• If you do not want requests, change the Message controls setting.
• If you are the sender, a non-follower may not see your message until they accept it.

What can a message request contain?

Instagram's feature page says: "When you send a message to someone who doesn't follow you or isn't already connected to you, your message is sent as a message request and can only contain text. You can't send photos, videos or voice notes until they accept your message request."

So a link in plain text is a message a request can carry. A photo, a video or a voice note is not. The Help Centre also says disappearing photos and videos can only go to people who follow you or have already approved messages from you.

Questions people ask