Instagram Messages Not Sending or Not Showing? Requests, Photos and Fixes

Does this match what you see?

• You can send text, but photos, videos or voice notes won’t go.
• The other person says your message never arrived.
• Someone says they messaged you, but it isn’t in your Chats.
• Messages won’t send to anyone.

iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

Meta’s message steps differ slightly between phones, iPad, Instagram Lite, mobile browser and computer. The text-only rule for message requests is the same everywhere; the settings names differ.

Why this happens: the possible causes

What may be going on, based on how Meta says messaging works.

• Your message is a message requestCheck this first

  Meta says that when you message someone who doesn’t follow you or isn’t already connected to you, the message is sent as a message request and can only contain text until they accept it.

• Their request settingsPossible

  Meta says people can choose whether message requests go to their Message Requests folder or whether to receive them at all.

• An app or connection problemPossible

  If messages won’t send to anyone, Meta points to its general troubleshooting steps: update, restart, check your connection, reinstall.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

A whole chat vanished from your inbox? It may be locked

In the Instagram app on Android and iPhone (not on computers), Meta says a locked chat moves to a hidden folder only you can see, and its message content is hidden from notifications and search. Locking only affects your account; the other person’s chat isn’t locked.

• Find locked chats: in Messages, swipe down from the top of your inbox, tap Locked chats, then unlock with your phone’s own passcode, fingerprint or face.
• Lock or unlock a chat: open it, tap the chat name at the top > Privacy & safety > Lock and hide chat, then confirm with your phone’s passcode, fingerprint or face. From the inbox: on Android, tap and hold a chat > Lock chat; on iPhone, swipe left > Hide chat.
• Meta says you need device authentication (your phone’s own screen lock) turned on to use this, and if you delete a locked chat and start a new one with the same people, the new chat isn’t locked.

Messages, photos or videos disappeared? Vanish mode and disappearing photos

Meta says vanish mode sends disappearing messages, photos and videos, and that content sent in vanish mode disappears when someone leaves the chat or turns vanish mode off.

• Turn it on or off: in the Instagram app, open the chat and swipe up (the same gesture turns it off). Meta says it isn’t available on computers, and may be unavailable in Japan and in countries in Europe.
• You can’t copy, save or forward disappearing messages.
• Accounts you haven’t connected with before can’t send you message requests in vanish mode, it only works in a chat with another Instagram account, and certain professional accounts can’t receive vanish mode messages.
• You get a notification when someone messages you in vanish mode, and again if they send a normal message.

Disappearing photos and videos

These features are in the Instagram app only, not on computers.

• Meta says a disappearing photo or video is no longer visible to the person after they’ve viewed it, unless you allowed a replay. Before sending, choose View once, View twice (one replay) or Unlimited views (keeps a preview in the chat). On iPad the options are called View Once, Allow Replay and Keep in Chat.
• Can’t send one? Meta says you can only send disappearing photos or videos to people who follow you or have already approved messages from you.
• Can’t see one you sent? Meta says you can’t view your own disappearing photos or videos after sending, but you can see if they were seen, or if Instagram detects a screenshot.
• Viewing one sent to you: tap the blue play button beside the chat name in your Chats list, or open the chat and tap View Photo or Play Video.
• Can’t reply to it? Meta says you can only reply directly to a disappearing photo or video while it’s playing: Meta gives reply steps for Android: tap the message box below it as you view it.
• Can’t replay it? Meta says you can only replay a disappearing photo or video right after you receive it, by tapping Photo or Video in the chat after viewing, and only if the sender allowed a replay. The sender can tell that you replayed it, or took a screenshot if detected.
• Meta says other message types you send in a normal chat (not in vanish mode), such as text, posts from feed and hashtags, don’t disappear.

A story shared in a chat disappeared or won’t open?

• It disappeared: Meta says that when the original story disappears from the app, it’s no longer available in your chat either.
• Someone can’t see a story you shared: Meta says stories shared in a chat keep the same visibility settings as the original. For example, if the account is private, only its followers can see the story as a message. Story settings control who can view and share your stories.
• To share a story in the app: open it, tap Send in the bottom right, choose people or group chats (or Search), add an optional message, then tap Send (or Send separately). In Instagram Lite, tap Send next to the username of the people you’re sharing with. On a computer or mobile browser, choose people, then Send.

Can’t create a poll in a chat, or people can’t vote?

• In the Instagram app (not on computers), Meta says polls can only be created in group chats with 3 or more accounts. Our note: so don’t expect the option in a one-to-one chat.
• To create one: open the group chat, tap Add > Poll, enter your question and answers, then tap Create Poll. While it’s active, anyone in the group can tap View Poll to change their vote or add options.
• Poll sticker on a photo or video: Meta says people can’t vote by tapping a poll sticker in a message. They need to reply below the photo or video with their choice. You can see how someone voted below the poll you sent.

How to send a message on each device

• iPhone and Android: tap Messages at the bottom > Compose (top right) > choose people > type your message > Send.
• iPad: Messages on the left > Compose (top left), then the same.
• Instagram Lite: Messages in the top right of Feed > Compose > choose people > Chat > type > Send.
• Mobile browser: Messages at the bottom > Compose > choose people > Next > type > Send.
• Computer: Messages on the left > Compose (top left) > choose people > Chat > type > Send.
• On phones and computer, Meta says you can also message someone you follow from their profile (Message).
• Group chat (2 or more people): on iPhone and Android, Compose > Group chat, then choose people. On iPad, Compose > Group chat, choose people, enter a group name and tap Create chat. On a computer, Instagram Lite or a mobile browser, just choose 2 or more people in Compose, then Chat (or Next in a browser).

Meta says messages don’t appear in feed, search or your profile. In the iPhone, iPad and Android apps, the /silent command sends a message without a notification, and @mentions only work in chats with 3 or more people.

How to know it worked

• Your message shows in the chat, and the other person can see it in Chats, or in their Message Requests folder unless they’ve turned requests off.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Instagram crashing or not loading? See Instagram keeps crashing.
2. Getting scam or spam messages? See Instagram scams and reporting.

Frequently asked questions