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how to turn on active on instagram

Here’s how to turn on Active Status on Instagram so people can see when you’re online or last active.

Quick Scoop

When Active Status is on , people you follow or message can see a green dot or “Active now / Active X min ago” next to your name in DMs. When it’s off, you also can’t see their activity status.

Turn on Active Status (Instagram app – iPhone & Android)

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Instagram app and log in.
  1. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right.
  1. Tap the three horizontal lines (menu) in the top right.
  1. Tap Settings and privacy (or Settings depending on your version).
  1. Scroll to the section like How others can interact with you and tap Messages and story replies.
  1. Find Show Activity Status or Activity Status.
  1. Toggle Show Activity Status to ON (switch turns from gray to another color, like black/blue).

Once this is on, people you follow or message can see when you’re active or recently active in the Instagram app.

Turn on Active Status (Instagram on computer browser)

If you’re using Instagram on a desktop or laptop:

  1. Go to instagram.com and log into your account.
  1. Click the three-line More menu at the bottom left.
  1. Click Settings.
  1. Go to Messages and story replies.
  1. Click Show Activity Status and toggle it ON.

Why your Active might not show

Even if you turned it on, a few things can make it look like it’s not working:

  • You turned on Active Status, but the other person has it off , so you can’t see theirs.
  • You’re checking in a place where activity indicators don’t always appear (for example, some areas outside DMs).
  • App is outdated; sometimes layout or behavior changes with updates, so updating the app can fix glitches.

Mini table: Mobile vs Web steps

[8][5][9][3][1] [3][1]
Platform Key path
Instagram app (iOS/Android) Profile → Menu (☰) → Settings & privacy → Messages and story replies → Show Activity Status → Toggle ON
Instagram.com (web) More (☰) → Settings → Messages and story replies → Show Activity Status → Toggle ON

Quick example scenario

Imagine you want friends to know you’re free to reply fast in DMs: you go to Profile → Menu → Settings & privacy → Messages and story replies → Show Activity Status, turn it on, and now they’ll see that green indicator when you’re online.

TL;DR: Go to your profile → menu → Settings (& privacy) → Messages and story replies → turn Show Activity Status ON on mobile or web.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.