Instagram Privacy Settings Updated: How to Hide When You're Active in the 2026 App

Discover key highlights on Instagram Privacy Settings Updated: How to Hide When You're Active in the 2026 App.

Many remote workers and office professionals access direct messages from browser tabs on macOS, Windows, or ChromeOS machines. Disabling tracking on your phone covers mobile app sessions, but desktop sessions can occasionally desynchronize if your global account cache has not refreshed.

To verify your desktop status:

1. Navigate to Instagram.com in any standard desktop browser and log into your account.
2. Click the More icon (represented by three horizontal lines) in the lower-left sidebar.
3. Open Settings, then scroll the left-hand rail to find How others can interact with you.
4. Locate the Activity Status pane.
5. Uncheck the box beside Show Activity Status.

Desktop sessions verify the change immediately without requiring a full page refresh. Once unchecked, browser-based scrolling remains completely invisible to everyone in your inbox.