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Quick guide to disable vanish mode and stop messages from disappearing in your Instagram DMs.
Quick Answer
To turn off vanish mode: Swipe up on the chat screen or tap "Turn Off Vanish Mode" at the top of the conversation. The chat will return to normal and messages will no longer disappear.
While in vanish mode, simply swipe up from the bottom of the chat screen. This is the same gesture you used to enable vanish mode—it toggles it off.
Look at the top of the chat—you'll see a banner that says "You're in vanish mode". Tap "Turn Off Vanish Mode" to exit.
Vanish mode is Instagram's disappearing messages feature, similar to Snapchat. When enabled:
Curious about your followers?
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Check your followersVanish mode is an Instagram feature that makes messages disappear automatically after they're seen and you leave the chat. When enabled, the chat background turns dark purple/blue, and all messages sent in this mode are deleted once both people have seen them and closed the chat.
You'll know vanish mode is active when the chat background turns dark blue/purple with floating 'shush' emoji effects, and you see a banner at the top saying 'You're in vanish mode'. The screen also looks different from regular DM chats.
Yes, the other person will be notified when you leave vanish mode. They'll see a message saying 'You left vanish mode' in the chat. However, they cannot see the content of messages that were sent in vanish mode after they disappear.
No, messages sent in vanish mode cannot be recovered once they disappear. They are permanently deleted from both users' devices and Instagram's servers. If you need to keep a message, don't use vanish mode or take a screenshot (the other person will be notified).
No, vanish mode only works in one-on-one direct message conversations. It cannot be enabled in group chats. The feature is designed for private conversations between two people.
There's no way to permanently disable vanish mode for your account. However, vanish mode must be manually activated each time by swiping up in a chat, so it won't turn on by itself. You can always swipe up again or tap 'Turn Off Vanish Mode' to exit it.
Yes! Instagram sends a notification to the other person if you take a screenshot while in vanish mode. This is different from regular DMs where screenshots are not notified. The notification says 'Screenshot taken' in the chat.
Vanish mode is only available if both you and the other person follow each other, or if the other person has open DMs from everyone. It also requires the latest version of Instagram. Make sure your app is updated and that you have a mutual follow relationship.