How to manage your Instagram notifications

If Instagram is your social network service of choice, then it’s important to set up your notifications. And with the flexibility and options, you can tailor your Instagram notifications to your preference.

From receiving alerts for likes and comments to IGTV view counts, you can get a notification for whatever is most important to you. Here’s how to manage your Instagram notifications on iPhone and the web.

Instagram notifications on iPhone

You may be surprised at the number of notifications you can receive in the Instagram app. There are five main categories of alerts with a drill-down inside each. So it’s worth your time to go through them to make sure you receiving those you want and disabling others.

1) Open Instagram on your iPhone and tap your profile on the bottom right.

2) Tap the Menu icon on the top right and pick Settings.

3) Select Notifications.

At the top of the Notifications screen, you have a Pause All option. This is a good thing to keep in mind if you want to temporarily stop your notifications for some reason.

Instagram Notifications and Pause Setting

Next, tap each category to see the options you have within them, here’s a summary to help you find one in particular if needed.

Posts, Stories and Comments: Likes, likes and comments on photos of you, photos of you, comments, comment likes and pins, and finally, first posts and stories.

Following and Followers: Follower requests, accepted follow requests, friends on Instagram, mentions in bio.

Instagram Notifications for Posts and Following

Direct Messages: Message requests, messages, group requests, and video chats.

Live and IGTV: Live videos, IGTV video uploads, and IGTV view counts.

From Instagram: Reminders, product announcements, support requests, unrecognized logins, and order updates.

Instagram Notifications for Direct, Live and Instagram

Email and SMS notifications on iPhone

Below the categories on the Notifications screen, you’ll see one more option for Email and SMS. Select this to subscribe to feedback, reminder, product, news, shopping brands, cart, and support emails.

Instagram Notifications for Emails

Just pick the On or Off radio button for each notification.

Instagram notifications on the web

If you happen to be online already, you can make changes to your notifications on the Instagram site. You don’t have quite as many options as you do in the Instagram app on iPhone, but you can still have a look if it’s convenient.

1) Log into your Instagram account and click your profile on the top right.

2) Select Settings.

3) On the left, pick Push Notifications.

To the right are all of the Instagram alert options available on the web. You have a dozen settings you can adjust from likes, comments, and comment likes to follow requests, Instagram Direct requests, and IGTV view counts.

Instagram Push Notifications Online

Most are a simple Off or From radio button. For instance, Likes let you pick Off, From People I Follow, or From Everyone. Below each setting is a statement giving you an example of the notification.

Select the setting for each one and your changes are saved automatically. You don’t have to hit a Save button.

Email and SMS notifications online

Like in the Instagram app, you can subscribe to emails online. Right above Push Notifications in your Settings, you’ll see Email and SMS. You have all the same options as in the app except for support emails.

Instagram Email and SMS Alerts Online

Simply check or uncheck the notifications you want to receive.

Wrapping it up

With so many possible Instagram notifications, you can certainly customize them for exactly what you want to receive. Do feel there are too many alert options for Instagram or do you think it’s great to have so many options?

For more on Instagram, check out how to screenshot stories without a notification and how to quickly delete an Instagram message you sent.