What Does "Active Today" Mean on Instagram?

"Active today" under someone's name in Instagram DMs means they've opened or used Instagram at some point today, but not in the last few hours.

Instagram Activity Status Tiers

Status	Meaning
Active now (green dot)	Currently using Instagram
Active Xm/Xh ago	Last opened X minutes/hours ago
Active today	Used Instagram today, 3+ hours ago
Active yesterday	Last used Instagram the previous day

What Counts as "Activity"?

Triggers activity status: Opening the app, scrolling feed, watching Stories/Reels, sending DMs, posting content.

Does NOT trigger it: Receiving notifications, background refresh, someone viewing your profile.

Who Can See Your Activity Status?

People you follow who follow you back (mutual followers)
People you have an existing DM conversation with

You cannot see status of: accounts you don't follow, accounts that have it turned off, some Business/Creator accounts.

How to Turn It Off

Go to Profile → Menu (☰) → Settings and privacy
"How others can interact with you" → Messages and story replies
Toggle off "Show activity status"

Trade-off: Turning off your status also hides everyone else's status from you.

FAQ

Can someone be "Active now" but not reply? Yes — they might be scrolling their feed, not your DM.

Does "Active today" mean they saw my message? No — activity status and read receipts are separate.

Is it always accurate? Mostly, but background refresh and web sessions can cause false positives.

Editorial transparency: This article was drafted with AI assistance using IQ Hashtags' internal platform data and research, then reviewed and edited for accuracy by Ewa Suwińska, Editorial Lead at IQ Hashtags. Last reviewed: 2026-06-06. Learn about our editorial process →

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