Instagram is one of those places where people come to take a glimpse of what is happening in the life of their colleagues, friends, celebrities and other people. Sometimes, when going through our feeds, we come across things that capture our attention. When this happens, we instantly want to take a screenshot. This also happens when we want to screenshot something for the purposes of gossip. In such a case, you might not want the person who has posted to know that you have taken a screenshot, for obvious reasons. As such, if you are using Instagram and want to screenshot something, a question naturally pops up into your mind – Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a post?
There can be multiple reasons why someone wants to screenshot Instagram content. Sometimes you want to have instant access to some of the content and screenshotting is one of the easiest ways to do it. Other times you want to save quotes that ignite your interest or keep pictures that have caught your attention. A lot of times you want to screenshot Instagram posts because you want to share them with your friends.
Furthermore, Instagram stories are the most common type of content that people feel the need to take screenshots of. That is because they don’t stay there forever and disappear after twenty-four hours.
One thing everyone must remember while they screenshot Instagram content is respecting other people’s privacy, especially if it’s something of personal nature to someone. Moreover, any of the screenshots must never be used for foul purposes. Having clarified that, let’s move on to answering the frequently asked question.
Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a post?
The answer to this question is a plain ‘no’. The algorithms of Instagram are built in a way that it doesn’t notify the owners when their posts are being screenshotted.
All the videos and photos we see in our newsfeeds and the ‘Explore’ tab on Instagram are known as Instagram posts. When you screenshot a post even directly from someone’s profile page, Instagram doesn’t send a notification or an alert to that person.
There is another thing that is worth noting about Instagram. If you don’t want to save Instagram content, the app provides you with a bookmarking feature. Using this feature, you can save your favorite posts without filling up your phone’s memory. The bookmarked posts can be accessed later from a special section available on the Instagram App.
In order to save a post via bookmark feature, tap the bookmark button present at the bottom right corner of each Instagram post (photos and videos both).
When you want to revisit the posts you have bookmarked, go to Instagram App and tap on the three-bar icon on the top-right. Now, you need to select ‘Saved item’. Here, you can not only go through your already saved items but also create the new collections by using the plus button.
Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a story?
Since we have already solved the mystery of whether Instagram notifies when you screenshot a post, let’s talk about taking screenshots of Instagram stories. As mentioned before, people most frequently take screenshots of Instagram stories because stories disappear after twenty-four hours.
In 2021, Instagram experimented a bit with screenshot notifications and started sending alerts to the users when someone screenshotted their stories. However, the feature was dropped shortly after it was introduced. That being said, it is advised that you should keep an eye on the changing features of Instagram. We never know when Instagram decides to put down its ‘no notification’ policy for screenshots and this feature returns in the future.
Instagram DMs – An exception
Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a post? No.
Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a story? No.
However, Instagram does send a notification to the sender if you take a screenshot of private messages, known as Instagram DMs. However, this only happens in the case of disappearing messages. Just like Instagram stories, you can send photos and videos that will expire after twenty-four hours once sent in a private message to an individual or a group. The delivery status of the message will read ‘screenshot’ instead of ‘opened’ or ‘delivered’.
That being said, if someone takes a screenshot of non-expiring conversation, then there is no way Instagram will send a notification to the user(s). No notifications are sent if regular chats or images are being screenshotted.
Screen Recording – A way out
Although Instagram doesn’t notify the users when their stories or posts are being screenshotted, there exist some people who still want to remain cautious of being caught. For such folks, screen recording is definitely a way out. If you talk to people, you would find that many people are already using this feature which obviously doesn’t belong to the Instagram.
Screen recording perfectly works with the disappearing Instagram DMs as well. You can also say that this is a loophole for capturing personal stories on Instagram in the most secret manner. You simply have to go to the screen recording feature of your cell phone and then start recording the story, post or disappearing DM. Once the recording is done, you can take screenshots from that recording.
That being said, Instagram may fix this loophole in the future but as of now, this option is perfectly usable.
Conclusion
We hope your question of ‘does Instagram notify when you screenshot a post?’ has been answered by reading this article. However, you have to keep in mind that if someone takes a screenshot of your posts or stories, Instagram will not notify you either. Therefore, it’s important to ensure your safety and privacy first by enabling different privacy and security options Instagram offers to the users.
