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Instagram's Quiet Mode: What Is It and How to Turn it On

When you want to take a break but don't want your friends to worry.

Dan Avery Former Writer
Dan was a writer on CNET's How-To and Thought Leadership teams. His byline has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, NBC News, Architectural Digest and elsewhere. He is a crossword junkie and is interested in the intersection of tech and marginalized communities.
Expertise Personal finance, government and policy, consumer affairs
Dan Avery
2 min read
Instagram quiet mode

If they're on Instagram late at night, teenagers will be prompted to turn on Quiet Mode.

Meta

Instagram has launched Quiet Mode, which updates your activity status, pauses notifications and sends an autoreply when someone DMs you.

The feature is available to all Instagram users in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. (Meta, the platform's parent company, said it hopes to launch it in more countries "soon.")

The goal of Quiet Mode, according to a statement from Meta, is "to help people focus and to encourage people to set boundaries with their friends and followers." 
Read On: Instagram's Next Redesign Aims to Simplify Navigation

How to turn on Instagram Quiet Mode 

Step 1
Go to the  Instagram settings tab and click on notifications.

Step 2
Click on Quiet Mode
Step 3
Push the Quiet Mode slider to the right. Your notifications will be paused and your status and autoreply will both say "In Quiet Mode."
Step 4
Choose how long you want Quiet Mode on. You can set it to turn on automatically and stay on for up to 12 hours.

What happens when I turn on Quiet Mode?

When you turn on Quiet Mode, notifications will be paused, your profile's activity status will change to "Quiet Mode" and any DMs you receive will get an autoreply.

Once the feature is turned off, you'll get a brief summary of notifications you missed.

Who is Quiet Mode for?

Anyone who wants their contacts to know they've paused notifications can use Quiet Mode, though Meta has made it clear the feature is targeted at young users, who increasingly use Instagram as a messaging tool.

"Teens have told us that they sometimes want to take time for themselves and might be looking for more ways to focus at night, while studying and during school," Meta said in its statement. 
Teenagers will be prompted to turn on Quiet Mode when they spend a specific amount of time on Instagram late at night, the company added.