Instagram message request: not showing, seen, deleted

Instagram is not only a place for sharing photos and videos, you can also send direct messages to other users. In this article, we will explain how to send and receive direct messages from both people that you follow, and people that you don't.

How to send Instagram messages to people who don't follow you?

Instagram allows you to send direct messages to other users, whether they are your followers or not. Direct messages from users who follow you ( followers) are notified in the box marked with the origami airplane logo. Direct Messages (DM) from those who are not your followers, i.e. those contacts with whom you have never had any kind of communication, can be found in the message requests.

Similar to the Other Messages function of Facebook, Instagram's message requests also allows you to filter all incoming messages - especially useful for those who have a lot of followers and have a company account for example - so you can decide whether to reply or not.

Where to find message requests on Instagram?

To check if there are any pending message requests on your Instagram account you should follow these steps:

• Open the app, click on the airplane or chat icon, or swipe to the left from the home screen.

• Select Requests and select the message. You can either Delete or Accept the request. 

• You can set the message request notifications directly from the Instagram notification settings menu. However, it is always better to check the dedicated section periodically because sometimes the system, although set up for notifications, does not indicate when you get messages.

If you have received a message request, you can decide whether to reject it or accept it. When you open it, you can choose between Block, Delete or Accept options. The request may also be opened simply by holding down on it, for Android devices or by swapping on the chat for iPhone users.

There are a number of possible reasons for an Instagram message request disappearing. If you have received a message request that is not accepted or rejected for a period of more than 4 weeks they are automatically deleted from the platform. Not only that but this "mysterious disappearance" can also be attributed to the cancellation of the request by the sender themselves or the fact that the message sender has deactivated their account. 

What is the meaning of sent requests?

By sending messages, even to your followers, it is possible that the message with Request sent next to the contact in question will appear. Unlike what we've explained above, i.e. for sending messages to non-followers, this message appears because the recipient has a private profile. Go to Access Data > Unanswered Requests that you have sent to remove all pending requests.