- You can take a screenshot of most content on Instagram without the person who posted the media getting a notification.
- Disappearing photos and videos in Instagram direct messages are the lone exception; their sender will be notified if you screenshot these types of messages or images.
- Instagram has changed their screenshot notification procedures in the past and may well change them again, so make sure to check on screenshot notification policy from time to time.
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There are a handful of good reasons to take a screenshot of Instagram content.
Maybe you want to have immediate access to that awesome snap from your friend’s birthday so you save a shot to your phone. Maybe you want to save a recipe posted by @marthastewart. Or maybe want to have a record of a disappearing photo or video you received via Instagram direc message, so you go ahead and snap a screengrab of it.
In the first two cases, your action would have been completed in total anonymity; neither your friend nor Martha Stewart would get a notification that you had taken a screenshot of their media. In the third case, though, the other party in the DM chat will indeed get a screenshot notification from Instagram.
Instagram does not send notifications when you screenshot posts, stories, and most other content
At the time of this writing, Instagram does not send screenshot notifications when you take a screen snap of a person’s post or story, their list of followers, their home screen, or just about any other content on the app, including permanent direct message conversations.
While you are generally safe to screenshot away in perfect anonymity, note that Instagram used to send more screenshot notifications in the past (for stories, for instance) and may again change its screenshot policies in the future, so check in from time to time.
The lone exception: Instagram does send notifications when you screenshot a disappearing photo or video in a DM chat
If you want to preserve a disappearing video or photo someone sent you in a direct message conversation on Instagram, you'd better do so with a camera aimed at your phone screen.
Instagram will notify the other party if you screenshot a disappearing photo or video in a DM chat, so take the snap only if you're OK with the person knowing.