Instagram adds a new Note feature in DMs, and there's no way to turn it off

• Instagram users started seeing a new Note feature on the direct message screen.
  
• The company has not officially announced the feature yet.
  
• Users have mixed reactions to the Note feature.
  

On Tuesday, Meta's short video and photo-sharing app Instagram surprised its users with a new Note feature. The feature is essentially a 60-character text that appears next to the user’s display pictures on top of the direct message (DMs) screen. It arrives with the latest update and is slowly rolled out to all users.

Instagram has not officially announced the addition of this feature yet, but some users first spotted it in July. However, the screenshots shared by those users look different from the current interface.


Instagram users have different views on it; some like it and are putting it to good use, while some just don't wish to have it on top of their DMs.

Here's how it looks-

In my case, I started seeing the Notes on Tuesday after an automatic over-the-air (OTA) update. So first, a few notes were visible, but later, many other users observed the newly updated interface.

The first posts were more like the people's reaction to this feature, and by day two, some started using it to share personal updates like "feeling great to meet mom after long", another travel influencer posted, "I am in Kolkata today." Then some are posting jokes and greetings. It also allows you to tap on it and reply to the Note to start a conversation.

Instagram users are drawing similarities with Facebook, BBM statuses and Twitter. While this does not take away anything from the user experience, its placement is a bit arguable. As mentioned, it's placed right on top of the messages screen, and it's fair to say that you can't ignore it even if you wish to.

Some friends reached out to me to find a way to disable it, but even after extensive digging, I did not find a way to do it. The only option, as of now, is to tap and hold the Note and then tap on the 'Mute notes' option. Remember that you'll have to do it individually for all notes. If you wish to unmute, you'll have to do it from that user's profile page.

Business Insider India has reached out to Instagram for more clarity on this feature’s roll-out plan and whether it is a final build or a beta. We will update the story with inputs.
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