Tired of Instagram instantly loading hundreds of posts as soon as you open the app? The ‘Instants on Instagram’ feature, while meant for ensuring you never miss out on content from your favorite creators, can be overwhelming at times. If you’d prefer a more controlled viewing experience, you can easily turn off this feature. Let’s guide you through the process.
Before we dive into how to turn off ‘Instants’, it’s important to understand that this feature is different from ‘Auto-play Videos’. While ‘Instants’ loads posts automatically, ‘Auto-play Videos’ plays videos without sound. We’ll be focusing on turning off ‘Instants’ in this guide.
Adjusting Instagram’s Auto-Loading Settings on Mobile
Instagram’s mobile app is where the ‘Instants’ feature primarily operates. Let’s start by adjusting these settings on your mobile device.
Whether you’re using an iOS or Android device, the process is similar. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Disabling ‘Instants’ on iOS
1. Open the Instagram app and navigate to your profile.
2. Tap the three lines (☰) in the top-right corner, then select ‘Settings’.
3. Under ‘Settings’, tap ‘Account’.
4. Select ‘Mobile Data Usage’ or ‘Instagram Data Usage’ (depending on your version).
5. Toggle off ‘Instants’.
Disabling ‘Instants’ on Android
1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
2. Tap the three lines (☰) in the top-right corner, then select ‘Settings’.
3. Tap ‘Data Usage’.
4. Toggle off ‘Use Less Data’. Note that this action disables ‘Instants’.
Turning Off ‘Instants’ on Desktop
While the Instagram desktop interface doesn’t have the ‘Instants’ feature, it’s worth noting that you can prevent automatic page refreshes which could lead to similar behavior.
Here’s how you can do this:
Preventing Automatic Page Refreshes in Chrome
1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to Instagram’s website.
2. Right-click on the Instagram page and select ‘Inspect’. A side panel will open.
3. Go to the ‘Console’ tab. Then, type the following JavaScript code and press Enter:
document.body.style.setProperty(‘– backdrop-filter’, ‘none’);
4. Close the ‘Inspect’ panel. Instagram should now stop automatically refreshing.
Instagram should now respect your preferred loading pace, giving you a more personalized viewing experience. If you ever change your mind, remember these steps to revert your settings. Happy exploring!
