How to Turn Off Vanish Mode on Instagram in 2025

Instagram started to offer Vanish Mode in 2020 to compete with Snapchat. Vanish mode allows users to send text messages, photos, and emojis that disappear once viewed.

If you want to deactivate vanish mode, you must access the chat where the feature is active. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and release to do so.

Why Did Instagram Introduce Vanish Mode?

Vanish mode allows you to send so-called ‘disappearing messages.’ When you send messages and images in a direct conversation, they will disappear immediately after the other person sees them and closes the chat.

Messages cannot be recovered in vanish mode. You will also be notified if the other person screenshots the chat before closing it.

If you want to have a conversation on Instagram but do not want to leave a record of it, vanish mode can help you do that.

Reasons To Turn Off Vanish Mode

As much as vanish mode can erase secret or confidential conversations, it can also benefit you to turn the feature off. The following instances may warrant no vanish mode:

• Keeping track or evidence of a conversation

  If you have work-related conversations or even personal chats that you want to keep a record of, turn off the vanish mode first.

• Make conversation intentions clear

  Regular mode allows you and the other person to refer to a conversation on Instagram. This will help prevent misunderstandings.

• Stop hackers in their tracks

  Hackers often use vanish mode for cybercrimes.

• Children should use Instagram without vanish mode

  Ideally, you do not want to allow your kids to use Instagram in vanish mode. Regular mode will ensure you can keep track of their interactions with friends you do not know.

Three Steps To Turning Off Vanish Mode

While there is no option to turn off vanish mode permanently, there are three easy steps to follow to exit it when it is active.

• The first step is to open the Instagram app.

• The second step is to open an existing chat.

• Thirdly, swipe up from the bottom of a chat until you see the words “release to turn off vanish mode.”

You will exit vanish mode when you remove your finger from the screen.

What To Do If You Cannot Exit Vanish Mode

If you swipe up on your screen after sending a message and it does not work, you can try a few things.

The first thing you can do is close and reopen the app or log out and back in. If you still cannot exit vanish mode, clear your cache (if you are using the Instagram app on Android).

If none of these options work, uninstall the app and wait a few minutes. Reinstall it and see if you can exit vanish mode.

Lastly, you can ask Instagram support for assistance if you are still stuck in vanish mode.

Is Vanish Mode the Same as Unsending a Message?

Instagram also allows you to unsend messages. However, this feature is not the same as vanish mode. Unsending a message is something you must do manually.

When you send a DM on Instagram, you must press and hold it to unsend it. There will be no trace of the message anywhere, but the recipient will be notified that you have unsent the message.

With vanish mode, all messages are temporary. The messages will never reappear when you or the other person leaves the chat and closes it.

Can You See Disappearing Messages After Closing a Chat?

Generally speaking, you cannot see disappearing messages sent in vanish mode again after you close the chat.

But if you want to refer back to something in your ongoing conversation, you can preserve some of the messages by following these steps.

• Take a photo of the screen using another phone.

  If you do not want the other person to know you are taking a record of the conversation, do not take a screenshot. Instead, use another phone to take a photo of the chat. You can also use the camera on your laptop.

• Use the notifications bar.

  The Instagram notifications bar works much like WhatsApp pop-up notifications. This means you can scroll through the messages and screenshot them before physically entering the chat.

• Use email.

  You can also link your WhatsApp notifications to your email. Enabling this function means you will receive the messages in your inbox and on your phone.

If you use the screenshotting method, the other person will receive a notification, which may lead to them screenshotting the conversation as well.

If there is anything you do not want the other person to have a record of, the best thing to do is not to send the information in the first place.

What to Remember When Using Vanish Mode

You can only use the vanish feature in individual messages but not in group chats. Also, only the other person will know that you have turned on the vanish mode feature.

Moreover, you cannot enable vanish mode when you start a conversation with someone you are not connected with on Instagram, and you cannot send a message request in vanish mode. The only way to successfully activate or deactivate this feature is within an existing chat.

Another downside of using it is that you cannot send or receive disappearing messages if you have a business account. This also means you cannot create a chat with a business account in vanishing mode.

Furthermore, you cannot copy, forward, or save disappearing messages (hence the photographs and screenshots). Disappearing messages can only appear in their chat windows.

It is also important to remember that enabling vanish mode does not delete all your messages within a chat. When you turn on the feature, you will enter another chat screen. Your previous messages are not visible on this screen.

To Vanish or Not To Vanish

Ultimately, using Instagram’s vanish feature is your decision. The person you are chatting with will be notified either way. Screenshotting and taking photos of the message thread provide a convenient way of saving a copy of vanishing messages.

Again, prevention is better than cure. If you do not want certain information to get out, do not send it to anyone via Instagram.