Skip to Content

Instagram Gains Status Dots to Let You Know When Friends Are Online

by

Instagram today announced the launch of a new feature that's designed to let you know when your friends are active on the social network. When a friend is online, their profile picture will be accented with a green dot in various places within the app.

You'll see the green dot in the Direct inbox and in your friends list when you share a post from the feed. Dots will be displayed for friends who follow you or people you have previously spoken to in Direct.

instagramstatusdots
If desired, you can hide your own status and turn off the ability to see when your friends are active in the settings section of the Instagram app.

Instagram says this new update is meant to make it easier to connect with friends over direct messages for more realtime conversations. The dots are rolling out to Instagram users today.

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Instagram

Top Rated Comments

M
martyjmclean
99 months ago
How to turn off this?
It literally tells you in the article.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
riverfreak Avatar
riverfreak
99 months ago

...
Instagram says this new update is meant to make it easier to connect with friends over direct messages for more realtime conversations. The dots are rolling out to Instagram users today.
... (https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/19/instagram-online-status-indicator/)
Uh, right. No, it’s meant to increase user engagement and the opportunity for more ad placements by feeding a generalized sense of anxiety and FOMO.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
martyjmclean
99 months ago
I’ve had this all year. I turned it off though, they were annoying.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
thettareddast
99 months ago
imagine paying a cto, president of engineering, vp of engineering, a bunch of product managers and engineers to build and deliver..... a colored status indicator.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haruhiko Avatar
haruhiko
99 months ago
How to turn off this?

Edit: just found out that I have already turned off the 'feature', thanks.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

tim cook data privacy day

Tim Cook Warned by CIA That China Could Move on Taiwan by 2027

Tuesday February 24, 2026 4:03 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook was among a handful of top tech executives who attended a classified CIA briefing warning that China could attack Taiwan by 2027, according to a sweeping investigative report by The New York Times ($). The previously unreported briefing was apparently held in a secure room in Silicon Valley in July 2023. The meeting is said to have been arranged at the request of the...
Read Full Article • 159 comments
iphone fold text

iPhone Fold Crease Measurements Revealed as Device Hits Production

Wednesday February 25, 2026 5:37 am PST by
Apple has submitted production line orders for its upcoming foldable iPhone, effectively confirming that the device will launch this year, claims a Chinese leaker. According to the Weibo account "Fixed Focus Digital," assembly lines recently received the orders from Apple, which has apparently allowed the leaker to learn the crease measurements for the device's 7.8-inch inner display....
Read Full Article • 136 comments
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in...
Read Full Article • 137 comments