How to Turn On Instagram Notifications

Missing a friend’s big announcement or your favorite artist’s surprise Live video is frustrating. Controlling your Instagram notifications puts you back in the driver's seat, letting you decide what updates you get and when. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from enabling alerts for a single account to adjusting the master settings on your phone so you never miss a post that matters to you again.

Why Instagram Notifications Matter (For Everyone)

For most of us, notifications are about connection. You want to see your niece’s first steps, congratulate a friend on their new job, or be the first to know when your favorite band announces tour dates. Getting a timely ping means you’re part of the moment, not catching up on it hours later.

For creators, marketers, and business owners, notifications are also a powerful business tool. When your followers have notifications turned on for your account, it signals a deeper level of interest. It means your content gets seen immediately, driving instant engagement - likes, comments, and shares - which gives the Instagram algorithm an incentive to show your post to more people. It’s a direct line to your most loyal audience, perfect for launching a product, announcing a sale, or sharing time-sensitive news.

The Essentials: Turning On Notifications for Specific Accounts

Let's start with the most common reason people want notifications: to keep up with a few specific accounts. Maybe it's your best friend, a family member, or a content creator whose work you can't get enough of. Instagram makes this incredibly simple with its "bell" icon feature.

Follow these steps to get alerts for a specific person or brand:

1. Navigate to the Instagram profile you want to follow closely.
2. In the top right corner, next to the "Following" button, you’ll see a bell icon (🔔). Tap it.
3. A menu will pop up with toggles for different types of content.

Here’s what each option means:

• Posts: This will send you a push notification every time this account shares a new photo or video to their main feed. This is the classic, most-used notification setting.
• Stories: By enabling this, you’ll get an alert whenever this user posts a new Story. Since Stories disappear after 24 hours, this is a great way to make sure you don't miss them.
• Reels: If you're a fan of someone's short-form video content, toggle this on to be notified about their latest Reels.
• Live: This option has a few settings inside it. Tapping on "Live photos and videos" gives you choices:
  • Get All Notifications: You’ll be alerted every time this account starts a Live broadcast.
  • Get Some Notifications: Instagram will occasionally notify you based on your past engagement with their Live videos. It's less reliable if you absolutely don't want to miss a broadcast.
  • Turn Off Notifications: This will disable all live video notifications from this specific account, even if you have other notifications from them turned on.

Repeat this process for every account you want to stay updated on. It’s a fast and targeted way to curate your experience without getting bombarded by alerts from every account you follow.

Dive Deeper: Managing All Notifications inside the Instagram App

If you feel like your notifications are out of control - either too many or too few - the main settings within the Instagram app are your next stop. This control panel lets you set global rules for how the app communicates with you.

Here’s how to access your app-wide notification settings:

1. Go to your profile page by tapping your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap the three-line "hamburger" menu (☰) in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Settings and Privacy."
4. Tap on "Notifications."

You’re now looking at Instagram’s notification command center. Let's break down the most important sections.

Pause All

Right at the top, you’ll see a "Pause All" toggle. This is your digital "Do Not Disturb" button for Instagram. If you're heading into a meeting, seeing a movie, or just need a break from social media, you can use this to temporarily mute all push notifications. You can choose to pause them for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 8 hours.

Posts, Stories and comments

This is where you manage notifications related to interactions with your own content. You can fine-tune alerts for:

• Likes: Get notified when people like your posts. You can set this to "Off," "From People I Follow," or "From Everyone." If you have a large account, setting this to "From People I Follow" can help cut down on the noise.
• Likes and comments on photos of you: This controls notifications for posts you're tagged in.
• Comments: Get alerts when someone comments on your post. Like the "Likes" setting, this can be customized.
• Comment Likes and Pins: Get notified when someone likes or pins a comment you made.
• First Posts and Stories: Get a notification when someone you follow shares their first-ever post or Story. This is more of a quiet, "nice to know" feature.

Following and followers

These settings are all about your social graph connections. You can get notified for:

• New Followers: Get an alert every time someone follows you. This can be exciting for growing accounts but might become overwhelming over time.
• Accepted Follow Requests: If your account is private, you’ll get a notification when someone accepts your follow request.

Messages

This section is vital for anyone who uses Instagram for communication. You can turn on or off notifications for:

• Message Requests: Alerts for DMs from people you don't follow.
• Messages (from individual and group chats): Standard notifications for new DMs from people you do follow.

For brands and creators, keeping these notifications on is non-negotiable for providing timely customer service and engaging with their community.

The Ultimate Control: Adjusting Your Phone's System Settings

This is often the step people miss. If you’ve enabled notifications in the Instagram app but still aren’t receiving any, the problem is most likely in your phone’s system-level settings. Your phone's settings are the master switch, they can override any settings you’ve configured inside the app.

How to Turn On Instagram Notifications on an iPhone (iOS)

Apple keeps notification settings highly organized. Here’s how to check them for Instagram:

1. Open your iPhone’s main Settings app (the gray gear icon).
2. Scroll down until you find the alphabetical list of your apps and tap on Instagram.
3. Toward the top, tap on "Notifications."
4. Make sure the top toggle, "Allow Notifications," is switched on (green).

Once enabled, you can customize how you receive these alerts:

• Alerts Style: You can choose where the notifications appear - on your Lock Screen, in the Notification Center (when you swipe down), or as Banners that pop up at the top of your screen while you're using your phone. We recommend keeping all three checked for maximum visibility.
• Sounds and Badges: The "Sounds" toggle enables the audible ping for a notification, while "Badges" enables the small red circle with a number that appears on the app icon, letting you know how many unread notifications you have.

How to Turn On Instagram Notifications on an Android

Android's settings can vary slightly depending on your phone's manufacturer (e.g., Samsung, Google Pixel, etc.), but the general path is very similar.

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Tap on "Apps", "Apps & Notifications", or "Applications."
3. Find Instagram in the list of your installed apps and tap on it.
4. Tap on "Notifications" from the app info screen.
5. Ensure that the master toggle at the top, usually labeled "All Instagram notifications," is turned on.

Android often gives you even more granular control right from this menu. You can typically see a list of notification "channels" like Direct Messages, Comments, Likes, etc., and you can turn each category on or off from the system level.

Troubleshooting: Still No Notifications? Try These Fixes.

If you've checked your in-app settings and your phone’s system settings, but the notifications remain silent, one of these common issues might be the culprit.

• Check Focus or Do Not Disturb Mode: Both iOS (Focus) and Android (Do Not Disturb) have modes that silence all notifications. Make sure you don't have one of these enabled by mistake. On an iPhone, you can check this in your Control Center.
• Disable Low Power Mode: To save battery, Low Power Mode on iOS and Battery Saver on Android can sometimes prevent apps from sending push notifications or fetching new data in the background. Temporarily disable it to see if your notifications return.
• Clear the App Cache (Android): Sometimes, an app's cache of temporary files can get corrupted. On Android, you can go to Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage & cache, and tap "Clear Cache." (Note: Do not tap "Clear Data," as this may log you out and reset your settings).
• Update the Instagram App: An outdated version of the app might have bugs affecting notifications. Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) and make sure you have the latest version of Instagram installed.
• The Classic Reboot: It sounds simple, but restarting your phone can often fix strange software glitches that prevent notifications from working correctly.

Final Thoughts

Getting your Instagram notifications set up correctly is about making the app work for you. Whether you want to see every update from your favorite accounts or prefer a more silent experience with just a few key alerts, the controls are all there once you know where to look. By mastering both the in-app settings and your phone’s system permissions, you can create a notification experience that keeps you connected without overwhelming you.

For brands and creators, managing notifications is only half the battle. Once your audience starts engaging, the flood of comments and DMs can be impossible to handle through the native app. We built Postbase to solve this chaos. Our unified inbox brings all your conversations from Instagram, TikTok, and more into one clean, manageable stream, so you can reply to everyone and keep your community engaged without constantly switching between apps.