What are Instagram Notes and how to use them

Instagram often tweaks and adds new features to its platform. Notes are one of the more recent additions, and the jury is still out on whether they enhance the user experience. If you need some guidance, we explain what Instagram Notes are and how to use them below.

What are Instagram Notes

Instagram Notes are somewhat of a nod to yesteryear, at least in the world of Meta. They’re status updates, which, in a time of Insta stories and TikTok videos, have become relatively archaic in comparison. You can use Instagram Notes to share anything that’s on your mind. There is a 60-character limit, so whatever you want to say, keep it short. Meta’s Threads platform will be a better option if that’s too limiting and you need more characters in the bank.

Your followers can’t see your Instagram Notes in their feed, unlike reels and photographs. They’re not accessible through Stories either. Instead, they live above your DM list, and only people you mutually follow can see them.

Like Stories, Notes are only visible for 24 hours, after which they disappear. While they’re live, you can engage with Notes from people you follow by liking and responding, though sharing their Notes with other users is impossible.

How to get Instagram Notes

After a staggered rollout, Notes is now available worldwide. It’s integrated into the Instagram app, so as long as you have the latest software update, you should be able to access the feature. In recent updates, Instagram added the ability to blend music with your Notes. It’s an update only available in some regions (more on that shortly).

How to use Instagram Notes

Unless you’re a social media novice, using Notes should be as simple as using any other Instagram feature. At present, it’s a mobile-only feature, so you won’t be able to use Notes on your desktop. In case you need some support, below is a guide on getting going with Notes.

1. Open up Instagram and select the DMs icon.

2. Navigate to your profile photo at the top left above your DMs and select +.

3. In the Share a thought bubble, write what you want to say to your followers. (You can use both text and emojis.)
4. At the bottom of the screen, you can select who you want to share your Note with. This can either be followers you follow back or your Close Friends list.

5. Finally, select Share to publish your Note.

You can find Notes from others next to your profile photo in your DMs. If you wish to interact with them, tap on their Note. You can write a message response, tap back with an emoji, or combine the two. If they respond, the conversation will continue in the normal section of your DMs.

How to add music to your Instagram Notes

Some Instagram users can now combine music with Notes. It’s currently only available in select regions, with Instagram slowly rolling it out worldwide. If you’re lucky to access the latest iteration of Notes, below is how to add tracks and (hopefully) share your great taste in music.

1. Create a new Note and select the music icon below your profile photo.
2. Browse the list of available songs and tap on the track you wish to use.
3. Scroll across the running track to choose which section of the song you want to share.
4. Finally, press Done and then Share.

Can you turn off Instagram Notes?

It’s impossible to completely disable Notes, though there is a workaround. If you long-press on a profile photo in the Notes section, a pop-up menu will appear. Finally, select Mute notes to hide a specific user’s Notes from view.

If you don’t want to see any Notes, you’ll have to follow the same process for each of your followers. How long that will take depends on how popular you are.

A note on Notes

In a post on X.com (formerly Twitter), Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said the feature was mainly popular with teens. If you’re not in that demographic but would like a status update/microblogging vibe, you do have options. Aside from X, Mastodon is a great open-source microblogging site, as is Bluesky Social. However, the latter has a very slow rollout and is only available via an invitation code.

Notes are a fun way to provide bitesize updates to your followers. We like the feature, yet it’s hardly a power move when we look at the platform’s constant battle with rival TikTok. But it does have enough to it for us to recommend giving it a try to see what you think.