Instagram Direct Warns You If Someone Screenshots an Exchange

Whenever someone sends a temporary message via Instagram Direct, chances are good that they don’t want the message to be recorded forever. For those who circumvent this feature by screenshotting said temporary message, you might want to know that Instagram is testing out a feature that will alert its users should you decide to screenshot the message sent through Instagram Direct.

The way the system works will be familiar to anyone who’ve used Snapchat recently. Whenever the app detects that someone has taken a screenshot of a temporary direct message done on Instagram Direct, the app will send out a notification of the screenshot being taken to the other parties in the exchange.

Instagram now notifies if someone takes a screenshot. Be careful @silverbtf pic.twitter.com/n4olOvKg0L

— Travis (@travlim) November 24, 2016

This notification system only applies to temporary direct messages, so those who wish to take screenshots of a user’s public Instagram account will not be flagged (although it still is creepy to do so).

As the notification system is still in its testing stages, the feature can only be found on selected iOS versions of the Instagram app. The feature will be made available on Android devices once the notification system goes live.

Source: The Verge