How to enable notifications on Instagram

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Keeping up to date with the latest activities of your followers is essential if you are an avid Instagram user. Maybe you don’t want to miss your friend’s new post or request for a new follower. If you are looking for ways to enable notifications on Instagram, you have come to the right place.

In this article we tell you everything you need to know. Plus, we’ll give you instructions on how to receive notifications when someone posts or makes a new post on Instagram, and much more.

How to enable notifications on Instagram on an iPhone

Let’s say you’re a passionate Instagram user or you have a business to promote. In that case, you may want to receive notifications from Instagram that will provide you with updates on your followers’ activities.

By default, Instagram will notify you when there is an activity that involves you. But you can further filter the type of content you want to receive notifications about or filter out content that doesn’t seem important to you.

Here we explain how to enable notifications on Instagram on your iPhone:

1. Launch the Instagram app on your iPhone.
   
2. Open the Instagram menu. Tap the three horizontal bars in the top right corner of the screen.
   
3. Go to the “Settings” tab and open “Notifications.”
   
4. Make sure the “Pause All” toggle button is disabled.
   
5. You can then adjust your notifications for specific activities such as:
   • Posts, stories and comments
     
   • Following and Followers
   • Direct messages
   • Live and IGTV
   • From Instagram
   • Email and SMS
6. To enable the specific notifications listed above, simply click on that section and make sure the toggle button for them is enabled.

How to enable notifications on Instagram on an Android device

In this section, we will provide you with detailed instructions on how to enable notifications on Instagram if you are an Android user. The steps you must follow are quite simple. Now you no longer have to worry about missing an important story or a comment from your followers.

Here’s how to enable notifications on Instagram on your Android device:

1. Launch the Instagram app on your phone.
   
2. Open the Instagram menu.
3. Tap your profile photo in the bottom right corner.
   
4. Tap the three horizontal bars in the upper right corner of the screen.
   
5. Go to the “Settings” tab and open the “Notifications” section.
   
6. You will now enter the “Push Notifications” menu. If you didn’t receive any notifications before, check if the “Pause All” toggle button is enabled. To receive notifications from Instagram, you must disable this button.
   
7. You will now be able to enable notifications for specific areas such as:
   • Posts, stories and comments
     
   • Following and Followers
   • Direct messages
   • Live and video
   • Fundraising
   • From Instagram
   • Other types of notifications
   • Email and SMS
   • Shopping
8. Open each of these sections to enable the notifications you want. Simply tap the circle next to the “On” option for specific actions you want to receive alerts for. For example, if you go to Notifications > Following and Followers > New Followers > On, you will receive notifications every time you get a new follower on Instagram.
   

How to enable notifications on Instagram on PC

Enabling notifications on Instagram on your PC is a relatively simple process that will not take more than a minute to complete. You may find it easier to navigate on your PC through the app settings due to a larger interface. Simply follow these steps to manage notifications on Instagram:

1. Log in to your Instagram account on PC.
   
2. Click on your avatar in the right corner of the Instagram menu at the top.
   
3. Click on the “Settings” section to open it.
   
4. You will now see a Settings menu on the left. Navigate to the “Push Notifications” section and click to open it.
   
5. If you didn’t receive any notifications from Instagram, it could be because they are disabled. Make sure to turn them on to “From people I follow” or “From everyone” for each of the sections you want to receive notifications for.
   

You can enable notifications for the following categories: Likes, comments, Comment likes, Likes and comments on photos of you, Accepted follow requests, Instagram Direct requests, Instagram Direct, Reminders, First posts and stories, View counts IGTV, support requests, and live videos.

How to receive notifications on Instagram when someone goes active

Live streaming has become a popular way to interact with the audience for most Instagram users today. Whether your friend is updating everyone on the latest happenings in his life or your favorite singer is having a Q&A session, you won’t want to miss any of these broadcasts.

The good news is that Instagram has live video notifications turned on for all users by default. This also means that there is no way to selectively turn them on and off for specific users. You can receive notifications from everyone or turn them off in your Notifications settings.

If you don’t receive live notifications, make sure they are turned on. Here’s how to check it:

1. Log in to your Instagram account and click on your avatar in the bottom toolbar to open the menu.
   
2. Go to the “Settings” page.
   
3. Select the “Notifications” section.
   
4. Once inside, check these two things:
   • Is the “Pause All” toggle disabled?
   • Is the “Live Videos” section in “Live & Video” set to “On”?
5. If the answer to the above two questions is no, make sure to disable the Pause All button and turn on notifications for the “Live & Video” section.
   

You should now receive notifications about users posting to Instagram.

How to receive notifications on Instagram when someone posts

When scrolling through your Instagram feed, you may notice that posts are not arranged in chronological order. This is because Insta uses special algorithms to show you relevant content that will surely interest you.

This method has brought a lot of success to the platform as users continue to scroll and engage. As interesting as this engagement method may seem, sometimes you end up missing out on posts from users you’d like to see updates from. That’s when enabling notifications for specific users comes into play.

If you want to be notified every time a specific person posts, here’s what you do:

1. When you see a post from that person in your News Feed, tap their username.
   
2. Play the bell icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
   
3. From the pop-up menu, select the notifications you want to activate.
   

Now you will receive an alert on your phone every time that person uploads a new post.

Another way to enable notifications for a specific user is through their profile page:

1. Go to Instagram search and type the username of the person you want to receive notifications from.
   
2. Once in your profile, click on the bell icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
   
3. In the options menu, select the notifications you want to activate.
   

You have now enabled notifications for a specific user and Instagram will send them alerts every time they post something new.

If you want to receive notifications from multiple users, you will need to repeat these steps for each person inpidually. The same goes for turning off notifications.

Note: You may receive a notification if a user posts after a long time, even if you didn’t specifically choose to receive alerts from that person.

Additional FAQs

Here are the answers to some burning questions to help you with this topic.

I turned on notifications but I still don’t receive them. What I can do?

Sometimes, you don’t receive notifications even if you have them enabled on your Instagram account. This can happen for a number of reasons, but don’t worry: we are here to help you find out what happened in your case.

Here are some reasons why you may not receive notifications:

• You have activated “Do Not Disturb” mode on your mobile device. This could be the case if you notice that you stop receiving notifications at a specific time of day. Maybe you forgot that you set the automatic “Do Not Disturb” mode at night, for example.

• Your phone’s notifications may be disabled. Make sure you have enabled notifications on your mobile device AND Instagram. Below, you will find steps on how to enable notifications for iPhone and Android users.

• You are in power saving mode. Another silly reason that happens more often than you think. If your phone is set to power saving mode, you will not receive push notifications from Instagram.

• Application with errors. Sometimes the app is not compatible with your device. This is especially true if you didn’t download it from the App Store. Make sure you download the Instagram app from the official Play or App store, but first uninstall the current one on your phone.

• The cache is full. If you have been using the app for too long, your cache may have become corrupted or there may be too much. Clear the cache from your phone’s Storage & Cache settings and log in to your Instagram account again.

Enable notifications for iPhone users

• Open the “Settings” page on your phone.

• Tap the “Notifications” section.

• Scroll down until you see “Instagram” in the list of apps.

• Open it.

• You will see a toggle button next to the “Push Notifications” section. It should be enabled (green).

If the toggle button is disabled (gray), you won’t receive notifications on your iPhone even if you have them enabled on your Instagram device.

Enable notifications for Android users

• Go to the Android settings page.

• Tap the “Applications” section.

• Look through your list of apps until you find Instagram. Open it.

• Tap the “Notifications” bar.

• Make sure “Show notifications” is enabled (blue). Here you can also adjust notifications by categories: comments, comment likes, Instagram Direct, and more. Just make sure the notifications you were missing are enabled now.

Why should I turn on my notifications?

As we mentioned above, Instagram is a great place to stay up to date with the latest trends, friend updates, celebrity news, and much more. However, due to its specific algorithmic newsfeed system, it is often possible to miss an important update. Let’s say your high school friend just got married, but you haven’t texted him in a while. This post can easily get buried in the mass of irrelevant content that Instagram chooses to serve you. That’s why you should turn on notifications to receive updates from important people.

How to adjust your Insta notifications

Enabling Instagram notifications allows you to stay up to date with the evolving app and your followers’ activities. Managing Instagram notification settings may seem a little complicated at first, but it’s really worth it.

Now you know how to enable notifications on Instagram on your phone or PC. You can also resolve the issue of not receiving notifications after turning them on, as well as enable notifications for specific users.