The ability to view Instagram direct messages discreetly, without triggering the “seen” receipt, offers a degree of privacy. This functionality involves techniques that prevent the sender from knowing that their message has been read. For instance, enabling airplane mode before opening the message and then closing the app before disabling airplane mode can achieve this. This prevents the app from signaling the message as read.
The importance of such methods stems from a desire to control communication and manage expectations. Individuals may wish to review messages without feeling obligated to respond immediately. This is beneficial in both personal and professional contexts where immediate replies may not be feasible or desired. Historically, the development of read receipts in messaging applications has created a social pressure to respond promptly; methods to bypass these receipts offer a way to mitigate this pressure.