Instagram notifications disturbing you? Try quiet mode

20 Jan 2023

Image: © chriskuddl/zweisam/Stock.adobe.com

Meta has a new quiet mode feature on Instagram to ‘encourage people to set boundaries with friends and followers’.

Instagram has launched a new Quiet mode feature that it says will help users focus on other tasks and manage their time better.

Primarily directed at teens but available to everyone, Quiet mode turns off notifications on Instagram and sends auto-replies to anyone who texts while the feature is activated.

The activity status on a user’s profile will also be changed to In quiet mode when enabled, which the company says will “encourage people to set boundaries with friends and followers”.

Screenshot showing quiet mode on Instagram with a notification that is telling the user the mode has been activated and will be on from 10pm to 7am.

Quiet mode notification. Image: Meta

“Teens have told us that they sometimes want to take time for themselves and might be looking for more ways to focus at night, while studying, and during school,” Instagram wrote in the announcement yesterday (19 January).

“You can easily customise your quiet mode hours to fit your schedule and once the feature is turned off, we’ll show you a quick summary of notifications so you can catch up on what you missed.”

The Meta-owned company said that while people of all ages can use the quite mode feature, teens will be prompted to do so when they spend a specific amount of time on Instagram late at night.

The feature has been rolled out in Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Instagram hopes to be able to bring it to more countries soon.

Meta has faced criticism from regulators and whistleblowers such as Frances Haugen about how its platforms affect teenagers’ mental health.

When Haugen filed complaints to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021, she alleged that Facebook misled investors and the public about its role in “perpetuating misinformation” and its effects on teens and mental health.

Just last week, Meta said that Facebook and Instagram will no longer allow advertisers to know the gender of teenagers their ads are targeting in a bid to make social media safer and more meaningful for teenagers.

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Vish Gain is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com