How to Pin a Chat in Instagram

Swipe left on the conversation to find the Pin option

By
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Writer
  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University
Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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Published on May 3, 2024
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What to Know

  • Pin a chat by swiping to the left on the chat thread and tapping Pin.
  • Unpin by following the same and tapping Unpin.
  • You can pin up to three single or group chats at any time.

This article teaches you how to pin a chat on Instagram; it also looks at the limitations involved in doing so. Instructions apply to both Android and iOS versions of the Instagram app. You can’t pin a chat on the desktop version.

How to Pin an Instagram Chat

You can pin a private or group chat in the Instagram app to the top of your messages to make it quick and easy to find. Here’s how to pin chats in the Instagram app.

  1. In the Instagram app, tap Messages on the top right hand corner.

  2. Swipe to the left on the chat thread that you want to pin to the top of your list.

  3. Tap Pin.

    The Messages icon, swiping left, and the Pin option in the Instagram app

  4. The chat will now move to the top of your message list and have an icon of a pin next to it.

How to Unpin a Chat on Instagram

If you’ve changed your mind and want to unpin a chat from the top of your message list, here’s what to do.

  1. On the Instagram app, tap Messages in the top right hand corner.

  2. Swipe left on a pinned conversation.

  3. Tap Unpin.

    Unpinning a conversation in the Instagram app by swiping left and selecting Unpin

  4. The chat will now return to its chronological order on the message list.

What Else Do I Need To Know about Instagram Pinned Chats?

‌Pinning messages to the top of your Instagram inbox is very useful if you have many chats to juggle. It means no need to dig around for important threads. However, you should consider these limitations before using the feature:

  • You can pin up to three chats. It’s possible to pin three chats to the top of your inbox; that includes both group chats as well as individual ones.
  • Pinned chats appear in order of pinning. Rather than going chronologically, once you pin more than one chat, the messages appear according to when you pinned them.
  • Only personal accounts can pin. If you’re running a business Instagram account, you can’t pin chats to the top of your inbox. The feature is only available for personal Instagram accounts.
  • Notifications remain the same. If you have push notifications set up, you’ll receive the same notifications for pinned messages as you would with any other message. They’re not prioritized.
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