You know how on Facebook Messenger, your friends can see how recently you've been active? And, even worse, they can see if and when you read (and ignored) their last message?
Well, Instagram has adopted the same feature in their Direct Message and Stories feature.
Which means you can no longer read a message and ignore it without your friend knowing that you shunned them.
THE HORROR!
Good news for your privacy, though. There IS a way to turn off the Active Status feature, and it only takes a few swipes and clicks.
First, go to your profile settings. That's the lower right icon when you're looking at your Instagram home screen.
Then, click on the settings icon (note: It looks like a gear on iPhone...I think it's just 3 vertical dots on an Android).
And finally, scroll down until you see the option for "Show Activity Status", which will be below your cellular data and payments options. Just toggle that to the left to turn it off
There, now you can happily ignore your friends and they'll be none the wiser. Happy Instagramming!