Instagram Live has grown in popularity as a tool for people, brands, and influencers to communicate with their followers in real time. With the chat option, viewers can engage with you while you’re giving a tutorial, conducting a Q&A session, or just having a live conversation. Sometimes, though, you might wish to keep the discussion hidden in order to reduce distractions or preserve privacy. We’ll walk you through how to hide chat on Instagram Live in 2024 in this article.
KEYPOINT: Begin your Instagram Live session first. After going live, tap the screen once and hold it down until the “Hide Comments” menu appears. Your comment section will disappear when you tap it. To restore the comments, simply swipe left on the corresponding comment box.
Why Is Instagram Live Chat Hidden?
During a live session, hiding the chat can be advantageous for a number of reasons:
- Reduce Distractions: Especially when they scroll quickly, chat messages can occasionally be distracting. You may concentrate more on your content and engagement by hiding the discussion.
- Improve Your Privacy: If you’re discussing sensitive topics or simply prefer to keep your live session more private, hiding the chat can help maintain confidentiality.
- Highlight Content: Hiding the chat can draw more attention to the main content of your live stream, such as your presentation or demonstration.
How to Turn Off Instagram Live Chat
Here’s how to conceal the chat during an Instagram Live session, step-by-step:
- To begin a live video, launch the Instagram app on your smartphone and find your way to the camera screen. To access the camera, swipe right or tap on your profile image in the upper left corner. Next, select the “Start Live Video” button by swiping to the “Live” mode.
- Access Live Settings: After your live video has begun, the screen will display a number of options, one of which is the chat box located at the bottom. If the options are hidden, tap anywhere on the screen to make them visible. Then, to access the Live settings, hit the three dots (…) in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Hide Chat: In the Live settings menu, you’ll see a list of options. Look for the “Chat Settings” or “Comments” option, and tap on it. This will open a submenu where you can control the visibility of chat during your live session.
- Toggle Off Chat: Inside the Chat Settings submenu, you’ll find an option to toggle the chat on or off. Simply tap on the toggle switch to turn off the chat. Once it’s turned off, the chat box will disappear from the screen, and viewers will no longer be able to send messages.
- Continue Your Live Session: With the chat hidden, you can now focus on delivering your content or engaging with your audience without distractions. Continue your live session as usual.
- Re-enable Chat (Optional): If you want to re-enable the chat at any point during your live session, simply repeat the steps above and toggle the chat back on.
Extra Advice
- Communicate Orally: When the chat is hidden, viewers cannot send messages, therefore think about responding orally to queries or remarks from your audience.
- Engage Using Other Features: To promote conversation even while the chat is hidden, make use of features like polls, quizzes, and stickers.
- Test Before Going Live: Test the chat feature beforehand to become comfortable with how to hide and unhide it. This will enable you to run your live sessions more smoothly.
You can take more control over your live experience by hiding the conversation during your Instagram Live sessions with ease by following these instructions. Hide the chat to make your live stream more focused and interesting, whether your goal is to increase privacy or reduce distractions.