minulo is an iPhone app that opens Instagram with only your DMs, hiding Reels, Explore and the feed, and hiding is free. Without it, the quickest official route is to tap an Instagram message notification, which Apple's guide says opens that chat directly. (I'm the developer of minulo.)
Instagram has no setting that makes the app open on your messages. You tap the icon, the feed loads, and Reels is one tap away, even if all you wanted was to answer a group chat. iPhone has a few shortcuts that get you into a chat faster, and this post goes through each one with what it can and can't do. In minulo, the setting that hides everything except DMs is free.
The iPhone parts are based on Apple's iPhone User Guide and the notification settings on Instagram Help. Where neither says anything, I say so. Menu names can change with app updates.
The options side by side
| Shortcut | Gets you to DMs | Feed and Reels | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap a message notification | Opens that chat | Still in the app | Only when a message arrives and notifications are on |
| Touch and hold the Instagram icon | Only if the menu has a messages item | Still in the app | Instagram decides the items. I couldn't confirm the current list |
| Touch and hold a notification on the Lock Screen | Quick actions, if the app offers them | Not opened | I couldn't confirm that Instagram offers a reply there |
| Messages-only notifications (Instagram settings) | The alerts you tap are DMs | Still in the app | No single switch. You turn off the other types one by one |
| minulo with Every tab but DMs | Only DMs and the notifications tab are left | Hidden | Free. Only inside minulo |
1. Tap a message notification
Apple's guide says that tapping a notification opens the app it came from. For an Instagram message, that means the chat itself. Dexerto's guide describes the same thing: tap the notification for a new message and you are in the conversation.
This is the most reliable of the four, but it only works when someone has just written to you.
2. Touch and hold the Instagram icon
On the Home Screen, touching and holding an app opens its Quick Actions menu. Each app decides what goes in it. Apple uses Camera and Maps as examples.
I couldn't find a list of Instagram's quick actions in Instagram's help, and older articles disagree. VentureBeat reported a direct message shortcut in 2015. A Gadget Hacks guide lists Switch Accounts, Camera, New Post and View Activity, with no messages item. So the honest answer is: try it on your own iPhone. If there is a messages item, it is the quickest way in. If there isn't, this trick doesn't apply to you.
If you hold too long, the icons start to jiggle. Let go a little sooner and try again.
3. Reply from the Lock Screen
Apple's guide says that touching and holding a notification shows it with quick actions, if the app offers them. Whether Instagram puts a reply box there, I couldn't confirm in Instagram's help or in Apple's guide.
Next time a DM notification comes in, touch and hold it. If a reply option appears, you can answer without opening Instagram at all. If not, tap the notification and it opens the chat.
4. Get notifications only for messages
Instagram has no single "messages only" switch. Go to your profile › Menu › Notifications, and below Pause push notifications, open each kind of notification that isn't about messages and turn it off. Leave messages on, and keep Instagram allowed in iPhone Settings › Notifications.
After that, the alerts you tap are DMs, so shortcut 1 covers more of your day.
What the shortcuts don't fix
All four get you into a chat faster, but none of them changes what is around it. Leave the chat and you are in the normal app with the home feed, Explore and Reels. Two of them also need someone to message you first.
As the developer: opening Instagram with only DMs in minulo
I'm Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo, so weigh this section with that in mind. minulo opens Instagram's website inside the app and hides the parts you pick.
- Install minulo, open Instagram inside minulo and sign in on Instagram's own login page. minulo does not receive or store your password.
- Tap the gear next to Instagram and turn on Every tab but DMs. Reels, Explore, the home feed and suggested posts are hidden. DMs and the notifications tab stay.
- Optional: in the Block tab, lock the official Instagram app with Screen Time. Tapping the usual icon then shows a block screen, and Open in minulo takes you to your DMs.
Group chats work, because they are part of Instagram DMs. If you need the official app for something, Take a break opens it for the minutes you choose.
Limits
These are the things to know before you install it:
- The official Instagram app doesn't change. minulo can't modify other apps, so Reels are hidden only inside minulo.
- The free lock lasts up to 2 hours per block. Schedules by day and time, such as locking Instagram every night, are part of minulo Pro, along with longer blocks, Hard Mode and multiple block lists.
- No notifications while the official app is locked. Notifications come from the official Instagram app. If you leave it unlocked, they arrive as usual and you can reply in minulo. While minulo locks it, they don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own.
- iPhone and Mac only. There are Chrome and Safari extensions too, but no Android version.
- Posting Stories, voice messages and calls aren't available, because Instagram's website doesn't have them. minulo is also new and has few ratings so far.
Where to read more
The full table, sources and FAQ are on the original page:
How to open Instagram straight to your DMs on iPhone, without the feed
The notification steps in more detail: Instagram notifications for messages only. Everything minulo can't do: What minulo can't do.
minulo on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6809352229
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