What is vanish mode on Instagram?

1. Tap Messages and open the conversation in the Instagram app on your phone or tablet.
2. From the chat, swipe up to turn on vanish mode.
3. To turn vanish mode off, swipe up in the chat again.

A swipe is all it takes, so check whether vanish mode is on before you send anything you want to keep, such as an address or a booking time. Instagram’s Help Center says you’ll get a notification if someone sends you a message in vanish mode, and also if they send a new message outside it.

• Messages, photos, videos and other content sent in vanish mode disappear when someone leaves the chat or turns vanish mode off.
• Earlier messages in the conversation aren’t affected. Only what’s sent while vanish mode is on disappears.
• You can’t copy, save or forward disappearing messages, and you can only use vanish mode in a chat with another Instagram account.
• Someone can take a screenshot or screen recording of a vanish mode message before it disappears. Instagram says you’ll receive a notification if it detects a screenshot.
• Nothing stops someone photographing the screen with a camera or another device, so treat vanish mode as tidy, not secret.
• Accounts you haven’t connected with before can’t send you message requests in vanish mode, and certain professional accounts can’t receive messages in vanish mode.

It’s also different from the “View once” option for a disappearing photo or video. Instagram’s Help Center says you pick View once, View twice or Unlimited views before sending one photo or video, while vanish mode covers everything sent in the conversation until it’s turned off.

For a shop or a service, vanish mode mostly leaves gaps in the record. If a customer sends an address, an order number or a payment reference in vanish mode, it disappears when someone leaves the chat or turns vanish mode off, and you can’t copy, save or forward it, so write down what you need first. Instagram says it sends a notification when it detects a screenshot of a vanish mode message, so a screenshot of a customer’s details may be flagged to them. Copying the details into your order system by hand is the calmer option.

When something needs a lasting record, such as an agreed price, a refund or a booking time, ask the customer to switch vanish mode off and confirm it in the normal chat, where the message stays in the history for both of you.