What does Active today mean on Instagram, and how many hours is it?

On Instagram, Active today tells you that Instagram counts the last activity of the account as today. The label gives you the day, not the hour. It also doesn't mean that the person is online now. Instagram's help pages don't define the label, and they don't say how many hours it covers.

This guide explains where the label appears, what is unknown about its hours, and what it can't tell you. For the other labels, read what Active now and the other labels mean.

Where do you see "Active today", and who can see it?

You see Active today in Instagram messaging. According to Instagram's page on who's active, your inbox shows the most recent activity status of each person. Its examples that give a time are "Active 25m ago" and "Active yesterday". Active today appears in that line instead of a time.

The same page gives two conditions for this line:

• You follow the account, or you have a DM conversation with it. Instagram words the follow rule in more than one way, so the DM conversation is the safer link.
• You both have activity status on.

The rule works in both directions. Instagram's activity status page says that with your status off, you can't see anyone else's status. If you see no labels at all, check your own setting first. How to turn on activity status and check the other person's shows where the switch is.

How many hours does "Active today" cover?

Instagram doesn't say. Its help pages give no definition of Active today and no number of hours.

The hour ranges on other sites don't come from Instagram. Some sites say that Active today means 8 to 24 hours ago. Another site says that the hourly label, such as "Active 3h ago", stays for a full 24 hours. A Reddit user guessed that the hourly label stops after 7 hours. These claims don't agree with each other, and none of them cites Instagram.

Four things are not known:

• How many hours the label covers.
• Whether "today" means the calendar day or the last 24 hours. These are different: at 9 a.m., activity from 23 hours ago was yesterday on the calendar.
• Whose day Instagram uses when you and the other person live in different time zones.
• When the label changes to Active yesterday.

So read Active today only as this: Instagram counts the last activity of the account as today. Don't read an hour range into it.

Is "Active today" the same as Active now?

No. Active now means that Instagram counts the account as active at this moment. Instagram's 2018 launch post describes a green dot next to the profile picture of friends who are active. The activity status page shows a green dot icon or a timestamp next to your profile picture in messaging. Active today is the timestamp form, not the dot.

Instagram's activity labels and the time information that each one gives.

The last two rows are easy to misread. Instagram's sleep mode page says that most people can still use Instagram in sleep mode. No label doesn't mean offline either. It only means that Instagram doesn't show you a status.

How do you hide your own "Active today"?

Turn off your activity status. Then people don't see when you were last active, so they don't see Active today either. With the setting off, you also can't see the status of other people. Instagram's activity status page gives these steps for the app:

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture at the bottom right.
2. Tap Menu at the top right.
3. Below How others can interact with you, tap Messages and story replies.
4. Tap Show activity status, then tap the toggle to turn it off.

On a computer, click More at the bottom left, then click Settings. Below How others can interact with you, click Messages and story replies, then Show Activity Status, and click the toggle.

The setting is one switch for everyone. To hide your status from one person only, use Restrict. Instagram's Restrict page says that a restricted person can't see when you're online. The page doesn't name the time labels one by one. Open your chat with the person and tap their name at the top. Tap Options at the top right, then tap Restrict and confirm. Your chat with them moves to Message Requests.

Can you see what time someone was active?

Not in Instagram. Your inbox shows only the most recent status of each person, and Instagram's help pages describe no list of earlier statuses. When the label says Active today, Instagram doesn't give the hour.

iLS was built to keep a record of that line. From your own Instagram account, it opens your DM conversation with a contact on a schedule. It reads the same line that you would see and saves each check with its time. When a check finds the contact as Active now, the iLS Report puts that moment on a timeline. How to read the iLS report explains the dots and the gaps.

iLS can't make Active today more precise. When Instagram shows Active today at a check, the reading has no time in it, because the line has none. A short visit between two checks doesn't appear in the readings. iLS needs an existing DM conversation with the person, and activity status on for both of you. Each reading opens the conversation, which can mark their messages to you as read. When you use iLS, you break Instagram's Terms of Use, and Instagram can restrict your account. What that risk is and how to lower it explains the details.

What can't "Active today" tell you?

• The hour. The label gives only the day.
• How long they stayed on Instagram.
• What they did or who they talked to. The label doesn't separate messages from reels, and it doesn't show who they message.
• Whether they read your message. Active today describes the account, not a message that you sent.
• Whether they blocked or restricted you. Instagram's help pages don't connect the label to either one.
• Why they didn't reply. Only the person can tell you that.