Instagram notifications not working: what to check

If Instagram stopped alerting you on your phone, first check whether the app paused notifications, then review your system permissions. This helps you locate the setting in Instagram, iOS or Android, or a mode that silences your phone.

You need access to your Instagram account and the phone where you expect alerts. If you use an Apple Watch, keep it nearby: some notifications may appear there instead of on your iPhone.

Check Instagram’s notification settings

In Instagram, go to Profile → Menu → How you use Instagram → Notifications. Check whether Pause push notifications is on and whether the category you expect to receive is enabled. Notifications for posts, stories, Reels, and live videos from an account you follow are managed from that account’s profile; that setting does not control message notifications. See how Instagram manages push notifications.

If push notifications are paused, turn the pause off. You can also check individual categories from Notifications. Instagram Help describes pausing notifications in the app separately from your phone’s permission. Steps to mute or pause push notifications.

Check your phone’s permissions

On iPhone: open Settings → Notifications → Instagram and check that Allow Notifications is on. Review where alerts appear. If a Focus mode is active, check whether it allows Instagram notifications. Apple explains these settings and how they work with Apple Watch.

If you use Apple Watch, notifications may go to the watch or the iPhone, not necessarily both: when the iPhone is locked or asleep, an alert may appear on the watch. Check whether the watch is locked and, in the Apple Watch app → My Watch → Notifications on your iPhone, review the app’s alerts.

On Android: open your phone’s Notifications settings, find the app notification settings, and check Instagram. Turn on the alerts you want and see whether they are set to silent. Names and steps vary by device. Android Help explains how to control notifications.

Check Instagram Sleep mode

Instagram can also silence alerts while Sleep mode (previously called Quiet mode) is on. In the app, look for Profile → Menu → Setting and Activity → Time Management → Sleep mode and check the switch and schedule. Names may vary by version or region. Meta documents the name change and setting path.

On iPhone, also check Focus and, if applicable, Apple Watch. On Android, check whether Do Not Disturb or another mode is silencing alerts. These modes may be scheduled and can turn on without changing Instagram’s permission.

If notifications still do not arrive

Ask someone to trigger a new activity in the category you checked, then see whether it appears in Instagram and on your phone. If it appears in Instagram but not as an alert, note your phone model, system version, and the affected category; then use Instagram Help from your account to report it.

If app and system settings are on but the alert still does not appear, this guide cannot guarantee a fix. Keep those details so you can describe the problem to support instead of changing several settings at once.