Instagram gives users a limit of a hundred Stories per day, and frankly, that isn’t much of a restriction. Accounts can post as many Stories as they want. That isn’t a problem unless you’ve turned on Story notifications for that account.
There are times when you want to focus on the important things on your phone, but the constant barrage of notifications from these accounts can be overwhelming.
If you find your phone buzzing every time someone you follow adds to their story, this guide is for you. We’ll cover the different ways to silence story notifications on Instagram, catering to both individual accounts and the overall notification flood.
Understanding Story Notifications
Instagram sends notifications for various story-related activities. Thankfully, most of these are turned off by default, so you don’t have much to worry about.
- New Stories: This alerts you whenever someone you follow adds a new story to their profile. This can be annoying when the account is prolific with their stories.
- First Stories: This alerts you when a user that you may know posts a story for the first time in a while. This one is turned on by default.
- Live Videos: You’ll receive a notification when someone you follow starts a live video broadcast if this option is turned on.
- Highlights: A notification pops up if someone adds a new post to one of their story highlights.
Turning off Notifications for First Stories
We’ll start off with the option that is turned on by default. These notifications don’t come so often, but here’s how to turn them off.
- Access Settings: Open the Instagram app and navigate to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom right corner.
- Settings and Activity: Tap the hamburger menu icon at the top right corner to access the Settings and Activity menu
- Locate Notifications: Within Settings, locate the “Notifications” option and tap on it.
- Post, Stories, and Comments: Under the “Notifications” section, scroll down until you find “Post, Stories, and Comments.” Tap on this option.
- Silence the Stories: Within “Post, Stories, and Comments,” look for the “First Posts and Stories” section. Here, you’ll see options for who you want to receive notifications for: “Everyone” or “People You Follow.” Choose “Off” to disable first story notifications for all accounts.
Curating Notifications for Specific Accounts
Some accounts post Stories very frequently, and their notifications can become a nuisance if you’ve turned them on. Instagram gives you the option to turn off all Story notifications for that specific account. Here’s how it’s done:
- Visit the User Profile: Navigate to the profile of the user whose story notifications you want to disable.
- Notification Settings: Look for the bell icon located near the top right corner of their profile. Tap on this icon.
- Silence Stories: A menu will pop up with various notification options. Locate the toggle switch next to “Stories” and turn it off. This will effectively put that account’s stories on mute.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can effectively manage your Instagram story notifications and create a more peaceful notification experience. If these steps are too convoluted, you could try out the built-in “Do Not Disturb” mode in your smartphone to help ease these distractions.
Remember, it’s all about finding the balance that works best for you.
