Why your Instagram Notes are not showing up, and how to fix it

Instagram Notes is a relatively new feature that parent company Meta implemented. These are somewhat similar to Facebook status updates in that they’re a 60-character text message (emojis are allowed) that shows up at the top of your followers’ inboxes. Similarly, notes from people you follow will show up as little text bubbles at the top of your inbox. Notes can also be added to posts and reels when using a smartphone.

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It’s an interesting feature that allows you share information quickly with followers and friends.

The feature can sometimes fail to show up, however, and if you’re keen to try out Notes, here are some steps you can take to try and enable the feature:

1. Update your app

It’s possible that you’ve disabled app updates for Instagram, or perhaps in general. If you’re not seeing Instagram Notes, it’s possible that you’re on an older, unsupported version of the app. Whether you’re on Android or iPhone, simply head to your respective Play Store or App Store and check for updates.

Google Play Store (Android)

1. Open the Play Store app

2. Tap your profile icon to open your profile page

3. Tap on ‘Manage apps and devices’

4. Select ‘Manage’

5. Scroll down to Instagram and tap on it to update

App Store (iOS)

1. Open the App Store

2. Search for ‘Instagram’

3. Select ‘Instagram’ from the search results

4. Tap ‘Update’

2. Log out of your account…

… and then log back in. Sometimes the issue could be something as simple as a sync issue with the server. Logging out of your account and logging back in is a good way to take care of such issues. To do this:

1. Open Instagram

2. Tap your profile photo

3. Tap the menu icon

4. Scroll all the way down and tap ‘Log Out’

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to log out of your Instagram account.

6. To log back in, you simply open the app and enter your username and password

This issue can also pop up when you have multiple Instagram accounts on your app, in which case you might have the Notes feature on one account and not on all of them.

You may need a new phone

If you’re using an old device, one that is no longer officially supported by its manufacturer, it’s quite likely that Instagram Notes will never arrive on it. Using Instagram Notes requires an operating system that can support that latest version of Instagram, and if you’re on a version of iOS or Android that is several years out of date, you may have access to app updates. The only solution in this case is to get a new device.

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The steps we’ve outlined above should take care of most cases where Instagram Notes is not showing up. If none of our tips help, you might want to reach out to Instagram support directly to find out if something is wrong. In rare instances, it could even be possible that there was some issue with your account and Instagram restricted access to newer features.