What Does Active Today Mean on Instagram? (Complete Guide)

The best way to check if someone is online on Instagram is by checking the activity status. I am sure you must have come across ‘Active Today’ in the activity status. But don’t you want to know what it means? I will help you find out in this guide. Let us dive in and explore its meaning along with other activity statuses present on the screen.

What Does Active Today Mean on Instagram?

Instagram is always working on its features and tries to give the best user experience. Active Today is one of the ways of showing activity status. When you have opened the app within the past 24 hours your activity status will show Active Today. If you have used it within the previous 8 hours, it will show Active X hours ago on your activity status. Just like it, there are different types of activity statuses that I have covered in the next action. 

Also, read What Does POV Mean on Instagram? (Complete Guide)

Different Types of Activity Status on Instagram 

Activity status helps you to know when the other person was active on Instagram. Different types of activity statuses will help you to know whether the user is active on Instagram or not. Below are some of the statuses that you will get to see in your activity status: 

• Active Today: If the user was active in the past 8 to 24 hours, you will see active today status. It depicts that the person was active for the present day. 
• Active Now: It is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the activity status on Instagram. It shows that the user is active on Instagram but in actuality, it is not. This status occurs when the user briefly opens and closes the app. In such a case Instagram may occasionally display active now for a few minutes.
• Active Yesterday: As the status displays, it indicates that the users were active between the past 24 to 48 hours. 
• Active X Minutes Ago: It is a very common status that shows the exact duration from when the user was active. If it is already an hour, it will start showing the number of hours instead of minutes. Suppose you receive the status as active 1 hour ago, it means that the person was last active an hour ago.

With learning different types of activity statuses that you will get on Instagram, you may have some doubts in your mind. One of the common questions that most people get confused about is why Instagram users are active today instead of showing a particular amount of hours. To understand it, let’s jump to the next section.

Why Does It Say on Instagram “Active Today” Instead of “ X Hours”?

One of the major reasons why Instagram doesn’t show us is that it respects our privacy and does not want to disclose any personal information. Using active today rather than specifying any exact hours, is a general representation of the user being online for that day. 

What Does “Active Now” Without a Green Dot Mean?

Unfortunately, the activity status on Instagram has some glitches making it more complex for others to know if the person is active or not. If you see Active Now without the green dot, it might be a possible glitch or a minor delay. In some cases, it might also represent that the users do not want to show their active status to others. 

However, if you are in a hurry and want to have a conversation with the other person, you can always send them messages. It is possible that the user has the phone in his hand and instantly receives your notification.

Also, read What Does the Green Following Mean on Instagram? (Complete Guide)

Things To Consider for Activity Statuses on Instagram

Activity status is a measure to show real-time information about the users on Instagram. It is one of the features that is helpful to stay connected with others. However, you must keep some things in your mind about the activities statuses on Instagram:

View the Status 

Always remember that you can have a look at the activity status of the people you are messaging or vice versa. It can only be noticed in the inbox section. If you do not open the inbox section, you cannot check the activity status of the people who are online on Instagram.

Privacy of the Users

Instagram is a well-known platform for its user’s protection. It means that Instagram has given several features to maintain the privacy of the user. Turning off the activity status is one of the major private settings that allows users to decide whether they want to share the activity status or not. 

There is a Limitation on the Number of Users 

However, with the advancement of Instagram features, you can now see the users who are active at the present moment at the top of the inbox section. However, there is a limitation to see the activity status on Instagram. You can only see the activity statuses of the first 25 users in the inbox with whom you have interacted. 

How to Turn Off “Active Now” Status on Instagram?

Do you feel annoyed when you are online and get DMs just because others can see you online? Don’t want others to see that you are online at that point in time. If yes, here is a great way – simply turn off your activity status. But how? Let’s see that by following the step-by-step guide mentioned below: 

• Open the Instagram app and choose the profile icon present at the bottom right corner. 
• Click on the menu icon present at the top right corner of the screen. 
• You will get a new pop-up on the screen, just select settings. 
• Again click on privacy to get the privacy settings and scroll down to get activity status. Tap on it.
• You will get a toggle option for it. Toggle it off to close the activity Status so that the users won’t see you are active. 

However, it is important to remember that when you turn off the activity status, you will also not be able to see other’s active status. 

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Factors Affecting the Accuracy of “Active Now”

Active Now is the feature that helps you to know that the other person is present online. However, with different types of glitches and situations, it is not always possible to be 100% accurate. Several factors that affect the accuracy of Active Today status are discussed below: 

1. App Background Activity Status

There are times when we are not using the Instagram app but keep it open in the background. In such a case, you might get active now status below the name of the person. However, if you close it down, it may disappear. 

2. Multiple Device Usage

When you try to log into your Instagram account from various devices, it may also cause problems with Active Now Status. 

3. Network Glitches

Sometimes there are network issues due to which the accuracy of the active now status may be affected. When you have a poor internet connection, it might delay the updation of a status. It further causes a delay in accuracy. Please note that network problems in either your or the user’s device are a big reason why there is a delay in the change of active status.

4. Using the Apps Linked to Your Instagram Account 

There are different apps that are linked to your Instagram account like Facebook. Due to this, it might change your status on your Instagram account.

5. Problem with the Other Person’s Phone 

It is quite often that the other person has caches in the device or has too many apps on the device which may slow down it. Due to this, the device may freeze which can cause delays in changing the activity status. 

6. Other Possible Reasons 

Although the above are the most common reasons that may affect the accuracy of active now status, there are many other possible reasons why Instagram is showing it incorrectly:

• The other user may have just clicked on a link that takes him or her to Instagram. They just view it and immediately close the app. This also leads to delays in the change of activity status.
• If your follower was active within the last 5 minutes, there is a huge chance that the status update may be delayed. 

Also, read What Does OTG Mean on Instagram? (5+ Different Meanings)

Conclusion

Activity status on Instagram shows when you were online. There are different types of activity statuses on the app. Active Today is one of the types of activity status, along with others like Active Now, Active X hours, etc. When a person is active on Instagram within the past 8 to 24 hours, the activity status is generally shown as Active Today in front of the user’s name. It is quite often that there is a green dot along with it. It shows that the person is active at the present moment. On the contrary, there are many factors affecting the accuracy of the Active Today feature.

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