Alright so yesterday this crazy thing happened to me and I straight up freaked out. See, I was creeping on someone’s profile – don’t act like you never done it – and took a screenshot of their story. Like three minutes later? Boom. A notification popped up telling me someone screenshotted MY story. Almost dropped my phone.
Wait, did Insta just snitch on me?
My brain went into panic mode. Did THEY get an alert when I screenshotted? Was Insta screenshotting my screenshots? Sounds stupid now, but I legit started sweating. Jumped straight into Google, typing like a maniac: “instagram screenshot notification”. Spoiler: most articles are useless. All theory, no real tests.
Time to play detective with my own phones
Grabbed my old Android and my current iPhone. Created two dummy accounts (shoutout to my alter egos “BoredTester91” and “LabRat2023”). Here’s exactly what I did:
- Test 1: Sent a photo DM from BoredTester91 to LabRat2023. Opened it on the Android, took a screenshot. Checked BoredTester91 notifications… nothing. Okay, deep breath.
- Test 2: Made LabRat2023 post a normal feed photo. Used BoredTester91 to view it and screenshot. Again, nada. Notifications clean.
- Test 3: Now the scary part. Had LabRat2023 put up a disappearing photo in Stories. BoredTester91 viewed it, fingers crossed, took a screenshot. Instantly refreshed LabRat2023 notifications… BAM! “boredtester91 took a screenshot of your story” right there. Felt like I got caught stealing cookies.
- Test 4: Feeling bold, tried screenshots of disappearing VIDEOS in DMs. Sent one from LabRat2023 to BoredTester91. Took a screenshot… yep. Insta snitched again. Notification city.
What the hell did I find out?
Turns out Insta’s got layers. They don’t care if you screenshot regular feed posts or regular photos in DMs. Go wild, screenshot grandma’s vacation pics all day. But vanishing stuff? That’s when they turn narc.
Stories? Yeah, they tell the poster. Disappearing photos or videos sent directly in your DMs? Absolute snitch mode. Got a notification faster than my Uber Eats arrives.
Why? Probably cause they wanna make those “poof! gone!” messages feel special. Like “hey this is private, hands off.” But regular stuff? They figure it’s public anyway, screenshot away losers.
So yeah, lesson learned
If you’re gonna screenshot something shady? Stick to permanent posts and regular DM photos. Avoid stories and anything that vanishes like it’s Mission Impossible. That little camera shutter sound suddenly sounds like a police siren. Mostly I’m just relieved my creeper moment didn’t get broadcasted. Close call, Insta. Real close call.
