Instagram Direct Message Character Limit + Other Limits (2024)
Jul 9, 2024
Key Takeaways:
Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) have a character limit of 1000 characters in 2024
You can forward a message to only 5 recipients at a time
There is a limit on how many DMs you can send in a short period of time, but Instagram does not disclose just exactly what that number is. If Instagram stops you from sending too many direct messages, you will just need to wait a few minutes until Instagram lets you send messages again. This is a software engineering concept called "rate limiting".
The recipient of a DM might have messages enabled for anyone to send them one or they might restrict who can send them a DM (e.g. only mutual followers can send DMs). If someone does not reply to your DM, this could be the reason why.
If you’re looking looking for a tool to automatically split up your long Instagram Direct Messages into multiple smaller messages, check out this free tool
Instagram Direct Message Limits
Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) is a popular feature in Instagram to get in touch with your friends and your favorite creators, but it does have its limits.
Instagram currently has a character limit of 1000 characters in a DM (at least as of 2024). This is probably due to the fact that it would not be easy to read a DM that is greater than 1000 characters on a small phone screen. If you're sending a DM that is greater than 1000 characters, you can always split up your DM into small messages.
Instagram also limits how many people you can forward a message to. Currently you can only forward a message to 5 other groups.
Lastly, Instagram also limits how many messages you can send in a short amount of time. Instagram does not disclose the specific limit of messages you can send in a short amount of time, but they will prevent your messages from being sent if you start sending a crazy amount of messages. This is likely to reduce spam efforts (e.g. stopping someone from sending 10000 messages to one person in 5 minutes). If you run into this issue, no worries. You just have to come back and keep checking when you can start sending messages again. Keep checking every few minutes.
Creative Ways To Use Instagram Direct Messages
Cold Outreach For Your Business
Instagram Direct Messages can be a powerful tool for cold outreach, helping to grow your business. By reaching out directly to potential clients or partners, you can establish a personal connection and present your services or products in a more informal and friendly manner. This can help to break the ice and initiate meaningful conversations. It's important to remember, however, to always be respectful and considerate when using DMs for cold outreach.
When reaching out to people via Instagram DMs, keep in mind the following
Have social proof that your account is real and active
If you reach out to someone and your Instagram account has 0 posts and no profile picture and no followers, this significantly decreases the chances that someone will respond to your DM because you will look like a bot and not a real person. Try to present yourself as a real person
Pay for verification
Instagram recently added the ability to pay for verification, and if you want to DM people for cold outreach paying for verification can significantly improve your response rate. Similar to the point above, having a verified badge to your account makes you more “real” to people instead of a bot account. I know it feels silly to buy pay for verification, but it could be a worthwhile purchase.