How to send and manage messages on Threads

In the Threads app:

1. Tap Messages at the bottom.
2. Tap Compose in the top right.
3. Select the person you'd like to message.
4. Tap Message..., then type your message.
5. Tap Send.

• On threads.com, click Messages on the left, click Compose at the top, and follow the same steps
• You can see when someone has seen your message, and they can see when you've seen theirs
• Threads messages are separate from Instagram. A message you send someone on Threads won't appear in your Instagram chat with the same person

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Send a message to someone on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: View, react and reply to messages that you receive on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

Meta's help page says you can only send messages to people who follow you on Threads, or who you follow each other with on Instagram. The same page says a message to someone who doesn't follow you, or isn't already connected to you, is sent as a message request. In a September 2025 update, Meta's newsroom said you'd soon be able to message people you don't follow.

Messages from people you follow go to your inbox. Messages from people you don't follow go to your requests. To answer them:

1. Open Messages.
2. Tap Requests at the top of your inbox.
3. Open a message request.
4. Choose Accept or Delete.

• A message request can only contain text. Links and media are turned off until the request is accepted
• Once you accept, that person's future messages go straight to your inbox
• Some messages may be moved to a hidden folder. Meta says it filters likely spam and harmful messages there
• Meta's newsroom says you can stop requests from people you don't follow by choosing Only People You Follow in your Messages settings

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Send a message to someone on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: View, react and reply to messages that you receive on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Meta Newsroom: Introducing Messaging and Highlighted Perspectives on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

Group chats work from the same Compose button. On threads.com:

1. Click Messages on the left.
2. Click Compose in the top right.
3. Search for and select the people you want to include.
4. Enter a message.
5. Click Send.

• You can only add people who follow you on Threads, or who you follow each other with on Instagram
• Meta's newsroom says a group chat can include up to 50 people who follow you
• To name a group of three or more, open it, click More in the top right, then Edit group info
• New members can see the earlier messages in the chat
• Whoever starts the chat is its admin. An admin can make an invitation link, and anyone with the link can ask to join, but the admin approves each request

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Start a group chat on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Name a group chat on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Add people to an existing group chat on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: What someone sees when you add them to a group chat on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: What admins of group chats on Threads can do, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Share an invitation link to a Threads group chat with others, checked 15 October 2026; Meta Newsroom: Introducing Messaging and Highlighted Perspectives on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

To send a post you've seen to someone as a message:

1. Tap Share below the post.
2. Search for or select a person from the list.
3. Tap Write a message... and add a note if you want.
4. Tap Send.

• To react or reply to a message on threads.com, hover over it and click React or Reply. Click More, then Copy, to copy it
• To unsend a message on threads.com, hover over it, click More, then Unsend. The other person may already have seen it
• Unsent messages aren't in your data download, but they can still be included if someone reports the conversation

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Share a post as a direct message on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: View, react and reply to messages that you receive on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Unsend a message that you've sent on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

To mute a chat in the app, tap Messages, tap and hold the conversation, tap Mute and choose how long. To delete it, tap and hold it, tap Delete, then confirm. Deleting only removes it from your inbox; the other people still have it.

To report a message on threads.com:

1. Click Messages on the left and open the conversation.
2. Hover over the message you want to report.
3. Click More, then Report.
4. Choose a reason and follow the on-screen instructions.
5. Click Submit report.

• To report a one-to-one conversation, open it, click More in the top right and click Report. You can't report a whole group chat, only messages and people in it
• Threads reviews up to 30 of the most recent messages in a reported conversation
• Reports are anonymous, except reports of intellectual property infringement

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Mute conversation notifications on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Delete conversations on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Report a direct message or conversation on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

• You can't attach a photo. Your message went as a request, which is text only until the person accepts it
• A message is missing. Check Requests, and the hidden requests folder, if the sender isn't someone you follow
• You're looking in Instagram. Threads and Instagram keep separate conversations
• You can't see Messages at all. Meta notes that messaging on Threads isn't available to everyone yet
• Someone's chat moved to Requests. If you restrict a profile, their chat moves to your Requests folder
• Someone can't message you. People you've blocked can't message you

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Send a message to someone on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: View, react and reply to messages that you receive on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Mute conversation notifications on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Restrict or unrestrict someone on Threads, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Block or unblock a profile on Threads, checked 15 October 2026

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