Instagram DMs without the feed: every option for iPhone
Updated September 3, 2026. Written by the person who built Konvo, so read the Konvo part with that in mind.
Instagram has no setting that hides the feed. If you want to keep your messages and lose the scrolling, you need something that sits between you and instagram.com. These are the options that exist in 2026, what each one costs, and what each one cannot do.
1. Konvo (iPhone and Mac, paid)
Konvo opens Instagram’s own website in a focused window with your inbox and your friends’ stories, and hides the Feed, Explore and Reels. It can also lock the real Instagram app on your phone through Screen Time, with passes when you need one, and it can notify you about new DMs.
You sign in on Instagram’s own login page inside the app. Konvo never sees your DMs, does not collect your password, and your data stays on Instagram’s servers.
What it cannot do: post. Posting only works in the Instagram app. There is no Android version. Price: $19.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $6.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. Nothing is charged before the trial ends, and you get a reminder 2 days before.
2. Only DMs (Safari extension, iPhone)
A Safari extension that hides Instagram’s feed when you open instagram.com in Safari. You never hand a password to an app, which is its strongest point. The tradeoff is that it only works inside Safari: the Instagram app stays on your phone, one tap away, with the feed intact, and Safari gives you no notifications for new DMs.
3. UNDOOMED, Justagram, FocusGram, ScrollFree
UNDOOMED is a Reels and feed blocker with a messages-only mode, listed on Google Play and the App Store. Justagram is another wrapper that hides Reels, Explore, Stories and the home feed and leaves DMs and posting. FocusGram and ScrollFree load the Instagram website with the distracting parts removed, on Android only. Check each listing for price and platform; they change often.
4. The free way: Safari plus Screen Time
Delete the Instagram app, add a bookmark to instagram.com/direct/inbox/ on your home screen, and put an App Limit on Instagram in Screen Time so it cannot come back quietly. It costs nothing. The catch is that the feed is still one tap away inside Safari, there are no notifications for new messages, and Instagram’s website nudges you toward the app at every turn.
How to choose
- You want messages and nothing else, with the Instagram app locked: Konvo.
- You will not give any app a login and you can live inside Safari: Only DMs, or the free way.
- You are on Android: UNDOOMED, FocusGram or ScrollFree.
- You need to post: keep the Instagram app for posting and use any of the above for messages.
Questions people ask
Does Konvo see my messages or my password? No. You sign in on Instagram’s own page inside the app. Konvo never sees your DMs, does not collect your password, and your data stays on Instagram’s servers. The privacy policy says the same in full.
Can I still see stories? Yes, your friends’ stories stay. The feed, Explore and Reels go.
Can I post from Konvo? No. Posting only works in the Instagram app.
Does it work on Android? No. Konvo is for iPhone and Mac.
What happens when the trial ends? The plan you picked starts. Cancel any time in your Apple subscriptions; a reminder arrives 2 days before the end of the trial.