Instagram guide
How to export your Instagram DMs
Instagram doesn't export one chat at a time. You request a copy of your messages, Instagram emails you when it's ready, and you upload that zip. Then you pick the conversation.
You'll upload .zip (JSON)
In the Instagram app
- 1Go to your profile, tap the menu (three lines) and open Accounts Center.
- 2Tap Your information and permissions, then Download your information.
- 3Tap Download or transfer information and select your Instagram account.
- 4Choose Some of your information, tick only Messages, then tap Next.
- 5Choose Download to device. Set Date range to All time, Format to JSON and Media quality to Low.
- 6Tap Create files. When Instagram emails you, download the .zip and upload it here as it is.
On a computer
- 1Open instagram.com, click More (bottom left), then Settings.
- 2Click Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions.
- 3Click Download your information and follow the same steps: Messages only, All time, JSON.
- 4Download the .zip from the link in the email, or from the same page, and upload it here.
Good to know
- Pick JSON, not HTML. JSON is what we can read.
- The file can take from a few minutes to a couple of days to be ready, depending on how much you've chatted.
- Your export contains every conversation. Only the one you pick in the next step is analysed, and the file never leaves your device.
- Low media quality keeps the zip small. We ignore photos and videos anyway.
Questions
Will the other person be notified?
No. Downloading your information is private to your account.
Can I choose just one conversation?
Not in Instagram. You download all your messages, then choose one conversation in TOXIC before anything is analysed.
Some recent chats are missing
Chats with end-to-end encryption turned on may not appear in the download. Open the chat, tap the name and check for an option to download or turn off end-to-end encryption, or analyse a chat that isn't encrypted.
Who's the toxic one?
Analyze my Instagram DMs