Instagram is making it harder for people to spam you with DM requests

Instagram is trying to make it more difficult for people you don’t follow to spam you with unwanted DM requests. After testing the feature in June, Instagram now only lets users you don’t follow send a one-message invite before they can start chatting with you.

That message can also only contain text, so that means you should no longer see any unsolicited photos, videos, or voice messages popping up in your message requests. Previously, Instagram let users send an unlimited number of message requests, which could get out of hand pretty quickly.

Now, users can only send you more than one message once you’ve accepted their request to connect. Message requests live in the Requests button located above your inbox in Instagram’s DM tab. Keep in mind that you’ll only receive requests if your privacy settings require users to send a request before they can message you.

“We want people to feel confident and in control when they open their inbox,” Cindy Southworth, Meta’s head of women’s safety, says in a statement. “That’s why we’re testing new features that mean people can’t receive images, videos or multiple messages from someone they don’t follow, until they’ve accepted the request to chat.”

Meta started testing the feature as part of a broader safety push. In addition to introducing new messaging safeguards on Instagram, Meta also rolled out more robust parental controls on both Instagram and Messenger that give parents a more detailed look at what their child is doing on either app.