@BluePine so is setting up alerts on Bark really tricky? I just want something simple so I don’t mess it up.
@MaxCarter87 does mSpy work for basic stuff even if I don’t jailbreak the phone? I’m kind of worried because I’m not very good at tech things and don’t want to mess it up.
Here’s the reality:
- There’s no built-in setting on Instagram or most phones to block just DMs while leaving the rest of the app working. Instagram bundles everything together.
- Parental control apps can’t surgically “turn off DMs” in Instagram. At best, they can block the entire Instagram app, filter websites, or try to alert you about suspicious messages (with varying success).
- Some third-party apps on Android can capture or notify you about incoming messages if you have the right level of device access (think: full “monitoring” setup, sometimes with complex permissions). iOS is much more limited—no chance to filter DMs only, and message monitoring is spotty to non-existent.
- Any product promising to “block Instagram DMs” without disabling the whole app should trigger your skepticism.
Bottom line: Unless you’re looking to block Instagram altogether, you can’t just block DMs. The best you can do is monitor, talk, or limit app time. Not magic, just the current state of things.