Since late 2024 and into 2025, Instagram has introduced updates to enhance the user experience with advanced creator tools, improved accessibility options, and even a new profile display. Among these changes, Instagram has also updated its screenshot notification settings. Traditionally, the app didn’t notify users when screenshots were taken, but that’s no longer always the case.

In this article, we’ll explain when and where Instagram notifies users about screenshots, including for posts, Stories, and Live Streams. We’ll also cover the best ways to download and save content from Instagram, including images, videos, Reels, and Stories.

If you need to document brand mentions, save audience comments, gather customer testimonials, or collect post ideas and quotes, here’s what you should know.

Table of Contents

• Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot Content?
• How to Know if Someone Screenshots Your Instagram
• How to Download Videos from Instagram
• Saves, Shares, and Other Instagram Notifications

Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot Content?

For almost all types of Instagram content, users are not notified when a screenshot is taken.

The only time Instagram notifies users when someone takes a screenshot is when someone takes a screenshot of a disappearing message, photo, or video sent in a direct message (DM). Similar to Snapchat, screenshotting disappearing content triggers a notification. This applies to both disappearing messages and Vanish Mode.

This means you can take a screenshot of Stories, Posts, Reels, Lives, Highlights, and non-disappearing direct messages (DMs) without worrying about the owner receiving a notification.

Below is a case-by-case breakdown of Instagram's screenshot notifications as of 2025 (the same rules apply to screen recordings):

To enable Vanish Mode in a direct message (DM) chat, swipe up in the conversation until the circle icon closes. With Vanish Mode on, all messages disappear after you leave the chat, and any screenshot or screen recording will trigger a notification visible to all members of the conversation.

Similarly, if you send a disappearing photo or video (using the camera icon in DMs with 'View Once' or 'Allow Replay' selected), Instagram will notify the sender if it is screenshotted or recorded. However, regular messages, images, and videos in DMs do not trigger screenshot notifications.

How to Know if Someone Screenshots Your Instagram

The only time you will know if someone has taken a screenshot of your Instagram content is if the screenshot or screen recording occurs on a disappearing photo/video within your DMs or during a conversation in Vanish Mode. There is no way to know if someone has taken a screenshot of your post, Story, Reel, Live, or regular DM.

How to Download Videos From Instagram

While taking an Instagram screenshot is a quick way to save content, they reduce image quality since they only save a copy of your device’s screen. For a higher-quality alternative, consider using an online video downloader.

To download an Instagram video, start by copying the URL link. Look for the share icon represented by a paper airplane. This icon appears on both video posts and Reels. Once selected, find and select the Copy Link option from the share menu.

After copying the link, open Kapwing in a web browser on any device. Create a new project and paste the video link into the URL box to import it automatically. This method downloads your video directly from Instagram without any watermarks and without sending a notification to the original poster.

From here, you can edit the video by trimming it, adding text and audio, or using other advanced AI tools.

If you don’t need edits, simply select the Export option at the top of the screen. In the export menu, you can configure details like file type, resolution, and size for additional customization.

While this process works for most Instagram videos, content like live streams and Stories require an additional workaround due to their temporary nature. The best solution for saving these types of videos is to screen record them. Most mobile devices have built-in screen recording options, but desktop and laptop computers often lack this feature by default.

To screen-record content without downloading any programs, use Kapwing’s online screen recorder.

On desktop only, open any project, navigate to the Record tool in the left-hand sidebar, and select your recording type. This method records content without sending a notification — even when capturing Instagram Live streams and Stories.

Saves, Shares, and Other Instagram Notifications

While not as revealing as screenshot notifications, Instagram provides additional sharing insights to business accounts, offering detailed analytics on engagement. These include metrics like the number of likes, comments, shares, and saves for each post.

For shares and saves, Instagram shows how many users shared a post — whether through direct messages, personal Stories, or external apps— as well as how many saved it. However, the platform does not reveal the identities of these users. Identifying a specific account would require other clues, such as noticing who viewed a Story early on.