How to make an Instagram DM screenshot that looks real

What you need

The other person's display name, a profile photo if you want one, and a short script. Fakeconvo's Instagram chat generator draws the DM in the Instagram style, is free, needs no account and puts no watermark on the PNG. Your photos and text stay in your browser.

Five steps to a realistic Instagram DM

1. Set up the other person. Under People, type their display name, like "Lucía Gómez". The header shows that name with "Active now", and the top of the thread shows a profile card with a username made from the name (lucia.gomez) and a "View profile" button, as Instagram does at the start of a chat. Click the round button before the name to add a profile photo.
2. Write the messages. Under Messages, use "+ From …" for the other person and "+ From me" for yours. Messages in a row from the same person are grouped into one block, and their profile photo sits next to the last one, just like in the app. Use "+ Photo" for a picture, with an optional "Caption".
3. Add replies and reactions. Pick a message in "Reply to" and the bubble gets a quote with Instagram's label, such as "You replied to Lucía Gómez". Under "Reactions", tap ❤️ or 😂 to put a reaction under a bubble; a heart is the most common reaction in DMs.
4. Show that it was read. Set the "Status" of your newest message to "Read" and keep "Read receipts" on under Settings: "Seen" appears under that message only, as on Instagram. Turn "Show timestamps" on to show the first message's time above the thread, and use "+ Date / notice" for a day, like "Yesterday", between messages.
5. Finish and export. Choose "Dark mode" if you want the black Instagram look, set the "Status bar time" and battery, and download the PNG at 2x or 3x, as the phone screen or the whole chat.

Details that make a DM look staged

Real DMs are short. People send three quick lines instead of one long paragraph, use lowercase and emoji, and often open with a reaction to a story rather than "Hello, how are you?". If every message is a full, perfectly punctuated sentence, it reads like a script.

Mind the small things: the username under the profile card comes from the display name, so pick a name that gives a believable handle. "Seen" belongs under your last message only, and a chat that is "Active now" should not have an answer that took a day. Use "+ Date / notice" when time passes.

Use it the right way

Instagram DM screenshots are for videos, sketches, stories, social media posts, app designs and lessons. Do not put words in the mouths of real people, do not make a chat that looks like proof of something that never happened, and do not use one to scam, bully or embarrass anyone. Our acceptable use page has the details.