Instagram lets you download all your account data, including Direct conversations. The function is useful for those who want to review old messages or get to the top of some specific conversation without having to scroll the entire dialog. By downloading the data, you can have all your conversations saved on your PC, making the task simpler. The feature is a bit complex and only available on the web version of Instagram, meaning it cannot be used in the mobile app. Check out the following tutorial how to download Instagram Direct data and make it readable by PC.
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How to view Instagram Direct messages on PC
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1. Downloading Instagram Data
Step 1. Access Instagram from your computer through any browser. Enter your account details (email and password) and click "Sign in".
Sign in to your Instagram account Photo: Reproduo / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 2. On the Instagram homepage, click on your profile icon at the top right of the page.
Your profile represented by a person's thumbnail at the top of the page Photo: Reproduo / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 3. In your profile, click on the gear icon, the Instagram setup tool.
The setting icon is next to the "Edit profile" photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 4. In the window that opens, click on the "Privacy and Security" option.
You can set the privacy options of your account Photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 5. A privacy and security settings page will open. Scroll down to the "Download data" option and click "Request download".
The data download is present on the "Privacy and Security" page Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 6. On the data download page, enter an email to which data will be sent. Then click on "Next". You do not need to use the registered email address on Instagram.
Enter the email to which you want to send the data Photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 7. Finally, you need to enter your Instagram password and click "Request Download". Instagram gives you up to 48 hours to gather all your data and send it to the indicated email.
Confirm the download with your password Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
2. Viewing downloaded Instagram data
Instagram files will be sent to your email in .ZIP format and you will need to extract them with the help of a program. After extracting the file, you will see the data divided into folders (Direct, Videos, Stories, Profile Photos) and the message files, all in JSON format, derived from Java.
To view the information, you will need to use programs or websites to convert the files, since native computer programs are not configured to read JSON files.
The data downloaded from Instagram will be divided into folders and JSON format Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
3. Viewing messages through sites that decode JSON
To view a document in JSON format, you must open it in Notepad, copy the content, and paste it into a site that supports the format. For the following tutorial we use JSONViewer (http://jsonviewer.stack.hu/).
Step 1. Inside the Instagram data folder, right-click on the "messages" file and then click "Open with …"> "Notepad."
Direct messages are in the "Messages" archive. Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 2. When you open the document in Notepad, the messages will appear confusing and random, making them difficult to read. Select the entire content and right-click on the selection. Choose the "Copy" option or use the shortcut "Crtl + C".
The messages in the notebook are difficult to understand. Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 3. Go to the JSONViewer website (http://jsonviewer.stack.hu/), select the "Text" tab in the upper right corner of the screen. Then click on the "Paste" option – or use the shortcut "Ctrl + V".
Already in JSONViewer, paste your messages to see them in an orderly way Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 4. After pasting the text, go to the "Viewer" tab. You will see a numbered list, in which each number indicates a conversation with a different person.
In the "Viewer" tab you will be able to view the messages neatly. Photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 5. Then click the plus icon (+) next to the conversation number and you will see two distinct tabs: participants and conversation.
In each conversation you can view the participants and the messages exchanged. Photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 6. Select the plus icon (+) next to the "Participants" tab. A list of participants who were present in the selected conversation appears.
Discover the participants in each conversation Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 7. Then, to view all messages exchanged in the conversation, right-click on the "Conversation" tab. Select the "Expand all" option.
View the exchanged messages from the beginning to the end of the conversation. Photo: Playback / Gabrielle Ferreira
Step 8. After expanding all messages, they will appear divided one by one. On each line is the sender, which date it was sent (creatred_at) and the text sent. Messages are displayed in temporal order, the most recent ones will appear at the top while the oldest will be at the end.
Messages will be indicative of who sent it and on what date Photo: Reproduction / Gabrielle Ferreira
Aproveite a dica para fazer o backup de suas conversas ou para encontrar mensagens especficas no Instagram Direct.
