How to download all your Instagram messages

Make the record from your own Instagram export

Drop the ZIP from Instagram into the free tool and preview the first 25 messages. Nothing is uploaded — it runs in your browser.

Open the free tool

Instagram lets you download a copy of all your direct messages, including photos and voice notes, through Accounts Center. Here's how to do it and what you get.

The steps

In the Instagram app, open Settings → Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information.
Choose Download or transfer information, pick your Instagram account, then Some of your information and tick Messages.
Choose Download to device. Set the date range to cover the conversation, and set Format to JSON. Set media quality to High if photos matter.
Tap Create files. Instagram emails you when the ZIP is ready — often within minutes, sometimes a few days. Download it before the link expires.

JSON or HTML?

HTML opens in a browser and is fine for reading. JSON keeps exact timestamps and sender names in a structured form that tools can read reliably. If you want to turn a conversation into a printable or shareable record, choose JSON.

Where the messages are in the ZIP

Inside the ZIP, conversations are in your_instagram_activity/messages/inbox/. Each conversation is a folder named after the other person, containing message_1.json (and more files for long chats) plus folders for photos and audio.

Why names and emoji look broken

If you open the JSON in a text editor, non-English text and emoji look garbled (an emoji is stored as \u00f0\u009f\u0098\u0082). That's how Instagram encodes them. The free tool repairs this automatically.

Open it as a readable PDF

Drop the ZIP into the free tool, pick a conversation, and save it as a PDF with dates and names on every message.