Instagram DMs for a protective or restraining order

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

If someone is threatening or harassing you over Instagram, the messages themselves are often the strongest evidence you have. The priority is to preserve them before they disappear — the other person can unsend messages or delete their account.

Preserve first

Request your data from Instagram as soon as possible (steps below). The export is a copy held by you, so it does not change if the other person later deletes things.
Do not reply to provoke or negotiate; if you must reply, keep it short.
If you are in immediate danger, contact emergency services first.

Export the conversation

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.

Present it clearly

Petition forms usually ask you to describe incidents with dates. A dated, numbered record lets you point to exact messages. Drop the ZIP into the free tool, choose the conversation, set the time zone where you live, and add the exhibit label your court uses. Photos sent in the chat appear inline, and messages the sender unsent are marked when Instagram's export marks them.

Also useful

A short written timeline that refers to page and message numbers in the record.
Reports you made to Instagram or to the police, with their dates.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules on evidence differ by court and country. Ask the court clerk, a legal aid office or your attorney what your case needs.