Index
Preliminary Information
Before showing you how to tell if someone is on a video call on Instagram, there are a few points to consider.
Firstly, as already mentioned, there is no specific feature that allows you to see directly if a user is on a video call on Instagram. The platform does not provide notifications or specific indicators for this status, so you will have to rely on indirect observations.
Moreover, most of the signals you can use to draw your conclusions are based on the activity status. If you are unfamiliar with this feature, the activity status is a feature of Instagram that indicates online presence and the date and/or time of the last access made by users with whom you have interacted (particularly those to whom you have previously sent a private message or who have mentioned you in their story).
However, to use this feature, it is not enough to enable the activity status on your account. In fact, this option requires a reciprocal condition, which means that it must also be enabled on the account of the person you want to check to see if they are in a video call.
That said, to activate the activity status (or check that it is enabled), open the Instagram app on your Android device (also available on alternative stores) or iPhone, or operate from a computer via the Web version of the service or using the Windows application. Once logged in, from a smartphone or tablet, go to the menu of your profile and then to the Settings and Activity section > Messages and Story Replies > Show Activity Status and ensure that the switch next to Show Activity Status is set to ON. From a PC, follow the path More > Settings > Messages and Story Replies > Show Activity Status and make sure this feature is enabled, with the switch set to ON.
Once the activity status is activated on your profile, you can begin to gather clues to compile a relatively accurate picture of the situation.
How to Tell if Someone is on a Video Call on Instagram
Now let’s get to the point and see how to tell if someone is on a video call on Instagram. Specifically, the signals to observe for a clearer understanding of the situation can be summarized into three: check activity status, check last access, and the person’s behavior when you try to call them.
Check Activity Status
The first signal that can help you understand if someone is on a video call on Instagram is to observe their activity status: if they have been online for a long time, they might indeed be engaged in a video call.
As mentioned before, to obtain this type of information, simply log into Instagram from a smartphone or computer and enter the private messages section, clicking on the paper airplane icon or the Messages button. Once there, find the chat of the account you are interested in, and check if a green dot and the label Active now appear next to their photo in the chat: if that is so, it means that the user is currently online.
Remember that this information will only be visible if both of you have activated the option to show activity status, as explained in the previous chapter.
If the person appears to be online and has not viewed your messages, (something you can check thanks to the Seen [number] hours ago label under the text balloon of the message), or has not responded in any way, it is possible that they are engaged in a video call. This behavior can indicate that although they are active on Instagram, they cannot interact with your messages at that moment.
But beware: just because your friend seems to be often online, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are spending all their time on a video call. They could simply be using Instagram for other activities, like scrolling through the feed or interacting with others’ stories.
Check Last Access
In addition to what has been said above, you can also check the last access of the person you are “investigating” to see if they are actually engaged in a video call on Instagram or simply absent from the platform.
To do this, you’ll also need to log into Instagram from a smartphone or computer and enter the private messages section by clicking on the paper airplane icon or the Messages button. At this point, locate and open the chat with the user you wish to spy on, and check the time and day of the last access to the social network by observing the label next to their name (e.g., Active 20 min ago, Active yesterday). Keep in mind that the last access will not be visible if the person has chosen to hide it.
If, upon checking the last access, it turns out that the person is currently not active on Instagram, it means they are not on a video call at that moment.
Call or Video Call the Other Person
If you are not afraid of exposing yourself, you can try to call or video call on Instagram the person you suspect is already in a video call. If they do not answer (and may even appear online), it is likely they are engaged in another video call. However, remember that the other person might interrupt the ongoing video call to respond to your request or might not answer you because they are occupied with other activities. Also, during your attempt to call or video call, you will not receive any sound signal or notification indicating that the person is engaged in another communication.
If you still wish to proceed with this attempt, start by opening the Instagram app or connecting to its website, then access the Direct section, which houses the direct messages. Once there, search for and open the chat with the person you are interested in, then click on the phone icon to initiate a call or the video camera icon to start a video call.