But what happens when you try to view a post in your DM, and instead of it opening, you get a Post Unavailable message? You get jittery and anxious with thoughts of FOMO. Curiosity starts getting the better of you, making you desperate to see what lies behind the mysterious “Post Unavailable”! You then try everything in your power to view the post with no luck. Well, you’ve come to the right place for answers! So, let’s find out why certain posts are unavailable to be viewed and how you can fix the issue.
10 Reasons for “Post Unavailable” on Instagram DM/Chat and How To Fix Them
Instagram posts in your DM cannot be accessed due to various reasons. While you may eventually get access to some of these unavailable posts, some others might have just got lost in eternity! We have listed the reasons for posts being unavailable on Instagram and how to gain access to them!
Private Account/Page You Are Not Following
This is the most frequent reason for restricted access to a shared post. When you receive a post from a Private Account that you do not follow, you will not be approved access to the posts on that profile.
Deleted Post
A deleted post that is not available on that account cannot be viewed. A deleted post cannot be accessed whatsoever. You cannot do anything from your side to view that post. The same rule applies to an Instagram story uploaded more than 24 hours ago or deleted by the owner before it completes 24 hours. Instagram stories have a life of 24 hours and are only available for that period until they are on the owner’s story.
Archived Posts
Posts go unavailable once they are archived. Just like deleted posts, you cannot access archived posts. The only difference, once such an archived post is public, it will be available to be viewed.
Deactivated Account
There is a possibility the post was shared from an active account, and by the time you tried to watch the post, that account was deactivated. The reason for this could be that the admin either temporarily disabled their account or deactivated the account. You could view the post once the temporarily disabled page goes live again. One other reason for an account to get deactivated is when its content does not comply with Instagram’s community guidelines. Instagram takes down such accounts which violate their policies. A post from a deactivated account becomes unavailable.
You Are Blocked by the Account Owner
They say Karma is for real. Say you have been blocked by an admin/owner of a page, and a friend shares with you a post of that same page. You will not have access to the posts on a page you are blocked. So being curious, you still wish to view the post.
Post Has Been Taken Down by Instagram
Instagram has strict policies when it comes to content posted on its platform. Instagram will take down posts that are offensive or violate their community guidelines. Any post that has been removed from the Instagram page will become unavailable for viewing.
Age Restriction
The posts that are deemed suitable for an adult-only audience will not be allowed access to someone who is underage, that is any person who is under 18 years of age. Instagram blocks such content that is violent or only fit for an 18+ audience from its underaged users.
Big Changes in the Profile
This one is rare, but sometimes, changes in the profile can corrupt the link of a shared post, thus making it unavailable. To view this post, ask your friend to reshare the link, enabling you to view it.
Instagram Servers Down
Sometimes a post is unavailable because the Instagram servers are down. At this point, you have to wait for Instagram servers to go live again.
Sharing Screenshots and Screen Grabs
If you do not want to go through all the above hassles, ask your friend to share the screenshot/screengrab of the post and send it to you in your DM. Although this is not a permanent solution, it will help you get past the issue, and you won’t miss out on the post.
Conclusion
The Fear of Missing Out gets to all of us. We want to know what’s going around the DM’s. The Post Unavailable box can sometimes throw you off the grid, and virtually every Instagram user might have come across this common problem and panicked. The list above will help you understand the various and mostly trivial issues which deny you access to posts in your DM and how you could get past them.
