【Ashley Lopez Archives】

DMs can Ashley Lopez Archivesbe a place of a, let's say, sensitivenature. It's where secrets are shared, gossip mongered, and, for some folks, where romantic relationships are sparked.

Those are often the sorts of conversations where you simply do not want to unexpectedly turn the chat into a phone call. But that's what can happen, pretty easily, on Instagram. The button to dial someone is inside the DM tab for a conversation, and pretty easy to hit by accident.

A coworker shared that they'd been butt (or pocket) dialed twice in recent days. And a quick look around shows, yep, this is a Thing. It's happening quite a bit.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

Here's a Twitter user posting a seeming butt dial from actress Mia Healey.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And here are other people detailing their experience with butt dials.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Be careful out there, because it's not a feature you can simply turn off. And if you do accidentally butt dial someone, they will receive it exactly like a normal phone call. In a couple of test runs with my editor, we found that even though his settings have push notifications turned offfor Instagram, an audio call in the app came straight through like a normal call.

Here's how the call log looks in our DMs and a look at where the button to make an audio call is placed. Notice the video call button is imminently butt dial-able as well.

Where the butt dials happen. Credit: screenshot: Instagram

However, there isa way to turn off notifications for Instagram calls, if you wish to never receive a video or audio call. You have to click the three bars in the Instagram app, then click the gear icon to go into settings. From there, you click notifications, then DM push notifications, then click the video call toggle to off. Here are those steps, in pictures.

You can choose to turn off notifications for all calls off or just turn off notifications from people you don't follow. The steps move from left to right. Credit: screenshots: instagram

There remains no way, however, to turn off the option of making Instagram calls. That means there remains the chance you accidentally butt dial.

To be fair, Snapchat — you know, the ethereal social platform Instagram has copied ruthlessly — might have an even worse set up for its audio calls. The phone call button — which, similarly, is placed inside DMs — is directly next to the return arrow that takes you back to the app's homepage. It is so, so easy to hit the video or audio call button by accident. I know; I have done it.

Here's a screenshot of a group chat in Snap that's empty of messages. In the upper righthand corner, you can see how easy it may be to hit the wrong button. Credit: screenshot: snapchat

I wish there were some way to totally prevent you all from butt dialing, but alas all I can suggest is be careful where you tap. And of course please make sure your screen isn't open when you put your phone in your pocket.

• Life
• Shopping
• Games
• Social Good
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Deals
• Tech

• Auburn vs. Creighton 2025 livestream: How to watch March Madness for free
• 'Mulan' star on why Bori Khan isn't a one
• Tess Holliday calls out fat
• Coronavirus outbreak empties out airports around the world
• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• 'Mulan' star on why Bori Khan isn't a one
• Tough goose spotting walking around New York with an arrow through its neck
• What we learned from Netflix's 'Love Is Blind' experiment
• Bestway Hydro
• iPhone replacement parts are in short supply and Apple's partly to blame

• DARPA reveals design of its space plane for faster, cheaper satellite launches
• Coke made a label that doubles as a wristband for music festivals
• Witness Katy Perry's intimate gig live in London
• Tesla leak reveals just how quickly the Model 3 can hit 60 mph
• Juno sees something familiar looking out from Jupiter's rings
• Ben Affleck caves and does his best Christian Bale Batman voice
• Women's tech group to Uber: We're done with you
• These Australian versions of Pokémon are truly magnificent
• Rosario Dawson will not rest until she is in every superhero universe
• Hey teens, keep your promposals off protected lands

• New panda mom doesn't know she has twins thanks to sneaky zookeepers
• Read the Apple keynote from the year 2120
• Why YouTube hasn't solved its conspiracy theory problem
• Snake hitches a ride on a train, because Australia is pretty much how you imagine
• Mary Shows Up
• Google releases female
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps: One of the best platformers of all time
• Here's 'The Office' cold open Jenna Fischer thinks is as good as 'Fleabag'
• Best robot vacuum deal: Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop at record
• International Women's Day marches around the world: Photos

• Elon Musk reveals the first passenger SpaceX will send around the moon
• SpaceX will take more rich space tourists to the International Space Station
• 'Sustainable tourism' is not working. Here's how we can change that.
• Hulu's Hillary Clinton docuseries comes too soon and too late: Review
• Shop the Shark FlexStyle for 20% off at Amazon
• Wildly baffling video shows woman giving mouth
• Man discovers a lost wallet drinking challenge has been held in his honor for 14 years
• What we learned from Netflix's 'Love Is Blind' experiment
• Exceptionally rare radio sources detected in the distant universe
• This site is a pirate radio for the most popular streaming services