Most social media apps including Instagram now let you call other people. While it’s a great feature, some people might worry if their Instagram calls show up on their phone bills.
For some, this might be a privacy concern but the good news is, that your Instagram calls won’t appear on your phone bill, BUT they do appear on your phone call record.
If you are someone who is concerned about the calls you make on Instagram and don’t want someone to find or trace them, this post is for you.
I will explain how to remove all records of your recent Instagram calls from your phone as well as how to make calls the right way (if this is your first time).
Do Instagram calls show on phone bill?
The good news is that none of the video or audio calls you make via your Instagram app will appear on your phone bill.
Your carrier company only keeps a record of the calls that you make via your carrier. On the other hand, VoIP calls like Instagram are made over the internet.
These calls are encrypted and cannot be eavesdropped on.
Your carrier like Verizon, Sprint, etc. has no access to your encrypted internet data, and hence your Instagram calls won’t appear on your phone bill or phone record.
Do Instagram calls show on phone records or logs?
Instagram calls might show up on your phone bill but on your phone, the calls will appear in your call log.
For most people that might not be a problem but if you are talking to someone that you shouldn’t (wink wink**) keep in mind that these calls appear inside your phone calls log.
This is true for both Android and iPhone users and for other social media apps as well. For example, WhatsApp calls will also appear in your phone’s call log.
Remove Instagram calls log
Now that you know Instagram calls don’t show up on your phone bill but they do show up in your phone’s call log, what can you do about it?
It’s simple. Just go into your phone calls log and delete the record every time you make a call.
Deleting call history works on both Android and iPhone and the process is quite the same. For iPhone, you can swipe left to see the Delete option. On Android, you can long-press the call log to get the Delete option.
Do Instagram messages show up on phone bill?
Just like Instagram calls, there is no way for your carrier to track and record your Instagram messages.
Instagram messages have end-to-end encryption so no one apart from the sender and receiver can read them.
They won’t appear on your phone record.
Also, unlike calls, Instagram messages won’t appear anywhere else on your phone as well. So you can use Instagram DMs to talk to your secret crush without any worries.
Can Instagram calls be tracked or traced?
All communication on Instagram including calls and direct messages are encrypted end-to-end. What that means is no one apart from you and the receiver can read them.
These calls cannot be tracked or traced by any common means.
However, there are sophisticated software that only Govt agencies have access to that can catch your internet packets and extract data.
One of the most recent discoveries was an Israeli spyware called Pegasus that the Indian govt used to spy on opposition and journalists.
But if you are a low-profile citizen without any political exposure, you don’t have to worry about your innocent cat memes being read by someone in the government.
If I call someone on Instagram will they know my number?
This might be another privacy question for someone who is not familiar with how VoIP works.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) works using your internet data instead of analog phone signals. The voice signals are converted into digital packets along with your other data and transferred over the internet.
That is why, when you call someone via Instagram, they receive the call from your Instagram account and not from your phone number. So, they won’t know your phone number.
Do Instagram Calls Show Up on Phone Bill – Final words
Here are the main points of the above discussion:
- If you call someone on Instagram, that call won’t show up on your phone bill.
- The call will show on your phone call logs which you can easily delete.
- These calls are encrypted so they cannot be traced or tracked easily.
- The call receiver won’t get to know your phone number
I hope you find this brief blog post about Instagram calls helpful. If you have any questions, post them in the comments below and I will try my best to answer them.