Export Guide

How to export your Instagram DMs

Instagram lets you download your message history as a JSON ZIP. Follow these steps — the download can take a few minutes to a few hours depending on your account size.

Allow extra time. After requesting the download, Instagram sends an email with a link. This typically takes a few minutes but can be up to a few hours for large accounts. You don't need to keep the app open.
  1. 1 Open Instagram and go to your Profile by tapping your avatar at the bottom right.
  2. 2 Tap the hamburger menu ☰ in the top-right corner, then tap Settings and privacy.
  3. 3 Scroll down to Your activity and tap Download your information.
  4. 4 Tap Download or transfer information. Select Some of your information on the next screen.
  5. 5 Scroll to the Messages section and check Messages. Uncheck everything else to keep the export small and fast.
  6. 6 Tap Next. Choose Download to device.
  7. 7 Set the format to JSON (not HTML). Select a date range — or leave it as all time for the full history.
  8. 8 Tap Create files. Instagram will send an email to your registered address when the download is ready.
  9. 9 Click the link in the email, log in if prompted, and download the ZIP to your device.
  10. 10 Open ChatLume Instagram Viewer, drop the ZIP file in, and your DMs will load instantly — no upload, no server, fully private.
Use JSON format, not HTML. ChatLume reads the messages/inbox/ folder inside the ZIP. HTML exports use a completely different structure that ChatLume cannot parse. If you see "no messages found", check that you selected JSON.
Media files may not be included depending on the date range and export settings. If photos and videos don't appear, the ZIP may not contain them — the text conversation will still load fine.
Open Instagram Viewer

Common questions

Why does the export show characters like "é" instead of "é"?

This is a known Instagram encoding bug — they save UTF-8 text using latin1 byte values. ChatLume automatically fixes this (called mojibake correction) so names and messages display correctly.

The ZIP has many conversation folders. Can I view specific ones?

Yes — ChatLume detects all threads in the ZIP and shows a conversation selector. You can pick any thread to view.

Can I view group chats?

Yes. Instagram exports group DMs (RegularGroup threads) in the same format. ChatLume displays sender names in different colours for group conversations.

Is my data uploaded to any server?

Never. ChatLume processes the ZIP entirely in your browser using the Web File API. Nothing is sent to a server.

I requested the export but never got an email.

Check your spam folder. If it's not there after a few hours, go back to Download your information in Instagram settings — sometimes the request needs to be submitted again. Also make sure you're checking the email address linked to your Instagram account.