There are a few things you can do in order to view a message someone has sent you on Instagram without having to follow them.

  1. Open the app and sign in with your account. This will give you access to all of your posts and messages from that day.
  2. Click on the three lines in the top left corner of the main screen and select “View as: Text.” This will show all of your messages, posts, and followers in one place.
  3. Type “@username” into the text field at the bottom of the screen and hit enter. This will take you to that person’s account page on Instagram where you can see their messages, posts, and followers.