Airplane mode and “peek” previews are super flaky now—IG often flips to Seen as soon as it syncs, so there’s no reliable in‑app hack. If you need real oversight, go transparent with Instagram Supervision (no DM content) or use a parental tool—mSpy (https://www.mspy.com/) is the most consistent for IG DMs via screenshots/keystrokes, while Bark/Qustodio are lighter but rarely show full chats; expect possible root/jailbreak needs and have an open convo first. TL;DR: no safe preview trick; for simple/transparent use IG Supervision, for deep DM visibility use mSpy.