You’re scrolling through your feed, maybe half-awake, and you spot it. A tiny, vibrant instagram blue plus sign tucked into the corner of a profile picture. Or maybe it's sitting right there on your own face in the stories tray. It looks like a notification you missed, or a button you're supposed to click, but the app doesn't exactly come with a manual.
Honestly, Instagram loves to drop these little UI breadcrumbs without telling anyone what they actually do. It’s annoying. One day your profile looks normal, the next day you’ve got a blue "add" symbol staring back at you. Depending on where you see it—on your own icon, a friend's page, or even the main navigation bar—the meaning shifts.
Let's break down why that little blue plus is haunting your screen and what happens if you actually tap it.
The "Add to Story" Shortcut
Most of the time, that blue plus sign is just a nudge. If you see it on your own profile picture at the very beginning of the "Stories" bar (top left of your home feed), it means you haven't posted a story in the last 24 hours.
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Instagram wants you active. They want you posting. The blue plus is basically a "Create" button.
- When it shows up: When your current story expires or if you haven't posted one yet.
- What happens when you tap it: It opens your camera or gallery immediately so you can share a photo or video.
- How to make it go away: Just post a story. Once there is a colorful ring around your profile, the plus disappears because you're officially "active."
Seeing the Blue Plus on Someone Else's Profile
This is where people get confused. "Why does my crush have a blue plus on their face?"
If you are looking at someone else's profile page and you see a blue plus sign near their name or on a button, it’s usually the "Discover People" or "Follow Recommendation" trigger.
Sometimes, right next to the "Following" or "Message" button, there’s a small icon of a person with a plus sign. Tapping this doesn't "add" them to a secret list; it actually expands a tray of suggested accounts that are similar to the one you’re currently viewing. It's Instagram's way of saying, "Hey, if you like this person, you might also like these five other people."
The "New Account" Glitch
Interestingly, some users have reported seeing a blue plus on the profile pictures of people they already follow.
Usually, this is a minor UI bug. In 2024 and 2025, several updates caused the "Add Story" icon to bleed over onto other people's profile views. If you tap a friend's profile and see that plus, and tapping it does absolutely nothing, don't overthink it. It's just the app's code getting its wires crossed between your "Create" permissions and their profile view.
The Meta AI Connection
In the latest versions of the app, a blue plus icon has started appearing in the Direct Messages (DM) tray.
This isn't for stories. Meta has been aggressively pushing their AI tools. If you see a blue plus inside a chat or at the bottom of your message list, it’s often the entry point for Meta AI. It allows you to:
- Generate images on the fly.
- Ask a chatbot questions without leaving the app.
- Search for specific info within your chats.
It's a "plus" because you're "adding" an AI participant to your workflow. Kinda futuristic, kinda intrusive, but that's where the app is headed.
Why it Might Look Different on Your Phone
Not everyone sees the same icons. Instagram uses "A/B testing" constantly.
You might have a blue plus, while your best friend has a white one, or maybe theirs is inside a square. This is because Instagram rolls out features to small groups first to see which icons get more clicks. If people click the blue plus more often than a grey one, the blue plus becomes the standard for everyone else three months later.
A Note on the "Blue Profile Picture" Trend
It’s worth mentioning that sometimes people change their actual profile picture to a solid blue square.
This is separate from the app's icons. Historically, solid blue profile pictures have been used as a sign of solidarity for various movements, most notably the #BlueForSudan campaign. If the blue isn't a small icon but the entire photo, it's a manual change made by the user to support a cause or protest.
Getting Rid of the Icon
If the blue plus sign on your own profile is driving you crazy and you don't want to post a story, you're mostly out of luck. It’s a core part of the interface.
However, if you're seeing "Suggested for You" plus signs everywhere, you can occasionally hide these by tapping the "X" on the suggestion cards, though they usually crawl back after a few days of scrolling.
Quick Fixes for UI Glitches:
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- Clear Cache: If the plus sign is appearing over people's faces where it shouldn't, go to your phone settings and clear the Instagram app cache.
- Force Stop: Close the app completely and restart.
- Update: Check the App Store or Play Store. These tiny visual bugs are usually patched in the weekly "bug fixes and performance improvements" updates.
Basically, the blue plus is the "Do Something" button. Whether it's adding a story, adding a new friend, or adding an AI to your chat, it's the app's way of keeping you from just staring at a static screen.
To keep your profile looking clean and "active" to your followers, keep a story live. The moment you upload something, that blue plus sign retreats until the 24-hour timer runs out again. If you're seeing it in DMs, get used to it—it's part of the new Meta AI ecosystem that isn't going away anytime soon.
Check your app version in the settings menu to see if you have the latest "Meta AI" integrations, as this determines exactly what that plus sign will trigger when you tap it in your inbox. For most, simply uploading a "test" story and then deleting it is the fastest way to clear the icon from your own view if it's bothering you.