Can you see if someone watches your instagram story

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Instagram borrowed the “Stories” feature from Snapchat in 2016, and it became an essential part of the platform. Now more than 500 million Instagram users use Instagram stories every day. With stories, you can share photos and videos that disappear from your profile after 24 hours. You can see who has viewed your stories by just swiping up from the story panel. When the story disappears from your story tab after 24 hours, you can no longer access this data from there. But actually, you can see the list of story viewers up to 48 hours after you post it using Instagram's archives feature. Read this wikiHow to learn more!

Steps

1. 

   1

   Open the Instagram app on your smartphone. It’s the purple, pink, and orange icon with a white camera inside that you'll find on one of your Home screens, in the app drawer, or by searching.

   • Login with your account, if you haven't already done so. Also, make sure that the archiving feature is not disabled on your account.

2. 

   2

   Go to your profile page. Tap on your profile icon at the bottom-right corner of the app.

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3. 

   3

   Tap on the ≡ button. This will be located at the top-right corner of your screen. The menu tab will show up, after doing so.

4. 

   4

   Tap on the Archive option. It will be the second option on the list.

5. 

   5

   Navigate to the "Stories archive" section. Tap on the Posts archive option at the top then select "Stories archive".

6. 

   6

   Select a story from there. Remember that you can only see the viewer info up to 48 hours after you post it.

7. 

   7

   Swipe up on the story. Now you can see the number and the usernames of the people who have viewed your story. That's all!

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  How do you view who watched your story from say, 2 years ago?

  

  It's not possible. You can only see the list of story viewers up to 48 hours after you post it.

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• This function is also available on the Instagram highlights feature. If you have been added your stories to highlights, you can see the viewers details from there. Note that the 48 hours limit is also applied here.

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Social

Here’s everything you need to know about Instagram Stories.

Instagram launched its Stories feature in 2016 in a bid to compete with rival social media network Snapchat. Since then, it’s become one of Instagram’s most popular functionalities.  

With Instagram Stories, you can share photos, video clips, and posts that are viewable for 24 hours. A day after being posted, most Instagram Stories will disappear forever.

If there’s a specific Instagram Story you’d like to treasure for all eternity, you can save it to your Instagram memories or download it onto your device.

You can even display memorable stories on your Instagram profile as highlights, which don’t have an expiration date.

Overall, Instagram Stories are a great way to give people a glimpse into your daily life without uploading a traditional post.

But can you see who views your Instagram Stories, and if so, how do you find out Instagram Story views?

So, can you see who looks at your Instagram Stories?

Short answer: Yes

When you upload an Instagram Story, it can be watched by your followers – unless you block certain users from seeing your Story or only share it with close friends.

And if you don’t have a private account, other Instagram users can access your Stories by typing your username into the Instagram search bar and clicking the profile picture on your profile. 

READ MORE: Who’s the most followed person on Instagram?

Once you’ve uploaded an Instagram Story and people start viewing it, you can find out how many views your Story has received and viewers’ identities. 

How do you see Instagram Story views? 

Short answer: Click on a Story and swipe up

It’s quick and simple to look at your Instagram Story views. Just click on your Instagram Story, and swipe up.

You’ll see an eye icon that indicates how many people have seen your Story. And underneath, there’ll be a list of all the users who have viewed it thus far.

Of course, when you first add a new Instagram Story, it’s quite possible that nobody has viewed it at that point. If this is the case, you’ll see a message saying: “No one has seen this yet.”

Can other people find out that you’ve looked at their Story? 

Short answer: Yes

As well as uploading your own Instagram Stories, you no doubt look at other users’ Stories.

Just like you can see which users have looked at your Story, other people will be able to tell when you’ve viewed theirs.

Sadly, Instagram doesn’t currently offer a way to prevent this. That said, a possible workaround is using airplane mode on your smartphone.

You’ll need an internet connection to load an Instagram Story, but once the Story you want to view is visible, simply turn on airplane mode before viewing it.

If you view someone’s Story by accident and don’t want them to know, blocking them should do the trick.

Of course, using the block button is typically a last resort.

Think before viewing 

While there are many hacks for unseeing Instagram Stories, perhaps you should just avoid looking at stories uploaded by people who aren’t in your life anymore.

Those could be ex-partners, friends you’ve argued with, or estranged family members. That way, you don’t need to overthink.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• How to post on Instagram from a desktop
• Here’s how to add pronouns to your Instagram profile
• How to block words, phrases, and emojis on Instagram
• Here’s how to block sensitive content on Instagram

Nicholas is a freelance technology journalist from the Welsh valleys. He's written for outlets like the Financial Times, Forbes, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Next Web, Engadget and Computer Weekly. When Nicholas isn't writing, he's probably listening to Mariah Carey or watching videos of sausage dogs on TikTok.

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