With nearly 500 million daily users of Instagram stories, it’s safe to say that stories have become a significant part of our lives. Sometimes, when the people you’re following post an incredibly engaging story, it’s only natural to rewatch it multiple times.
However, this may prompt you to wonder, can someone see how many times you viewed their Instagram story? The answer is: No, they can’t.
This means you no longer need to fret about watching someone’s story repeatedly because they would never be able to tell. Having said that, I’ve compiled a guide to help you go deeper into this topic.
Plus, if you’re curious about how Instagram organizes a story’s viewer list or how to eliminate yourself from it entirely, I’ve got a few secret tips to trick Instagram’s algorithm below.
Let’s get straight to it!
Can Someone See How Many Times You Viewed Their Instagram Story?
I remember reading Marla Maples’s interview with New York Magazine, where she said, “The problem with losing your anonymity is that you can never go back.”
Adhering to that frame of mind, Instagram has no feature that enables people to check how many times a user has seen their story.
The only thing they can see is who viewed their story and the total number of views on it. So, even if you were to view their story several times, Instagram would still count it as a single view.
You can be assured that regardless of the number of times you view a person’s story, Instagram will display your name alongside other viewers and only inform the user of the total views garnered by their story.
How to See Who Viewed Your Instagram Story the Most?
If you’re trying to decode how to see who viewed your Instagram story the most, you’re on a wild goose chase. This means that although you can see the viewers who watched your story, there’s no way of knowing which user watched it more than others.
The viewer list that Instagram exhibits is not sorted in chronological order or who viewed your story again and again. Instead, the viewers at the top of the list are the ones who interacted with your story.
For instance, if a person reacted to your story or held the screen to pause it in order to get a clearer look at the image, that user would land at the top of your viewer list.
Hence, those who were previously wondering, ‘If you rewatch an Instagram story, does your name go to the top?’ can be assured that that’s not how the Instagram algorithm works.
How to Check the Viewer List of Your Instagram Story?
While there is no hack to see how many times someone viewed your story on Instagram, I can help you see the individual profiles of those who watched your story.
Here are the steps to check the viewer list:
1. Open the Instagram App on your device.
2. Now, tap the icon with your profile picture in the top left corner.
3. Tap the ‘Seen By‘ option at the bottom left.
4. A pop-up will appear with the number and a list of people who viewed your story.
Can You See Story Viewers Even After Your Story Has Expired?
If you forgot to monitor your Instagram story viewers within the first 24 hours after posting it, you can always get back to it later.
However, since stories are only available for 24 hours, you can’t check views after that duration from the method mentioned above.
Instead, you can open your Archive folder to see your story views for up to 48 hours after posting the story.
Follow these steps to find that out:
1. Open the Instagram App on your phone.
2. Now, hit your profile picture at the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Select the three-line menu icon sitting at the top right corner.
4. Press ‘Archive’ from the menu.
5. Browse through your story collection and select the story whose views you wish to check.
How Can You Watch Someone’s Without Them Knowing?
If you don’t want a user to even assume that you could have seen their story multiple times, then there are several methods you can use to ensure they don’t see you in their Instagram story viewers.
Let me free you from the mystery of ‘Can someone see if you viewed their Instagram story multiple times?’ Follow the steps given below to conceal your name from the viewer list regardless of how many times you’ve viewed someone’s story.
Switch to Airplane Mode
The first way to watch a story without its creator finding out is by switching your device to Airplane Mode. This way, your device will not be able to connect to the internet, making it impossible to record your view of someone’s story.
However, to ensure this method works optimally, you need to load all your stories before setting your phone on Airplane Mode. You can now repeatedly watch the loaded stories on your feed without appearing on their viewer list.
Once you’re done, remember to close the app before removing your phone from Airplane Mode.
Half Swiping
Once you’re at the story that comes before the Instagram story of the person whose story you wish to view anonymously, you can half-swipe to achieve this feat. You can do this by swiping to the next story without removing your finger from the screen.
This indicates to the algorithm that you’re still watching the previous story while, in reality, you’re on the next one. However, since you haven’t lifted your finger, Instagram can’t detect your view of that individual’s story.
Remember that this method only works when the story features an image and not a video. This is because, if it’s a picture, you can view it for as long as you want without letting go of the screen.
In case it’s a video, you can only watch the thumbnail since the rest of the video would be paused if you press the screen. This means that to watch the entire video, you’ll need to let go of your fingers.
Therefore, you may need to opt for the other two methods since this one only works well for stories that contain pictures.
Third-Party Tools
The web is flooded with third-party tools promising to hide your name from the story viewer list, whether you watch it once or a hundred times. However, talking from personal experience, not every site is to be trusted for the job.
A reliable third-party website I can approve of for this purpose is storysaver.net. You simply have to enter the username of the person whose story you wish to see without appearing in their Instagram story viewers.
The tool will show you all the stories they’ve uploaded within 24 hours prior to your search. You can even download Instagram stories or see stories of people who’ve blocked you without notifying them of your presence.
Can Someone See How Many Times You Viewed Their Instagram Profile?
Similar to the case with stories, there is no way for a user to know how many times you viewed their Instagram profile. As for the question, can you see how many times someone viewed your Instagram post? The answer is the same.
However, profile interactions can drop hints of a user snooping around your Instagram profile. So, if someone accidentally likes or leaves a comment on an old post of yours, you can tell that they’ve been stalking your profile.
If you receive an uncomfortable message from someone or feel uneasy about someone’s profile, you can always block them or report them to Instagram’s Report Center.
FAQs
Conclusion
With that, we conclude your hunt for the answer to: ‘Can someone see how many times you viewed their Instagram story?’
You can now breathe easy and enjoy watching Instagram stories without the fear of someone discovering the number of times you replayed their story.
Instagram only reveals who viewed their story, not how many times. So, relax and watch it as much as you like.
If you’ve still got doubts about this, share your queries below!
