You shared an Instagram story and are curious about who viewed it. There are various reasons for wanting to see who viewed your story, such as checking for stalkers or deleting a story you accidentally posted.
But what if I told you there is a way to see who has viewed your Instagram stories? A straightforward method to check if someone you did not want to see your story has viewed it?
I will explain how to obtain more detailed information about who has viewed your story and provide tips on managing who can view them.
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Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Story?
Yes, you can definitely see who viewed your Instagram stories. Instagram’s Activity card enables all users to do this effortlessly.
To do this, open the Instagram app, tap on your profile picture, swipe down, and review the list of people who viewed your story. You can see both the total number of viewers and the specific usernames of those who watched it.
Check Who Viewed Your Instagram Story on the App
Here is how to check who has viewed your story:
- Open your Instagram profile
- Tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner
- Tap on your profile picture in the left-hand corner
- Tap on the number of people who viewed your story in the left-hand corner
- Scroll up to see all the users who saw your story
Check Who Viewed Your Instagram Story on Desktop
You can easily see who viewed your stories using a desktop computer as well. The process is quite similar to checking the list of viewers on your phone.
Here’s how to check how many people viewed your story on your desktop:
- Open Instagram on your computer
- Click on your profile icon
- Tap on Instagram stories
- Click on the eye icon in the left-hand corner
- Scroll through the list of viewers
Check Who Viewed Your Expired Instagram Story
The viewer list cannot be checked after your story has expired. However, you can view all your stories in the stories archive.
Can Someone View Your Story Without You Knowing?
Whether you have a private or public profile, third-party apps enable users to view stories anonymously. Those who view stories through these apps do not need to provide their login information or username, nor do they need to have an Instagram account to browse stories.
A private profile offers you increased privacy since only your followers can view your stories; however, users of third-party apps can still access them. Additionally, even those using these apps will not be able to see expired Instagram stories.
3 Tips to Control Who Views Your Instagram Stories
Here are some tips that will help you manage who can view your stories:
Switch to a Private Account
As previously mentioned, if you want complete control over who can view your page and stories, switching to a private profile may be the best option. While this solution may not suit everyone, it is the most effective.
By making this choice, you are not only safeguarding the privacy of your posted stories but also any photos or videos you share. Only the individuals you permit to follow you will have access to your profile. This guarantees that you alone can determine who views your profile page.
This can be easily accomplished through the Instagram settings:
- Open your Instagram profile
- Go to Settings
- Go to Privacy
- Toggle Private Account
Utilize the Close Friends Feature
If you prefer to keep your profile public, creating a close friends list would be ideal for you. These lists enable you to control who can view your stories by simply adding them to your close friends.
Additionally, you can always add or remove individuals from this list, ensuring that you select only those you genuinely want to see your stories.
Here is how to activate and use the Close Friends feature:
- Open your Instagram profile
- Go to Settings
- Go to Privacy
- Select the Story menu
- Go to Close friends
- Add or remove people from the list
Hide Stories from Specific Accounts
This feature also enables you to maintain a public profile while ensuring your privacy. This contrasts with the close friends list. By hiding stories from specific accounts, you can control which users will not have access to your stories.
Anyone you add to this list, regardless of whether your profile is public or private, will not be able to view any of the stories you post. However, you can choose to unhide your stories from those individuals at any time.
Here is how to utilize the Hide Story feature:
Conclusion
Overall, checking who viewed your story is entirely possible and easy to accomplish with a little practice. This can be done using both a phone and a desktop computer, and the process for checking is quite similar.
Additionally, users can view your stories without your knowledge, so be cautious when posting stories on your public Instagram account. These individuals do not appear in your story viewers, meaning you may never realize they have done this.
There are several ways to protect your privacy on Instagram, whether or not you switch to a private account. You should be aware of all these features so you can post whatever you want with confidence.
FAQ
Can you tell how many times someone views your Instagram story?
While a lot of information about stories is provided to users, this one is not. There is no definite way of checking how many times someone has seen your story.
What does it mean when someone is at the top of your Instagram story views?
Contrary to popular belief, when someone is added to the top of your Instagram story viewers list, this does not mean that they looked at your story multiple times. This simply means that this person is a new viewer of your story.
How to see who viewed your Instagram story the most?
There is no way to check who viewed your Instagram story the most. Instagram will only provide the number of people who have seen your story, not the number of times they viewed it.