When you post an Instagram story, other Instagram users, including your followers will be able to view your Instagram story. But do you ever wonder who all are watching your Instagram story?
It may be to find out if your boss is keeping an eye on your Instagram stories, or maybe you are worried about your parents or relatives watching them. Regardless of why you want to find out who views your Instagram stories, even anonymously, we are here to provide a simple solution.
Check out the guide below which explains the process of how you can see the list of viewers for your Instagram stories, whether they are live ones or deleted.
If you don’t have access to your phone, don’t worry, we have a handy method to find out who viewed your Instagram story, right from your computer as well!
Can I see who viewed my Instagram Story?
Yes! You can definitely see who all have viewed your Instagram story. But remember that you can only see the viewers for the first 24 hours after your posted your Instagram story.
Once it disappears automatically from your Instagram profile, you will still be able to see who viewed your Instagram story for an additional 24 hours from your Instagram Stories archive.
Keep in mind that once this 48-hour time frame is over, you will no longer be able to see the list of viewers.
So, if you are really curious about who all have seen your Instagram story, then we suggest that you check the viewers within the first 24 to 48 hours.
How to see who viewed your Instagram Story?
No matter what reason you have for wanting to find out who viewed your Instagram story, here is a simple guide on how to do that.
Step 1: Launch the Instagram app and go to your homepage feed.
Step 2: You will see your display picture at the top. If you had posted an Instagram story recently, then you should be able to click on your profile picture to access these Instagram stories.
Step 3: On the Instagram story that you want to check the viewers for, there will be small profile pictures of other people at the bottom. It will usually say how many people your Instagram story was seen by. Tap on this.
Step 4: You will then be able to see a list of all the people who viewed your Instagram story. It will also show you who liked your story.
Can someone see your Instagram Story anonymously?
If your Instagram account is set to public, then it is possible for someone to view your Instagram stories from a 3rd party Instagram story viewer website. These websites allow anyone to watch the Instagram stories of public accounts, completely anonymously.
Otherwise, some may even create fake Instagram accounts to view your Instagram story. This way, you might not be able to see their exact identity. So, this is another way that people can see your Instagram story anonymously.
If you are worried about random people watching your Instagram stories, then we suggest that you switch to a private Instagram account. This adds a layer of security that lets you pick and choose the people who are allowed to see your Instagram stories and posts.
Can I see who viewed my deleted or expired Instagram Story?
If you delete your Instagram story completely, then there is no way to see who viewed that story. But, if your Instagram story simply disappears after 24 hours, as it should, then you can still see who viewed the Instagram story from your Stories archive. However, keep in mind that even in the Stories archive, you only have an additional 24 hours to view the list of people who saw your Instagram story. Let us look at how to access the Stories archive to see who viewed our deleted Instagram stories.
Step 1: Open Instagram and click on your profile picture in the bottom right corner to go to your profile.
Step 2: In the top right corner, you will see the hamburger menu icon. Hit it to see a popup menu.
Step 3: From the menu, choose the Archive option.
Step 4: At the top, you will be able to toggle between Posts archive, Stories, archive, and Live archive. Select Stories archive.
Step 5: Here, navigate to the story that you want to find the viewers for and click on it. If it was posted within the last 48 hours, then you will be able to see the viewers.
Step 6: At the bottom, tap on the small profile pictures of other accounts. This will take you to a list of all the people who viewed your Instagram story. You can scroll through it to see who all have seen your story.
Can you see who watched your IG Stories if you use a computer?
Yep! Just like on the mobile phone, you can see who all have watched your Instagram stories even on a computer. Follow the steps below if you are curious about how to do this.
Step 1: On your desktop, open a web browser like Google Chrome and go to www.instagram.com.
Step 2: Once you log in to your Instagram account, go to your profile by clicking on your display picture in the top right corner.
Step 3: Then, you will see a bigger circle with your display picture on your profile. Press on it to view your Instagram stories.
Step 4: Just like the previous methods, you will find the small profile pictures of your followers at the bottom of the story. Click on them to see the entire list of people who viewed your Instagram story.
IG Stories Archive settings
Instagram stories automatically settle into the archives after they expire. But, if you had initially changed those settings before, and want to change them back now, then this is the way to do it.
Step 1: Open Instagram and go to your profile.
Step 2: Hit the hamburger menu at the top and select Settings.
Step 3: Then, tap on Privacy and then the Story option.
Step 4: Finally, you will see an option to Save Story to Archive. If the toggle is blue, then this means that your Instagram stories will be stored in your Stories archive after 24 hours. But if it is grey, then your stories will not be saved to the archive. For future use, you might want to turn this feature on.
The bottom line
For those of you who are interested in seeing who viewed your Instagram story, all you need to do is go to the story and click on the small profile icons at the bottom to see the viewer list. But keep in mind that this list will only be available for viewing for the first 24 hours on your profile.
Once your Instagram story disappears, it lands in your stories archive, where you get an extra 24 hours to see who viewed that story. So, in total, you have 48 hours to see the viewers of your Instagram story.
Yes, there are ways through which some may view your Instagram stories anonymously, like using fake accounts, or 3rd party Instagram story viewers. To avoid this, you can switch to a private Instagram account. Not only can you see who viewed your Instagram story on your phone, but you also do it on your computer!
