Instagram has been the internet's favorite photo-sharing social media platform since its launch in 2010. More than two billion users use the platform monthly, with many photos uploaded daily. With such statistics, maybe you're just a little curious as to whether you can see who views your Instagram posts, Story, or profile.
Here's what you should know about what you can track and how to see who viewed your Instagram posts.
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram?
Instagram is pretty lean on details about who views your profile and content. As such, it's not surprising that questions like, “can you see who viewed your Instagram post?” are quite popular.
To some extent, it's possible to see who viewed your Instagram photos and videos—but this only really applies to Stories. Unfortunately, the app doesn't have this same function for regular photo and video posts. As such, you can't see who views your Instagram photos or videos posted in your feed unless they've liked it or left a comment.
However, you can see how many views a video post has.
If you own a business account on Instagram, you can also see the number of visitors you had in the past few weeks or how many users saw your content in their feed. But you cannot view the list of usernames.
Regular posts are limited to information on who liked your photo and commented on the post.
How to See Who Viewed Your Instagram Story
So now that you know that you can see who views your Instagram Story during the day, how can you access this information in the app?
You just need to follow these steps:
- Open your Story by tapping Your Story at the top left.
- Swipe up on the screen. You'll see the number of people and account usernames of those who have viewed each photo or video in your Story. Only you are able to see this information.
Anytime you want to see viewers on your live Instagram Story, just follow the steps above.
How to See Who Viewed Your Instagram Story After 24 Hours
If your Story has expired (it's been more than 24 hours since you posted it), you can still check who has seen it up to 48 hours after it went up. After 48 hours since the Story was posted, you will no longer be able to see who viewed it.
To see who you viewed your Instagram Story after expiry, go to your profile and then follow these steps:
- Tap the icon with three horizontal lines in the top right.
- Tap Archive.
- If you aren't already on the Stories Archive page, tap the title at the top of the screen to open the dropdown menu.
- Select Stories Archive.
- Tap the Story you want to check, and either swipe up on the screen or tap the icon at the bottom left.
The number of Story views includes replays. You may see a higher number of views than usernames if the same account has viewed your Story more than once.
If you're trying to get more eyes on your content, there are some things you can try to get more views on your Instagram Stories.
How to See Your Video Views on Instagram
You can check how many views your Instagram videos have, making them different from regular photo posts, which only show likes. However, if you want, you can hide the number of likes on your Instagram posts.
To check how many people have viewed your Instagram video, follow these steps:
- Navigate to your Instagram profile and tap on the video you want to check.
- Underneath the video, you'll see that your video has a given number of views. Tap the [X] views option to see the total views and likes.
- The first number on the following screen is how many views your video has. The second number is how many likes your video has.
You cannot see all the viewers' usernames individually, but you can scroll through the list to see the usernames of everyone who liked the video. If you're searching for someone specific, you can use the search bar at the top.
The views total is only available for videos. For photos, the details pane will only show the list of users who liked it.
You'll also see a View Insights button beneath your posts if you have a professional Instagram account. For videos, instead of tapping [X] views, select View Insights to view more detailed information about your video.
On top of the total number of likes, views, and comments, you'll also see the number of shares and saves. Instagram also displays the number of accounts reached by the post and the impact it had on your profile in terms of visits and new followers. These stats can help in running your Instagram business account efficiently.
Are There Third-Party Apps That Let You See Who Viewed Your Instagram Profile?
When your favorite apps don't have the function you wish they had built in, what do you do? Some folks might go on a quick search for an alternative in the form of third-party apps. Don't be fooled by any applications that make this claim.
In an article in Reader's Digest, Alex Heid of SecurityScorecard notes: “Anything advertising a feature that shows who viewed your profile would not be a legitimate service and should be avoided as it is likely just an app that is there to collect data for those who use it.”
Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2016, so it makes sense that there is some overlap between them. They have similar privacy settings, and you can't see who has viewed your Facebook profile, either.
Instagram Lets You See Some Details on Who Viewed Your Content
Maybe Instagram will consider adding something in the future to allow users to see who has viewed their photos. But in the meantime, the most you can do is keep an eye on who keeps tabs on your Stories and how well the videos on your feed do.