Instagram has been the internet’s favorite photo-sharing social media platform since its launch in 2010. More than 95 million photos are uploaded to Instagram every day, so 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 details on who viewed certain content from your profile…
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram?
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.
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.
Otherwise, 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.
If your Story has expired (it’s been more than 24 hours since you posted it), you can check who has seen it up to 48 hours after it went up.
To do this, go to your profile. Then follow these steps:
- Tap the icon with three horizonal 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 engagement on your content, here are some things you can try to make your Instagram Stories more engaging.
How to See How Many Views Your Instagram Video Has
You can check how many views your Instagram videos have, making them different from regular photo posts which only show likes.
To check how many people have viewed your Instagram video, follow these steps:
- Open up the Instagram profile tab, and tap on the video you want to check.
- Underneath the video, you’ll see that your video has been liked by a user (likely someone that follows you that you follow back) and others. Tap on others.
- 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.
Are There Any Third-Party Apps That Let You See Who Viewed Your Instagram Profile?
When your favorite apps don’t have the function you wish it 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 on Reader’s Digest, Alex Heid of SecurityScorecard said, “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.
