With the rise of online presence in today’s digital age, social media platforms such as Instagram have become integral parts of many people’s lives. One of the most popular features of the app is the ability to share photos and videos in a ‘story’ format. But what if you want to watch someone’s Instagram story without them knowing? Is it possible? This article will look into the various ways you can view someone’s Instagram story without them knowing.
1. What is an Instagram Story?
An Instagram Story is a feature that allows users to upload either a photo or short video in portrait format. Stories only last for 24 hours and will no longer appear after the 24-hour period. Posts to a story can include custom graphics with text overlay, filter applications and stories can even be made interactive by tagging other Instagram users. Followers will see the story at the top of their page beside the normal images posted.
Benefits of Using Stories:
- Stories are shown to all followers so they are an easy way to increase engagement and gain more followers.
- Stories can help the user to illustrate trends and topics in a fun, daily way.
- Stories are also a great way to publicly thank people, shout out followers, or advertise current sales.
Limitations of Using Stories:
- Stories are only available for 24 hours, which does not work for long-lasting content.
- The video upload limit for stories is 15 seconds, with 1 minute for IGTV.
- They are less polished than posting normal images and videos.
2. How Can You View Someone’s Instagram Story Without Them Knowing?
The Instagram story feature is a great way to share the best moments of your day with your followers. But if you don’t want to alert the person whose story you are viewing, you don’t have to. It’s possible to view someone’s Instagram story without them knowing.
Here’s how:
- Open the Instagram app and log in as usual.
- Visit the profile of the person whose story you want to see.
- Click on the three dots in the top right corner of the home page.
- Click on “Go to web version” and wait for their page to open.
- Click on the profile image of the person to view their story in anonymous mode.
If you don’t want them to know, be sure not to “like”, comment, or tag them in any of the stories that you view. You can even click on the airplane icon, so that the story isn’t added to “Seen by whoever” list on the story.
3. Is It Possible To Limit Who Sees Your Instagram Story?
Yes, you can limit who sees your Instagram stories. There are three options you can use to control who is able to view your stories.
- Close Friends list: You can create a list and only post stories that are available to view by that list.
- Hide Story From: You can select specific people you would like to hide your story from when you post it.
- Story Controls: You can access settings that give you the ability to control who can reply to your stories or send direct message requests.
The Close Friends list is a simple way to limit who views your stories, but you can add and remove people from that list anytime. When creating a story, click on the Close Friends icon and select the friends you would like to allow access to that story. Everyone else who follows you cannot view the story.
The Hide Story From setting allows you to create a list of people that are blocked from viewing all your stories. This is a useful feature if you know someone is stalking your stories, but you don’t want to block them. However, you can only select 25 people or accounts for hiding or blocking.
With Story Controls, you can access additional features. You can turn off replies from people you don’t follow, or you can turn on the feature that requires the person who wants to message you to follow you first. Both of these settings are helpful in restricting who can view and contact you from your stories.
4. What Else Should You Know About Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories can now be used to promote posts that contain links. Once a user clicks your story and swipes up, they can get directly linked to the content. This is a great way to promote brands, blog posts, and products.
Stories can also be used to blog live from an event. Whether it’s an art show, a tech hackathon, or a meet-up, you can use the live feature to show people attending the event what’s going on and share your experience.
Additionally, you can use stories for polls and asking questions. This is a great way to get feedback from your followers and engage with them. When you post a poll, you’ll be able to see the results in real-time and decide what to do next.
- Advertise Links: You can now post links to promotions, brands, blog posts, and products.
- Go Live: Use the live video feature to show people attending an event what’s going on in real-time.
- Polls & Questions: Ask your followers questions and get feedback from them.
5. How Do You Make Sure Nobody is Viewing Your Instagram Story Without Your Knowledge?
1. Set Your Story Privacy
Setting your story privacy is the first step to take to make sure that not everyone can view your story. Instagram allows you to set who can view your story. You have the option of having it open to everyone, keeping it limited to just your followers, and even allowing only a select few to view it.
2. Turn Off Story Sharing
Turning off story sharing can help you control who is viewing your Instagram story. This feature prevents people from being able to share your story to their followers or send it directly to individuals, which can help keep it from being viewed by people you don’t want to see it.
3. Use Close Friends List
Using a Close Friends List is a great way to ensure that your story is only seen by people you know and can trust. You can manually add people to this list by their username and they will be notified that they have been added to your Close Friends list. When you post to your story, only the people in this list will be able to view it.
- Set your story privacy
- Turn off story sharing
- Use Close Friends List
Doing these simple steps can help you make sure that nobody is viewing your Instagram story without your knowledge. It’s important to remember that while these steps can help you keep your story private, nothing is 100% foolproof. You should still be mindful of who you’re sharing your story with and who you are allowing to view it. We hope this article has given you a better understanding of how to navigate the privacy settings of someone’s Instagram stories. Armed with this knowledge, you can now be sure to give your friends and family members the respect that they deserve on social media platforms.
