Social media is a great way for us to share our lives with our friends, family, and even strangers. Instagram, in particular, has a stories feature that allows us to post short clips or photos that can be viewed for up to 24 hours after posting. But have you ever wanted to not see someone’s Instagram story without them knowing? In this article, we’ll discuss the various ways you can do exactly that.
1. Introduction to Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a feature on the Instagram platform that allows users to create and share multiple photos or videos as a narrative that disappears after 24 hours. It’s a great way for users to share with others what’s going on in their lives in a fun and creative way.
Instagram Stories are fully integrated into the Instagram platform, allowing posts to appear at the top of the feed, where everyone can see. It’s important to note that Instagram Stories are optimized for mobile devices, as they are displayed in vertical orientation.
The Benefits of Instagram Stories
- Space to communicate: With the rise in popularity of Stories, it’s even easier for users to stay in touch with their followers.
- Show your personality: By using Instagram Stories, users can showcase their unique aesthetic, from fonts and colour palettes, to stickers, tags and polls.
- Content distribution: Instagram Stories can be used to share content beyond just photos or videos, such as text, links, and more.
2. Understanding Who Can See Your Story
On Instagram, the story you post is viewable to your whole followers list. But, there is an option to customize who can view it:
- Public: Select this option if you want everyone who follows you to see your story.
- Close friends: Create a Close Friends list in your Instagram account to select who can view your story
- Custom: If you want very selective views, you can pick the people who can view your story.
In case you want to restrict someone from seeing your story, you can do so by going to the person’s profile and clicking the three-dotted icon next to the Follow/Following button. Choose Hide Story From and the person’s name will be hidden from your story.
Additionally, if you don’t want a person to see your story, you can block them. This will not only restrict them from viewing your story but additionally from accessing your profile, liking or commenting on posts, direct messaging you and watching your live videos.
3. Mute or Unfollow Users to Hide Their Story
If you’re not interested in someone’s story but don’t want to unfriend them, you can opt to mute or unfollow them instead. This will hide their stories in your feed without them being informed you’ve stopped following them.
Muting or unfollowing them can be done in one of two ways:
- From Someone’s Profile: open their profile, click the three-dot button ‘…’ and select ‘Mute’ or ‘Unfollow’.
- From Your Friend Request: go to the list of friend requests and click the three-dot button to the right of their profile name, then choose ‘Mute’ or ‘Unfollow’.
Muting or unfollowing someone is an effective way for you to enjoy a more enjoyable experience on your platform of choice. It allows you to block their story updates from your feed without alerting them that you have done so.
4. How to Hide Someone’s Story from Your View
Hiding someone’s Story can come in handy if you want to focus on some people’s content and have the Story feed not cluttered with irrelevant posts.
Hiding on PC:
- Go to the Story feed.
- Locate the Story you want to hide, hover the cursor on it, you will get the menu below.
- Click on the three dots, a menu without the ‘Mute Story’ option will pop up – click ‘View Story’
- Here, you should find the ‘Mute Story’ option on the bottom – click ‘Mute Story’.
Hiding on Mobile:
- Open the app and the Story feed.
- Locate the Story of the person you want to hide, tap on it.
- A window should pop up and you will have the option to ‘Mute Story’ on the bottom.
- Tap on it, and you have mutted the Story.
Once you have muted the Story, the person’s all posts will not show in your Story feed anymore. If you want to unmute the Story, go to the same Story window where you have the option to ‘Mute Story’ and it should come with the option to ‘Unmute Story’.
5. What to Do if You Still See Their Story
If you still have the story of your ex even after the steps above, block him/her directly or customize the settings or your account. Go to your Settings and Privacy and open the tab Story. Select the option Custom. Select your ex from the list of contacts, then scroll down to Hide Your Story From and make sure your ex is selected.
If the above steps don’t work for you, consider taking a break from Instagram. Taking a break from Instagram can often help reset how you view your ex’s story and make it easier to stay away from them. Simply deactivate your Instagram account and focus on other activities like yoga or sports that can help divert your attention.
If you don’t want to take a break from Instagram, you can unfollow them or unliking any content they post. This will help make sure you won’t see their stories in your feed. There are other options like muting their stories, but it’s usually better to take a break from any interaction with the person. There are a few steps you can take if you are trying to avoid the story of your ex:
- Block them
- Customize your privacy settings so their story will be hidden
- Take a break from Instagram
- Unfollow and/or unlike statements from them
- Mute their stories
Taking these steps can help in lessening the burden to remember them and potentially reduce the temptation of coming back and checking on them. Instagram can be a great platform to stay connected with friends and family, but it is important to respect the privacy of others. Not seeing someone’s stories without them knowing is not only respectful, but it also helps to support healthy boundaries. Armed with this knowledge, users can enjoy Instagram without causing unnecessary stress or damaging relationships.
