If i don t follow a public profile on instagram can they still see i checked their stories

As a netizen, if you ever hear the term stories around somewhere, it’ll directly take your mind to Instagram. This is because of the exponential growth in the popularity of stories on this particular social media platform. But were you aware that Instagram wasn’t the first platform to launch the stories feature? In fact, it was not even an original idea by Instagram. The feature was first launched by Snapchat in October 2013, with a concept of temporary or time-sensitive content that disappears after 24 hours.

The feature was rolled out on Instagram three years later, after which it found its way to both WhatsApp and Facebook. Over time, Instagram kept upgrading its stories feature with various customizable viewer options and filters.

Our blog today revolves around Instagram stories as well. If you feel like learning more about how stories work on the platform, stick with us till the end!

Viewing stories on Instagram: Here’s how they work

Before we get straight to the matter at hand, let’s do a quick catch-up on how viewing stories work on Instagram. As you already know, there are two kinds of accounts on Instagram: private and public.

If you own a private account, any story you post can be viewed by every user who follows them. And if you want an even more restricted audience, you can customize your Close Friends list and then upload a story with a green star.

Furthermore, you also have the option of hiding your story from specific users if you need to. All you need to do is go to their profiles and enable the setting.

These customization options remain the same for both private and public accounts. However, while the audience of a regular story is limited to the followers of a private account, in a public account, it’s open to all.

In other words, if you upload a story on your public account, any Instagram user can see it if they find your profile, regardless of whether or not they follow you.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s skip ahead to the specific question we’re here to resolve: If you don’t follow a public profile on Instagram but check their stories still, will they find out?

Well, this might not be the answer you were looking for, but yes, they will.

Here’s how it works:

When you open any of your own stories and swipe up the screen, what do you see? The Viewers listof your story. On this list, the name of every user who has viewed your story will be mentioned.

If you’re a private account owner, this should be complicated as all your viewers are already your followers. Whereas, in the case of a public account, random people can view your stories as well.

No matter who’s viewing your story, their name is bound to turn up in your Viewers list.

So, if you’ve checked a public account owner’s story and are wondering if they could’ve seen it, then yes, they could have. But not necessarily. Most public account owners don’t bother with checking every single one of their story views because who has got the time? And once the 24-hours window is complete, even they won’t be able to check their list.

Is there a way I can turn off the visibility of my views?

On WhatsApp, you can view any status in incognito mode by disabling your read receipts. However, no such feature has been rolled out by Instagram as of now. This means that there’s sadly no way for you to turn the visibility of your story views off. But don’t worry; if such a feature is launched on the platform in the future, we’ll be the first ones to tell you all about it.

Also Read:

• How to Stop Your Account from Being Suggested on Instagram
• How to Fix “Your account will be suspended soon” on Instagram
• Why Does Instagram Showing Wrong Number of Posts on My Account?

Instagram Stories were a big hit with users worldwide. They’re interesting, customizable, and make for great entertainment. It’s for this reason; they’re just as fun to view as they are to make. If you’ve taken advantage of Instagram’s Stories feature, you’d probably love some feedback about who is watching your artwork.

In this edition of the Tips and Tricks series, we look at how to see who viewed your Instagram story.

Almost everyone likes to share stuff, but the best bit about the whole process is discovering who has seen it. We all want to know who’s checking us out. Fortunately, you can see every person who viewed your Stories after you posted them. Here’s how:

1. Open Instagram and tap on your Story icon in the upper left corner.
   
   
2. In the lower left corner, you will see another users profile icon. This indicates that someone has viewed your Story.
   
   
3. Tap on the icon to view all of the users who have viewed your content.
   
   
4. If you don’t see the icon in the lower left, it means that no one has viewed your Story.
   
   
5. If you want to double-check that no other users have watched your Story, swipe up from the bottom. You’ll see that no names are listed.
   
   

Now that you know how to see who viewed your Story, there’s still plenty to learn.

More people see your first Story than your last for two reasons: When someone swipes right, they’ll always see your first Story, and you can skip the rest of someone’s Story by swiping right instead of touching or clicking right. If you want to see who has seen all of your stories, including the first one on your screen, click the Seen by… in the bottom, left-hand corner.

How to Check Your Instagram Story Analytics

Analytics are slightly different from the views we’ve talked about above. While Analytics won’t tell you who saw your content, they will give you a lot of insight into how your Stories are doing. From how many other users they’re reaching to how many views you’ve had, Analytics is the perfect tool for marketers and influencers alike.

The next step is to check your analytics.

If you have a business account, this list will appear so that you can do the following:

• Track how many people view your story
• Press next
• Exit your story
• Follow the person because they saw your story

The above features are helpful if you want to grow a decent following on your Instagram account.

• To view your analytics, click or press the graph icon (marked by the red box on the screen) to view the page. If you’re not worried about growing a channel, these statistics won’t mean much to you, but they are cool to see.
• To exit these screens, click back on your phone, and you will return to the home screen.

When it comes to privacy, only you can see who has visited your Story and how many visits it had. If it’s a total failure, you’ll be thankful for this little detail.

As you can see, viewing who saw your Instagram Stories is not that complicated. Just follow the above guide, and you’re good to go!

Should You Be Concerned About Someone Viewing Your Stories?

With respect to the internet and social media, in particular, a lot of users are left wondering, “When should you be concerned about your privacy?” There isn’t exactly a cookie-cutter answer here. There are several reasons you may want to see who’s checking out your content.

Are you trying to impress one person, and you’re hoping that they’re noticing? Are you trying to track your path to Instagram fame? Or are you worried that someone is viewing your content for nefarious purposes?

If you’re wondering whether or not a crush or an influencer is noticing your Stories, it would probably be easier to ask them if they saw it, had any tips, or liked it since you can’t see how many times they viewed it.

Assuming you’d like to track your path to fame, switch your Instagram account to a Professional Account where you can get real-time updates and analytics.

Lastly, if someone is stalking or harassing you, block them. It’s that simple, honestly. You can also report abusive users and those who use your Instagram story for reasons that go against the Community Guidelines.

Is It Possible to View a Story Without the Creator Knowing?

If you’re concerned about your security or an Instagram stalker, you may be curious to know if someone can view your Story without detection. While some third-party apps and websites claim to do this, most don’t actually let anyone view your content if it’s private and they aren’t your friend.

There is one workaround that many Instagram users swear by, but it can be a little tricky and only shows a preview of the Story. If you aren’t familiar with every function of Instagram’s Stories, it is possible to pause and preview the next one undetected.

By choosing a Story to the right of yours, the user could long-press the current Story and slowly drag the screen to the right where they could preview your Story. Since the user never actually opened your Story all the way, you’d never know they were interested.

However, if they happened to scroll all the way to the right, Instagram would recognize that they did open your Story, and you’d get a notification. So, like we said, it can be tricky.

Frequently Asked Questions

In case our article didn’t answer all of your questions, we’ve included more information here.

Can someone tell how many times you viewed their Story?

No, but there are some theories that those who view the stories the most will appear at the top of the list. If you suspect that someone is viewing your Story multiple times and you don’t want them to, it may be a good idea to hide your Story from them altogether. You can do this when posting, select the option for who to share your Story with, and exclude that person if there’s a concern.

Can someone tell if I screenshot a story?

Instagram tends to go back and forth on this, but currently, no. Only Direct Messages with photos on Instagram send screenshot alerts. It’s best to avoid putting anything online you wouldn’t want someone to save for later.

Can I tell who viewed my profile?

No, the only indicator that someone is snooping around is if they interact with your profile. For example, click on your Story, comment, like, share, etc.

Can I see who viewed my Instagram Story after 24 hours?

Only if you’ve set your Instagram account settings to archive your stories, visit the horizontal three-dot icon from your Profile page to access your Archives. According to Instagram, the Stories in your archive folder will only show your viewers for 48 hours, so if you want to investigate who viewed your Stories, you’ll need to act quickly.

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