Instagram Story Views: Can Someone See I Watched Their Story if I am Not Following Them?

Instagram stories are all the rage because they are exciting to watch. Who can resist these short clips that can summarize your entire day for all your friends and family members to experience life with you?

Not only can you post your own clips, but you can also see who viewed them. If that is not enough, you can see Instagram story views if they have been sent via direct messages.

However, this may not be the best if you want to sneakily check out what your ex did last summer. Here is what you need to know about Instagram story views and whether someone you do not follow can catch you for stalking.

Can Everyone See Instagram Story Views?

If you browse a public Instagram page, the user will see everybody who viewed their story. This can be done by posting an Instagram story and then swiping up on the screen.

You will come across a list of people who viewed that Instagram story. However, this is different for private pages.

If you have an account on private, only the people who follow you can see your story and vice versa. The private account you want to secretly view can only show this information if you follow them.

As a non-follower, you may not even have the option to look at their story on Instagram. There are dodgy third-party apps and companies that make big promises to send notifications to people if you have watched their stories.

However, many of these are scams. Check out this article to learn more about Instagram story views for non-followers.

How to Unsee Instagram Story?

Thanks to modern technology in 2022, anything is possible. You can now unsee Instagram stories if you accidentally viewed them and do not want others to know, especially if you follow them.

The best way is to deactivate your Instagram account for 48 hours. This is an extreme step but an important one. Since a story on Instagram lasts only 24 hours, the person who posted it will not see who viewed their story after this period ends.

Another option is to temporarily block the owner of the Instagram story. This will remove your view and delete any direct message chat with the person.

However, this is not practical because your view will become visible again in their story viewers list when you unblock them. To be safe, always ensure that you wait until the story expires before unblocking the person.

After 24 hours, you should be fine. But you must keep them blocked if you want to unsee a story sent through a direct message.

Finally, you can also turn off your internet connection to unsee the story. This will prevent the platform from registering that you viewed someone’s story because you did it offline.

Watch Instagram Stories Comfortably

Now that you know all about Instagram story views and how to browse more discreetly, you should be careful of anyone who scares you into believing that they can prove you watched someone’s story for money.

Instagram is a great platform that thrives on keeping people online for hours to stalk others. If you enjoyed reading this social media guide, check out some of our other posts for more information.