Ever been in a situation where you viewed someone’s Instagram Highlights by accident? And panickily thinking in mind “Can they see that I viewed their Instagram Highlights?”. Well, read on!
We understand that there are times where you might not always want the other person to know you have seen their Highlights.
In this article, we will help you understand a bit more how highlights view work (they can be confusing). Without further ado, let’s get down to business.
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Highlights?
Yes, if the highlight was added in less than 48 hours from the original Story published time, you will be able to see who viewed your Instagram Highlight.
But, if the Story has been published for longer than 48 hours, unlucky for you, you won’t be able to check any new views.
For example, if you are wondering, “I didn’t watch someone’s Instagram story but i watched the highlight can they see that i viewed it?”, then the answer is if it was published in less than 48 hrs yes, they will see you viewed it. It depends on the time when the story was first shared.
Again, if the Highlight is viewed during the duration of less than 48 hours after it was originally posted for the first time (not taken from saved stories), then yes, there will be a record of your profile in the viewers list.
For instance, when someone posts a story and immediately adds that story to their Highlights, whoever watches the Highlights within the next 48 hours, their name will appear in the viewers list.
Thankfully, most people create Highlights from their old stories. Which is to say, there is a higher chance that they won’t know if you have viewed their Highlights.
Reason is that Instagram stops updating viewers for older stories. Keep in mind that a freshly posted story will only be live for 24 hours before vanishing from Instagram Stories. In the case the story is added to Highlights right after posting it, only viewers who view the Highlight within the 48 hours duration are recorded.
Best Instagram Highlight Viewers
As we discussed before, you can watch someone’s highlights without being noticed as long as it’s been more than 48 hrs.
But I understand that if you want to be extra safe, you can also check out some Instagram highlight viewers.
Per se Instagram doesn’t really allow 3rd parties to display highlights outside the app but some websites have managed to work around the limitations, the only problem is that because of said limitations, sometimes they might not work.
Here is a list of the most reliable Instagram highlight viewer sites:
These websites are the most reliable when looking for options to view someone’s highlights anonymously.
Again, you normally wouldn’t need to search for other options than going to the user’s profile and see their highlights, of course as long as their profile is public or you are already their follower.
If the profile is private and you are not a follower of the account, there is no way to watch someone’s highlights.
How To See Who Viewed Your Instagram Highlights After 48 hours?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to see who viewed your Instagram Highlights after 48 hours.
Keep in mind that Instagram’s Story feature is built to offer a temporary view of a user’s content. It also disappears after 24 hours.
Instagram Highlights is a feature that enables you to save and feature your favorite Stories on your profile page for an extended time.
You can see the total number of views for every Highlight, but Instagram doesn’t offer a feature that lets you see who has viewed every Highlight. The view count is the only metric accessible for Highlights, and it’s impossible to see the specific viewers for every Highlight after the 48-hour window.
If you like to keep track of who has viewed your Instagram content, you can check the viewers list for your regular Stories. The viewer list will show the usernames of the people who have viewed your Story within 24 hours.
To access that list, open your Story and swipe up on the screen. You can then see the list of viewers who have seen your content.
Who Can See Your Instagram Highlights?
Anyone can see your Instagram Highlights if:
- Your account is not private
- You did not hide your Instagram Story from them
- Your posted story are not for Close Friends only
Thus, a random person who comes across your profile can view your Instagram Highlights as long as your account is public and you did not hide your Instagram Stories from them.
If you choose to make your account private, in this case, only your followers could view your Highlights. Unless you choose to hide your story from your followers, or posted the story for Close Friends only, otherwise, people who follow your account will be able to view your Instagram Highlights.
Thinking of hiding your Instagram Stories from a specific person? Follow these simple step:
- Click on the profile you want to hide your Instagram Stories from
- Tap on the hamburger icon at the top right corner of the profile page
- Choose “Hide your story”
Once you choose to hide your story from someone, automatically they won’t be able to view your Instagram Highlights.
Regardless of whether they are your followers or not, as long as you hide your story from them, they can’t view anything from your Highlights section whenever they visit your profile.
Why Can’t You See Instagram Story Views After 48 Hours?
Instagram Story views are only accessible for 24 hours after the Story has been posted. After that period, the Story is automatically removed from the social media platform, and the viewer list vanishes along with it.
Instagram Highlights (which allow users to save their favorite Stories to their profile) are also subject to the same 24-hour rule.
Highlights are saved to a user’s profile and can be viewed forever, but the viewer list for Highlights is only accessible 24 hours after it has been added.
The 24-hour limit for Story views and viewer lists is an intentional design choice by Instagram. It can be unsatisfying for users who wish to track their Story views, but it helps to guarantee that the app remains a secure and safe space for everyone to share and engage with content.
Do Instagram Highlights Last Forever?
Absolutely! Instagram Highlights last as long as you want. Until and unless you decide to delete the Highlights, it will remain visible on your profile forever.
Unlike Instagram Stories where it will only stay visible for 24 hours, any story that is added to Highlights will last eternity. Meaning that if you want to show some old stories to your audience, you can always add those stories to your Instagram Highlights.
Adding Instagram stories to Highlights is an excellent way to keep them evergreen. Here is the fastest way on how you can add your stories to highlights:
- Go to your profile
- Tap on “+” under your bio
- Select the story you want to include in your Highlights
- Next, edit the cover and name the Highlights
- Lastly, tap “Add”
You might not see your latest added stories in your Highlights immediately. Don’t panic, just slide down the page to refresh it and the Highlights should appear then.
As your stories are now added to your Highlights section, it will stay visible to the public, and only to your followers if your profile is set to private.
Can You See The View Count Of A Highlight?
Yes, you can see the view count of your Instagram Highlights. Having a tab on the number of people that see your Instagram Highlights can help you to analyze your own content quality and understand the demographic of your followers.
Unfortunately, only view count that happens within the 48-hours window is recorded by Instagram. Instagram will stop updating the view count once it is more than 48 hours old.
Here is how you can check how many views your Instagram Highlights have:
- Open your Instagram account
- Go to the profile section
- Open the Highlight by clicking it
- You can see the view count at the bottom-left corner next to “Seen by”
Instagram Highlights Viewing – FAQ
If I Hide Someone From Seeing My Story On Instagram, Can They See The Highlights On My Profile?
If you hide someone from seeing your story on Instagram, you have selected the option to exclude that person from viewing your story updates. However, hiding someone from your story does not directly affect their ability to view the highlights on your profile.
Instagram highlights are the stories you choose to feature on your profile permanently. They are separate from your regular story updates and are typically displayed in a dedicated section below your bio. Adding a story to your highlights remains accessible on your profile until you remove it.
The visibility of your highlights depends on your profile’s privacy settings. If your Instagram account is public, anyone who visits your profile can view your highlights, regardless of whether you have hidden them from your story. However, if your account is private, only your approved followers can see your highlights and regular story updates.
It’s important to note that hiding someone from your story only affects their ability to view your temporary story updates, which disappear after 24 hours. This feature gives you more control over who sees your daily story updates without impacting your permanent highlights.
How Does The View Count Work?
Every single time someone views your Highlights, Instagram adds a view count. In most cases, you will see a higher number of views, even though the username appeared might seem lesser.
Reason is viewers name remain as one for each profile that views it, even if they might view it multiple times. Hence, due to this downside, you won’t know who actually views your Highlights more than once.
Can You View Someone’s Story If You Don’t Follow Them?
The only way you can see someone’s story without following them is if their profile is public. Private profiles stories can’t be seen by others.
Same as regular posts, stories depend fully on the privacy settings of the profile. Anyone with a private account will prevent any other users who are not in their followers lists to see view their content.
Can Someone See How Many Times You Viewed Their Instagram Story?
No, no one can’t see how many times you viewed their Instagram story. Stories only record the first time you viewed it.
So if you want to watch a story multiple times feel free to do so, the profile who posted the story will only see your profile in the viewed list once.
Can You Look At An Instagram Story Without Them Knowing?
The only way to watch someone’s story without them knowing is by using a 3rd party app where you can look up their profile if they are public.
There are a few websites who let you “stalk” public profiles without you having to follow the account.
If the account you want to see is private there is not way for you to see any of their content, you will have to follow them to watch anything.
Final Thoughts
The question of “Can Someone See That I Viewed Their Instagram Highlights” has a twofold answer. Firstly, for any view to be counted, it must be a freshly published story.
If the added story in Instagram Highlights is less than 48 hours old, then they will be able to see your profile if you viewed it.
Otherwise, your profile won’t be updated in the viewer list when you view the story after the 48 hours golden period. Thus, in this case, they won’t be able to tell if you have viewed their Highlights.
