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Highlights on Instagram allow you to display your personality and feature important past stories. They enable you to share your most cherished interests and activities on your profile.
Yet, a common issue some Instagram users encounter is accidentally viewing someone’s highlights. If this happens to you, you might wonder whether the person is aware that you’ve seen their highlights.
In this article, you will discover whether it is possible for someone to know if you have viewed their Instagram highlights, both within 24 hours and 48 hours after they were posted.
Can someone see that I viewed their Instagram highlight?
Whether someone can see that you viewed their Instagram highlight depends on how old the highlight is. Here’s a breakdown:
- If the highlight has been up for more than 48 hours: No, the person cannot see that you viewed their highlight. Instagram does not provide viewer information for highlights that have been up for more than 48 hours.
- If the highlight was posted within the last 48 hours: Yes, the person can see that you viewed their highlight. Instagram allows users to see who viewed their highlights if the story was added to the highlight within 48 hours.
You can determine the age of the story by looking at the top left corner of the highlight, where it displays how long ago it was posted (e.g., 20w for 20 weeks ago, 10w for 10 weeks ago, 3d for 3 days ago).
In most cases, people tend to add older stories to their highlights, so there’s a high chance they won’t know that you viewed their highlights because Instagram stops updating the viewer list for old highlights. When they tap on their highlights, the list of viewers will disappear for these older highlights.
Can I see who viewed my Instagram story after 24 hours?
Yes, you can see who viewed your Instagram story after 24 hours, but there’s a change in the time frame. Originally, you could see the viewers within 24 hours. However, Instagram extended this to 48 hours.
So, now you can check who viewed your Instagram story within 48 hours, but after the initial 24 hours, the story itself disappears from your profile picture and direct messages. If you’ve added your story to highlights, you can still see who viewed it. You can access older stories in your “archive” settings or by adding them to your highlights.
If you post a story and add it to your highlights right away, you can see the viewers even after 48 hours. After this 48-hour period, the list of viewers will no longer be available.
Who can see Instagram highlights?
Here’s all you need to know about who can see your Instagram highlights:
- Public Profile: If your Instagram profile is set to “public,” anyone, including users who don’t follow you, can see your Instagram highlights, provided you haven’t hidden your story from them.
- Private Profile: If your Instagram profile is set to “private,” only your approved followers will have access to view your Instagram highlights.
- Hidden Story: If you’ve hidden your story from a particular user, that individual will also be unable to see your Instagram highlights. You can hide your story from someone by going to their profile, clicking on the three dots, and selecting “Hide your story.”
- Profile Visit: If someone you’ve hidden your story from visits your profile, they won’t be able to see the highlights section below your profile. This ensures that your highlights remain hidden from them.
In summary, who can see your Instagram highlights depends on your profile’s privacy settings and whether you’ve chosen to hide your story from specific users. Public profiles allow anyone to view highlights, while private profiles restrict access to followers, and hiding your story also extends to your highlights for those individuals.
How long do Instagram highlights last?
Instagram highlights last indefinitely on your profile unless you choose to remove them. Unlike Instagram stories, which disappear after 24 hours, highlights remain permanently accessible on your profile.
This allows you to showcase and “extend” the lifespan of specific stories. To add a story to your highlights, tap the “+” icon below your bio, select the desired story or stories, edit the cover image, and provide a name for the highlight.
If you can’t find the Story Highlights section on your profile, refresh the page, and it should reappear. Your highlights will be visible to your followers and anyone who can access your public profile. The privacy settings for your Instagram stories are the same for your highlights.
I didn’t watch someone’s Instagram story but I watched the highlight can they see that I viewed it?
If you didn’t watch someone’s Instagram story but you did watch their highlight, they can only see that you viewed it if the story was posted less than 48 hours ago.
If they added an old story to their highlight, they won’t be able to see that you viewed their story. However, if it’s a new story (posted within 48 hours), they will know that you viewed that specific story in their highlight.
How to see who viewed your Instagram highlights after 24 hours
To check who has viewed your Instagram highlights after the initial 24-hour period, you must first add the story to your highlights within the extended 48-hour timeframe.
If you add an old story to your highlights, such as one posted a week ago, you won’t have access to the viewer list.
How to see who viewed your Instagram highlights after 48 hours?
After 48 hours, you cannot see who viewed your Instagram highlights. Instagram does not provide this feature, and the information about viewers becomes unavailable once this time frame has passed.
Why can’t I see who viewed my Instagram highlights?
You cannot see who viewed your Instagram highlights if the story has been up for more than 48 hours.
Instagram only allows you to see viewers for new stories added to highlights. After 48 hours, Instagram stops updating the list of viewers for that particular highlight.
How do story highlights work on Instagram?
Story Highlights on Instagram allow you to showcase important or favorite stories on your profile. Here’s how they work:
- Location on Your Profile: Story Highlights appear in a dedicated section on your Instagram profile, located below your bio.
- Creation: To create a new Story Highlight, tap the “New” circle on the far left of your profile. This starts the process.
- Selecting Stories: You can then choose any stories from your story archive that you want to add to the highlight. This means you can select stories that you’ve posted in the past.
- Cover and Name: You can also pick a cover image for the highlight, which will be the visual representation of your highlight on your profile. Additionally, you can give your highlight a name, so viewers know what it’s about.
- Visibility: Once created, your Story Highlight will be visible on your profile for your followers to see, even after the original stories have disappeared after 24 hours.
In simple terms, Story Highlights are a way to save and feature your favorite stories on your Instagram profile, making them easily accessible to your followers, and you can customize them with cover images and names for clarity.
Can someone see that I viewed their Instagram video if we are not friends?
No, if someone is not your friend on Instagram and they have a public profile, they cannot see that you viewed their Instagram video. Instagram does not provide this information to users with public profiles for video views from non-friends.
If someone has a private Instagram profile and you’ve requested to follow them, they can see that you viewed their video, as your name will appear in their viewers list. However, if the person has a public profile, they won’t have a list of people who viewed their video, and your viewing won’t be visible to them.
How to view story highlights on Instagram without them knowing?
To view someone’s Instagram Story highlights without them knowing, you can’t do it secretly from your own account. However, you can create a new Instagram account and watch their highlights from that new account. They won’t be able to identify you unless you use a profile picture that resembles you.
Are Instagram story highlights permanent?
Instagram Story Highlights are permanent features on your profile. Unlike regular Instagram Stories, which disappear after 24 hours, Highlights stay on your profile until you decide to remove them. This makes Story Highlights a valuable tool for showcasing and promoting your brand, so it’s a good idea to plan how to use them effectively.
Can you limit who sees your Instagram highlights?
Yes, you can control who sees your Instagram highlights by using the “Close friends” feature.
When you select “Close friends” for your highlights, they become invisible to users with other accounts. If you want everyone to see your highlights, you’ll need to repost them. You can manage your Close Friends list in the Story Privacy settings menu.
The bottom line
In this article, we’ve discussed whether someone can see if you viewed their Instagram highlights. The key takeaway is that they won’t be able to see that you viewed their highlights if the story has been up for more than 48 hours.
For instance, if the date displayed in the top left corner of their highlights is 4 days, 1 week, 5 weeks, or older, they won’t know that you viewed them. Typically, people include older stories in their Instagram highlights, making it unlikely for them to detect your view.
If you want to ensure your privacy, you can use a secondary account to watch someone’s highlights.