Instagram has lots of cool features beyond its photo filters and hashtags. But can you see who views your Instagram profile?
Here’s the answer:
Scrolling through Instagram can be good inspiration for everything from selfie captions to fashion choices thanks to friends, family, and influencers with likable photos. You might even be that inspiration for someone else. Whether people view your profile out of nosiness or admiration, is it possible to see who views your Instagram profile?
Can you see who views your Instagram profile?
Instagram doesn’t allow users to see who views their profile. So if you look through someone’s profile and don’t like or comment on a post, there’s no way for them to know who sees the pictures. “Similar to Facebook, users are unable to see who has viewed their profiles regardless of the type of profile they own: personal, business, or creator,” says Reggie Azevedo Filho, who works for the social media management platform Traject Social (here’s how to block someone on Facebook Messenger, by the way). This goes for both users with accounts and people without accounts who use the web to browse Instagram publicly. Instagram Business accounts will display stats about the volume of traffic but doesn’t show specific profile information, according to Alex Heid, Chief Research and Development Officer at SecurityScorecard. Business accounts specifically show the number of who people visited your profile in the past seven days, or how many people saw your posts in their feed, according to an Instagram representative. Here’s what it means to restrict someone on Instagram.
How to see who views your Instagram stories
If you share more Instagram stories than posts, you’ll have better luck finding out who’s viewing your content. Users who view Instagram stories appear in a “viewers list” for 24 hours after the story is live for the original poster to see. “This grants you insights into the specific audience members who have viewed your photo, video, or story post for the same period of time your post is active,” Azevedo says. After 24 hours, the list disappears, but if you save your stories, you can still see the number of people who saw them (and who). You must be logged in to see this information. By the way, here’s how to see who unfollows you on Facebook.
Is there a third-party app that lets me see who views my Instagram profile?
Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, so there’s some overlap in privacy settings. So, like Facebook, no third-party apps will tell you who looks at your Instagram profile. “Anything advertising a feature that shows who viewed your profile would not be a legitimate service and should be avoided as it is likely just an app that is there to collect data for those who use it,” Heid says. There’s no indication that Instagram will ever decide to allow users to see who views their profile. Next, learn how to tell if someone blocked you on Instagram.