Can You See Who Viewed Your Instagram Post? Find Out Here!

Everybody has their harmless little “stalker” moments when they visit someone else’s Instagram profile to check out their recent posts. So, it’s perfectly human to wonder who has been lurking on your page and watching your videos, too. But can you see who viewed your Instagram post?

There are many reasons why someone would want to know who looks at their social media platforms. Maybe you’re a business owner, and you want to know what kind of niche audience your regular posts attract. Or perhaps you posted a cute selfie and want to see if your crush has seen your post.

Whatever the reason, it’s valid to want to see who has looked at photo or video posts. However, finding out who has visited your page isn’t that simple. Keep reading to learn if you can see who viewed your Instagram post.

Catching Stalkers: Can You See Who’s Viewed Your Instagram Profile?

Knowing that people look at your profile can give you a boost of confidence. A study by Cornell University even found that visiting your social media profile boosts self-esteem. What more if you find out your peers visit your social media platforms, where you curate your best image?

But this begs the question: Can you see who’s viewed your Instagram profile to begin with?

Sadly, there’s currently no Instagram feature that allows users to see who visited their profile. You will know if someone messages you or gives you a like or comment on your post. However, the app currently doesn’t notify people of profile visits or views on regular posts.

At most, business accounts will be able to see how many profile visits they’ve garnered. On the Insights page of your professional dashboard, you’ll see insights such as reach, link clicks, and profile visits. You won’t see the usernames of the people who visited your page. However, the number of profile visits is an excellent metric to gauge how well you’re catching people’s interest on Instagram.

If you’re desperate to see who visited your profile, you might be tempted to use third-party websites. There are plenty of sketchy websites out there that claim to show you every person who has stalked your page.

Be wary of sites like this. Instagram has tight security and privacy systems that aren’t easy to bypass. Many of these websites aren’t legitimate and won’t give you accurate information.

Plus, if you use inauthentic websites and apps like these, you risk being shadowbanned. The Instagram algorithm deprioritizes your content on the feed, as well as the hashtag and location pages, when you’re shadowbanned. That means less visibility for the content you put out, leading to a lower engagement rate. Yikes!

Who’s Watching You: Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Video Post?

Now, let’s move on from profile visits and get to the nitty-gritty. Can you see who views your Instagram video posts, like Reels and feed videos?

As with regular posts and your main Instagram profile, there is no way to see who views your video posts. You will only be able to see the number of unique views your video posts have accumulated. This number changes in real time, so you can keep tabs on how close you are to going viral.

Some might think it’s more important to see who views your video than how many people do. But that’s not always the case. Seeing the number of views on your videos shows you how well your content is performing. It helps you assess what kind of content your target audience loves to see. That way, you can improve your future content and ensure it’s always effective at entertaining your followers.

Another good thing about Instagram’s visibility on the number of views per video is that it serves as social proof. The more people view your content, the more likely it is to go viral.

Can You See Who Viewed Your Instagram Post on Stories?

Remember when we said you can’t see who views your Instagram videos? Well, we lied—sort of. There is one video format that allows you to see every person who views the post. That’s right, we’re talking about the ever-trendy Instagram Stories.

Stories are vertical videos that are active for 24 hours and expire afterward. While your Stories are active on your page, you can see every user who views them. By seeing who watches your Stories, you can find out if you’re reaching the right audience with your Story posts.

Curious about who’s been watching your Instagram Stories? Here’s how to check on your Instagram Story views, step by step:

1. First, make sure you have some Instagram Stories up on your page. Add one by clicking your profile icon on the Stories tray on your Instagram home screen. This should be on the upper left corner of your screen, with a small blue plus sign below it.

2. Once you’ve uploaded a Story, wait a few minutes to give your followers a chance to view it.

3. After a while, go to your Instagram page and click on your profile picture. This should open your current Instagram Stories.

4. Swipe up on your screen. This should show you the full list of people who viewed your Stories. The number of viewers should also appear on top.

Note that once your Story expires, you won’t be able to go back and see who viewed it. Even if you put your Stories on your profile Highlights, the list will disappear once the 24 hours are up. If you check on old Stories from your archive, you’ll only see the number of viewers, not who viewed them.

How Are Instagram Story Views Sorted?

It’s super fun to keep going back to the list of people who viewed your Story. You can keep tabs on your friends who watch your content and even find out once your crush sees it! But have you ever noticed a change in how the viewers are arranged on the list? How are Instagram Story viewers sorted on the list anyway?

Instagram is quite secretive about how they sort Story viewers. However, according to some observant users, the algorithm initially arranges it chronologically. You’ll see the most recent viewer of your Story at the top of the list. As more people view your Story, it bumps down the first viewers on the list.

However, this theory only seems to work if you have 50 or fewer views on your Story. As soon as a 51^st user watches your Instagram Stories, the arrangement of the viewers changes.

This time, the algorithm arranges the viewers so that the people you interact with the most online go on top. You’ll notice that your best friends are among the first people on the list if you have over 50 views. Those who react to your Instagram Story with an emoji or a heart will also go to the top. That makes it way easier to see who loved your content!

Meanwhile, those you don’t usually speak to or engage with your content fall to the bottom of the list. People you don’t follow back will also show up at the end of the viewer list.

This arrangement makes a lot of sense, especially for those with a large following. It immediately shows you if the important people in your life have seen your content.

Focus Less on Who Views Your Page and More on Engagement and Growth

We get it—it’s intriguing to know who has visited your page and looked at your posts. It’s an entirely natural response when you post content online. Plus, it gives you a boost of confidence to see people you admire looking at your posts.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible to see who has viewed your regular posts, whether feed photos or video posts. Instagram has made sure that every user’s activity is kept private for everyone’s safety.

However, you can see who has watched your Instagram Stories. Granted, you’ll only be able to view the full list of viewers before your Story expires. But this is a terrific feature that lets you see who follows your life updates on Stories.

Now, you know the answer to the burning question, “Can you see who viewed your Instagram post?” But here’s a word of advice from us. Instead of worrying about who looks at your post, focus on how much reach and engagement you get.

Path Social can help you push out the content you work hard on so you can reach the right audience. You won’t know who sees your posts, but you’ll get tons of likes, comments, and new followers. We’d like to argue that this is much better! Focus on your growth and start gaining new Instagram followers with Path Social’s targeting tools today.