Can't See Who Viewed Your Instagram Story? This Might Be Why

When we post things to social media, most of us are interested in knowing if anyone saw what we shared. Whether we're waxing philosophical about the meaning of life or simply sharing a picture of a tasty meal, there's something satisfying about knowing someone out there is interested in the things that are important to us. After all, most of us would like to think we're not posting into the void. For a long time, someone liking or commenting on your Instagram post was the only way to track who saw it and measure how much interest it had generated among your followers. However, all of that changed when Instagram introduced stories in 2016. 

Stories equipped users with the social media equivalent of a superpower — being able to see who's viewed their Instagram posts. Gone were the days of counting likes. With stories, we could all see exactly who was consuming our content. While stories are fleeting — they only last for 24 hours — many began using them over traditional posts. While we can't be sure, being able to see who's viewed their posts may have played a role in this. Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong, leaving users unable to see who's viewed their stories. Given an Instagram story's list of viewers is only available for a limited time after it's posted, if you experience this problem, you'll want to fix it as quickly as possible.

There's no getting around it: we live in a mobile world where apps reign supreme, and this especially rings true when it comes to Instagram stories. While you can access your Instagram stories from a web browser on your computer, you won't be able to see a list of who's viewed them when you do so. Instead, you'll have to use Instagram's Android, iPhone, or Instagram Lite app to see who's viewed your story.

Another reason you might not be able to view who's seen your story is that too much time has passed since you posted it. Instagram stories are visible for 24 hours. Once that time is up, you only have up to 48 hours to see who's viewed it. If that deadline passes, there's no way to go back and recover this information. While there are hidden settings on Instagram, extending that deadline isn't one of them. Technical glitches can also keep you from being able to see who's viewed your stories, especially if you're using an outdated version of the app. Updating your app to the latest version often resolves this problem. If you're already using the most current version of Instagram, try reinstalling it to see if that helps. 

If everything checks out and you still can't see who's viewed your Instagram stories, your follower's privacy settings or a third-party app that allows users to view stories anonymously could be to blame. Views from followers you've added to your restricted accounts list can view stories you post publicly, but you won't see their names under your story views.