Knowing who has been looking at your social media profiles is one of those things that just about everyone wishes they could do at some point or another.
At least, if they’ve been on social media for a while. Whether you’re checking to see if the ex you’re pretending not to think about has been lurking on your timeline, or, from more of a marketing perspective, you’re just curious who’s been looking at your posts.
This applies to just about all social media platforms, but perhaps more so to Instagram.
Perhaps it’s the nature of the average post (there doesn’t tend to be quite as many bikini pics on Twitter, for example) or maybe it’s just that people on Instagram are more open about wanting to see who’s looking at their feed.
So, can you see who looks at your Instagram? The answer is… it depends. Sorry. Keep reading and we’ll elaborate for you.
Defining Instagram
The problem is “your Instagram” is too vague a premise to accurately answer the question. For the most part, there is no way to see who has been looking at your Instagram, but there are some instances where it is possible. Let’s dive into the differences.
Your Instagram Profile
Probably the most common way in which people want to know if someone has been lurking in their profile itself, by which we mean can you see who has been looking at your main profile page on Instagram. Seeing who has been reading your bio, looking through your pics, watching your reels, etc.
In this case, we can give a resounding “no”. It is not possible (yet) for Instagram users to see who has been looking at their profile. Users could spend all day deep diving into your photo history and you have no way of knowing.
Your Instagram Posts
What about specific posts? Again, the answer is no. Instagram does not currently provide a way for users to look at a list of people who have viewed a particular post.
Your Instagram Stories
Here things get a little more interesting. You can see who has been looking at your Instagram stories… for a limited time. Simply tap the burger menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top right, tap on “Archive”, and scroll to the appropriate story. When you’re on the story, swipe up and you can see who has viewed that story.
As you will no doubt be aware if you use Instagram, stories are not permanent. They sit on your profile for 24 hours and then they are gone. Well, almost. As the person who uploaded the story, you can continue to view it for another 24 hours, along with the information about everyone who has viewed it. After that total of 48 hours from the time of posting, the information is gone.
Your Instagram Direct Messages
DMs are a little more complicated—though not by much. You can see if a person you are in a conversation with has read your direct messages because Instagram will explicitly tell you with a little message in the chat window saying something like “just seen”.
This doesn’t apply if you send a message to someone you haven’t spoken to in DM before, however. Or, rather, it can apply, but the person you are messaging has the option to ignore your message, and you won’t get any notification if they do. Only when they accept your request to chat will Instagram let you know if they have read your messages.
Other Ways to Know
That’s it for the official ways you can tell if someone has been looking at your posts, but there are other ways you can assume or infer that someone has been looking.
Comments
If someone comments on a particular post, it’s safe to say they have been looking at that post. The same goes for liking it. But, on the subject of liking…
Likes
A like on a recent post may tell you that a particular person has viewed that post, but a like on an old post can tell you so much more.
Instagram isn’t big on pushing older content, so when you a like on an old post, it’s usually a good indicator that that person has been doing something of a deep dive on your Instagram profile. This tends to be a little unnerving, as it shows someone is paying a lot of attention to you.
To paraphrase Ed Sheeran; try not to double-tap from way back.
Should You Care?
The next question worth pondering is whether or not you should care if someone is looking at your Instagram profile or content, and the answer is no.
We understand it can cause a bit of a start to suddenly start getting dozens of likes on posts from years ago but, ultimately, you posted that content online for people to look at. You can take posts down or lock your profile, so you are in control of what people can see on your Instagram. As with any social media, you have to accept that a wide range of people will see your content, even people you might not want looking at it.
Your choices in this regard are either to not put the content up in the first place, take it down if you already put it up, or lock your profile so you can control who can and can’t see it. Or, of course, just live with it.
Final Thoughts
While other services like TikTok make it possible to know who has been looking at your profile, Instagram has remained steadfastly in the anonymous (to each other) browsing camp.
Ultimately, it is their platform and their prerogative over how they run it. That being said, if your interests are purely marketing-related, you can always start advertising on Instagram. You won’t be able to see specific names of people who viewed your content, but you will be able to see analytics on the type of people who are looking.
Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube
Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.
1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search
I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.
Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!
2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos
I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.
When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.
Big mistake!
I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.
That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.
Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.
3. Rev.com helps people read my videos
You can’t always listen to a video.
Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.
This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.
Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.
A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.
4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare
I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.
Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.
I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.
5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways
I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.
And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.
I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.
I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the Shutterstock website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.
They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.
