We’ve all found ourselves thinking too much about our Instagram Story viewers list at least once or twice in our lives. Why is my crush always at the top? Why are my best friends in the top five spots on the list? And who are these strangers at the bottom? These are the questions you might ask yourself when looking at your Story views. But how are Instagram Story views sorted?
Many Instagram users think that the platform uses a secret algorithm to mix up the names in the view list. But the explanation for the view order is actually quite simple. To learn how Instagram arranges the names in the list, keep scrolling.
Why It's Important to See Who Views Your Instagram Stories
Before we dive into the science behind Instagram view order, let’s talk about why you need to see your viewers.
The first reason why it’s important to monitor Instagram Story viewers is to know the type of audience you attract. This way, you can know if the people you want to see your Stories actually do. If not, you’ll have to work twice as hard to make sure your Stories end up on their screens.
Once you’ve analyzed whether your target audience is viewing your Stories, it’s time to optimize. This means changing your creative strategy, increasing fan engagement with stickers, or even running ads on Stories. This is a great plan for creators with low Story views who want to increase them.
It also helps you evaluate whether Stories are a great avenue for marketing your brand. For example, let’s say you want to promote your products to younger audiences. HubSpot data shows that 49% of Gen Zers use Stories to discover new products. But are your Stories getting enough views from younger audiences to effectively promote your products? The answer lies in regularly checking the list of people who view your Stories.
How are Instagram story views sorted?
If the Instagram Story was recently uploaded and has fewer than 50 views, the names are sorted in chronological order. At the top of the list are the users who most recently viewed the content. As more people view it, they will appear at the top again and the algorithm will push the oldest names down.
Instagram hasn't explicitly confirmed this theory. However, many users sharing their theory online (as well as testing conducted within our team) have found it to be quite accurate.
This method of sorting Instagram story views makes it easy to keep track of who has or has not seen your story. It's perfect for checking in real time on newly published content.
But as the posts increase, the arrangement begins to morph into something different.
How are Instagram story views ordered after 50 people have seen your post?
Views are sorted chronologically at the beginning, but how are Instagram Story views sorted later on? The longer your Story has been up, the order of Story views Instagram shows you is more based on interactions.
After 50 people have viewed your Instagram Story, the list of viewers no longer appears in chronological order. Instead, Instagram lists names based on how much you've interacted with them historically.
The people at the top of the list are typically your closest friends, at least on the Instagram app. These are the people you regularly send direct messages to, share content with, comment on their posts, and more. Instagram takes note of all the profile visits, shared DMs, photo likes, and any other type of engagement. It then ranks viewers based on that data.
Instagram Story view order makes it easier for creators to see if close friends have seen their content. The higher the number of viewers, the more impractical it is to see views in chronological order. What is more important is to see if people relevant to you have opened your post. So, IG suggests names it thinks you want to check to see if they have seen your Story.
Where do your secret admirers go in the viewer list?
It’s easy to think that the people at the top of the list are your most avid online stalkers. But don’t blindly believe this misconception. The names at the top of the list refer to those with whom you interact a lot on the app. So if you’re looking for specific acquaintances in the viewers list, the top is the wrong place to look.
People who aren't that close to you will go to the bottom of the list. These are people you don't usually interact with on Instagram. And if there are people who don't follow you and don't watch your Story, their names will also stay at the bottom of the list.
So if you want to see who among your non-followers is watching your Story, scroll to the bottom. That's where you'll see fans who don't follow you or people who visited your profile by accident. It's the juiciest part of the Story viewers list!
Are you uncomfortable with these viewers that you don't know and don't want them to watch your Stories? You can always hide your Stories from these users, or even block them!
5 Ways to Prevent Your Instagram Story from Being Recorded
Now, let’s flip the tables. What if you’re the one viewing someone’s Story, but you don’t want your name to end up in the list of users? Maybe you don’t want your ex to know you’re following their page. Or maybe you don’t want your competing brand to catch you stalking theirs. So what do you do?
We've got you covered. Here are five sneaky ways to prevent Instagram Story viewing from appearing to you.
1. View history with a secondary account
The first method is to use a completely different account to watch that person's Stories. This can be a spam account, a Finsta account, or a secondary account.
Make sure the account doesn't have any traces of you, such as a recognizable display name or profile picture. That way, the person can't identify you as a viewer.
2. Use an anonymous Instagram story viewer
You can also try using a third-party anonymous Instagram Story viewer. There are dozens of these free tools on the Internet. They allow you to watch any public Story on the Instagram app. All you have to do is provide the username of the person whose Stories you want to see. Then, you wait for the data to be fetched and view the Stories and Highlights from the site.
The great thing about these sites is that they usually don't require you to sign up for an account. This is great for maintaining anonymity. If the site you're using asks for your password, run away. This is a telltale sign of a phishing scam.
3. Do a stealthy half swipe to view IG story
Got fast fingers? Consider looking at that person’s Story from the Instagram app, but doing a half swipe instead of a full one. By doing a half swipe, you can sneak a peek at half of someone’s photo Story without registering it as a view. Here’s how:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Scroll through people's profile photos in the Instagram Story pane at the top of the app. Find the Story you want to watch.
- Instead of clicking on that Story, tap the one to the right of it.
- When the Story is open on the screen, slowly swipe right until you see half of the previous Story.
- Drag the screen to the current Story after peeking. Never leave this step, or your name will appear in the viewers list.
This trick is especially great for photo Stories. Since the screen is essentially frozen the entire time you half-swipe, it doesn’t work as well for videos.
4. View history while device is in airplane mode
When you open the Instagram app, the platform automatically preloads some of the Stories of the people you follow. This means that before you click on those Stories, they are already stored on your device. To view these Stories without registering them as viewed, open the preloaded Stories while in airplane mode. Here's how:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Please wait a few seconds to give Instagram time to preload some Stories.
- Turn on airplane mode on your device. Make sure Wi-Fi is also turned off.
- Go back to Instagram and view the Story you want to see.
- Close the application by making a half vertical swipe from bottom to top on the Instagram window.
- Turn off airplane mode.
5. Ask a mutual friend to take a screenshot of the story
The final tip is to ask mutual friends for a copy of their Story. They can take a screenshot and send it to you via DM. Don't worry: Instagram doesn't notify users when others screenshot or record their Stories. Or, if you're together in person, they can simply show you the Story on their device.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Instagram Story display order mean?
When your Story is new, the order of views simply indicates who has watched your content most recently. But as views increase, the meaning of being at the top of the list changes. The names at the top slowly morph into those who interact with you the most on the platform.
How are Instagram Stories viewers classified?
Story viewers are ranked by chronological order or by the degree of interaction with them. If you have fewer than 50 viewers, Instagram sorts names by who has viewed the Story most recently. For Stories with more than 50 views, user names are ranked by the people you interact with the most.
What does it mean when someone is at the top of your Instagram Story views?
If you have fewer than 50 views, the person at the top has viewed your Story most recently. If you have more than 50 views, this is the viewer you have historically interacted with the most.
Why is the same person always at the top of my viewers on my Instagram story?
This could simply mean that this person interacts with you a lot on the platform. Instagram sorts viewers based on relevance over time, so it’s not uncommon to see your best friends, family, or significant others at the top of the list.
Can you tell if someone has viewed your Story multiple times?
No, Instagram doesn't tell you how many times someone has viewed your Story, just that they've viewed it. Even if someone watches your Story multiple times, they'll only appear once in your viewers list.
Bring more viewers to your story by promoting your page with Path Social!
How are Instagram Story views sorted? It's easy: chronologically or by interaction. Now, it will be very interesting to read the list of viewers.
Don't want to appear in other users' views? Use our anonymous story viewer. And if you want to expand your list of viewers, collaborate with us.
At Path Social, we use AI to promote your content to your target market. This increases your followers, giving you a larger audience to share your Stories with. That's what we did for Modern Fit, which gained thousands of new fans. Get more eyes on your Stories with Path Social!