Over a billion users are active on Instagram every month. This makes the platform one of the most popular social media platforms. Many people use the app to search for particular items or to watch entertaining videos, rather than post themselves. As a business, you may curious to see who views your Instagram profile and stories, especially if they don’t follow your account. Below we look at if this is possible, and how to do it.
Honestly, there is no straightforward way to check who is viewing your Instagram profile. In fact, Instagram does not have a feature that allows you to do this. This is because of the privacy conditions every user accepts when making an account. While this may seem frustrating, if Instagram did not have these conditions, users would not feel safe and stop using the app. So, how can you find this information?
On your profile you have access to analytics, this allows you to click on Stories you have posted and see a list of users that have viewed them. To find them simply click the group of profile pictures in the bottom right after opening your Stories. This allows you to see who is regularly viewing your content and who is interacting with it. If you are having issues with trolls or bullying you can also block users from seeing your content. Simply tap the menu button next to the user’s name and select ‘Hide Story.’
As Stories disappear after 24 hours you will have to check this regularly if you are curious as the analytics only remain for 48 hours. Otherwise, if you save a Story to a Highlight, the list of those that view your highlights will remain. This also gives you an idea of who is visiting your profile, as the only way to watch a Highlight is from the profile page.
With a business account on Instagram, you gain access to a wealth of information about your followers and viewers. However, there is a catch to this, as the analytics will not show you exactly who is visiting your profile and consuming your content silently. It does, however, show you information about the location, age range, gender, and browsing habits of your viewers. As a business, this is valuable data as you can change your content posting schedule to match when users are online, and better target specific groups of users.
While many apps claim to give you a list of who is viewing your Instagram profile, the truth is that they can’t. These apps just show a list of random Instagram usernames, often using the usernames of those following your account, or people you’ve blocked. This is because third-party applications can only gain access to your username, bio, profile photo, and email address when you give them access. Be aware this is also a security risk as another app now has access to all your account data when you link it. The Instagram Graph API means that apps that are not approved by Instagram to use the API can not gain access to the data they have stored. This is great for your security as a user on the app, as only Instagram-affiliated companies can gain access to your data.
Therefore, if you have been looking for a way to see who views your Instagram profile and stories, the only to do it is by manually checking your analytics. Obviously, viewing who sees your stories, or highlights helps but will not show a complete picture of who visits your Instagram account as it doesn’t show who just looks at your feed. However, using this and your business analytics is a good starting point, especially when it comes to targeting potential customers.
