How to See Who Views Your Instagram Profile

Ever wonder who checks out your Instagram profile? Since Instagram keeps that information private, it can be difficult to keep track of who has been through your profile. So are there any reliable ways to see who views your Instagram profile? While you can’t see individual profile viewers, there are other ways you can employ to understand your audience better.

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Why Instagram Does Not Let You See Who Views Your Profile?

As previously stated, Instagram does not provide an option to see which users have viewed your profile. The reason for this is privacy. Even if the platform has all of the essential data on who visits your profile, it does not allow you to view it because it may result in a decrease in user engagement on the platform.

Think for yourself, if other people were able to view that you have browsed their account, wouldn’t it discourage you from doing so in the future? Even though some users don’t engage with others on Instagram, they still consume the same number of ads as everyone else. And if they’re called out for their activity, they might stop using the platform altogether.

How to See Who Views Your Instagram Profile

Even though Instagram does not offer an option to let you check who viewed your profile, there are a couple of alternatives. We can use some other features that are available within the app to learn who has been stalking your Instagram profile. Let us take a look at them.

Using Instagram Stories

You can use Instagram Stories to check who has been frequently engaging with your account. You can use it to review the list of people who viewed your Story and look for malicious accounts or people who don’t follow you.

1. Post a public story on Instagram.
2. Now open your story by tapping on the profile icon at the top left corner.
3. Then tap on the Activity section as shown in the image.
4. Here, you can see a list of people who have viewed your story.

4. In case you find someone whom you suspect of stalking you then just tap on the 3-dots icon next to their username in the list, and choose the Block option.

Using Story Highlights

Since Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours, you’ll have to check the list daily (in case you upload that often). If you want to check who viewed your Instagram Story under 48 hours then you need to create a “Story Highlight”. Here’s how to add a story to highlights.

1. Open your Instagram story, then tap on the 3-dots icon at the bottom.
2. Select the Highlight option.

3. Tap on New, then type a name for the highlight and tap on the Add button.

4. To check the activity on the story highlight, go to your profile screen and tap on the recent highlight.
5. Tap on the Activity option at the bottom to reveal a list of users who have viewed it.

Using a Business Account on Instagram

Instagram gives business account owners access to important information about who has been visiting your Instagram page but there’s a catch. You can get insights about the users visiting your profile but it won’t reveal their usernames. If that’s the kind of data you’re interested in, then use these steps to convert your personal account to a business account on Instagram.

1. Open Instagram and tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner.
2. On your profile page, tap on the hamburger menu on the top right side.
3. Here, go to Settings and privacy.

4. Then scroll down to Account type and tools and tap on it.
5. Select Switch to a professional account.
6. Press Continue on the next screen to change the account type.
7. Choose your business type and tap on Done. If you are creating one temporarily then you can choose any option.

8. On the next page, select the Business option and press the Next button.
9. Add your contact details including your phone number then tap on Next again.
10. Choose Skip if you do not want to connect your account with Facebook.

That’s it! Your account has been converted into a business one. Now we can move ahead and show the steps to check how many users have engaged with your profile.

1. To do so, go to your profile screen on Instagram.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
3. Go to Insights.
4. Here, you can view how many users have viewed your account in the Accounts engaged section.

As discussed, it won’t tell you their username only the amount of users who have interacted with your account. It’s worth noting that Instagram Insights doesn’t pull historical data and starts collecting data only after the Instagram business account is set up.

Using Third-Party Apps to See Who Viewed Your Instagram Profile

So are there any third-party apps you could use to see who viewed your Instagram profile? Yes, there are an absolute ton of apps that will have you believe that you can see who views your profile and find your Instagram stalkers. But, do they work? No.

Let us look into some of the apps that claim to show you who viewed your Instagram profile.

1. SocialView for Instagram: It’s an iPhone app that claims it can show who checked your profile but one look at the reviews will tell you that it does not work.
2. Profile+: This app tries to make you pay to unlock features such as ‘who viewed my Instagram profile’ even though it won’t work. The app simply shows a list of users you have blocked, which is something you can see on the official Instagram app anyway.
3. Follower Analyzer for Instagram: It claims to show you who views your Instagram profile when in reality it doesn’t do anything of the sort.
4. Influxy: Yet another app that takes your information and does not show you which user viewed your account. Reviews claim that the app shows errors and crashes and asks you to sign in again and again.
5. In Stalker: This does not work as advertised. Instead, it logs you out of your account and might follow random accounts using your details.

These are just a few examples of apps that pretend to work by showing a list of random Instagram usernames. This list keeps changing every time you open the apps to make users feel that they’re doing something (and in some cases, it shows you blocked or following users.)

Such apps are typically phishing scams. They ask for your account details to get access to them, then either use your account to follow other random accounts or take over it by changing your password and other details. What’s more, you can even have your account banned by using such apps, so it’s better to not rely on third-party apps to see your Instagram stalkers.

Why Don’t Third-Party Apps Work?

The biggest reason why these apps don’t work is quite straightforward. Instagram’s data policy clearly states that it only shares a user’s name, Instagram username and bio, profile photo, and email address. These are shared with third-party apps that aren’t vetted by the company.

Additionally, Instagram’s Graph API, which was introduced earlier last year, is much more restrictive than the older one. This means that only apps approved by Instagram have access to the API which contains the information about who viewed your profile.

Note  Plenty of apps, websites and scammers claim to tell you who viewed your Instagram profile in exchange for money. Beware of such fake claims, and don’t pay random people money with the hopes of gaining access to information that Instagram simply doesn’t let anyone see.

How to Make Your Instagram Account Private

Now that we’ve explored all of how you can see who views your Instagram profile, let’s talk about how you can prevent someone from viewing your profile. The answer is quite simple. You can prevent unknown users from checking out your Instagram by making your profile private.

1. To convert from a public to a private account, head over to your profile screen on Instagram.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
3. Go to Settings and privacy option.

4. Scroll down to Account privacy.
5. Turn on the toggle for the Private account.
6. In the confirmation pop-up, tap on Switch to private.

Doing so will set your account to Private. This will hide all your account activity from other users unless you permit them to follow you.

So Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Profile?

Well, you can’t. The only workaround, which involves checking who’s viewed your Instagram Stories and Highlights, isn’t accurate as it doesn’t account for all the users who went through the posts on your timeline. Third-party apps are no good, and using them is a waste of your time and money. In case you want more information about the users visiting your profile and can do without getting their names, then you can also convert your account to a business account. But that sums it up.

In case you have any alternative means to learn how to see who viewed your profile on Instagram then do share with us. Let us know your thoughts on this article in the comments below.