The Top Methods to See Someone’s Story on Instagram Without Seen

Jan. 27, 2025 09:58AM EST

These methods allow you to view someone's Instagram story without their knowledge. You can then browse the story content safely and anonymously.

Instagram has always been a favorite app for people of all ages. The app has over 2 billion active users, making it the 4th largest social media app. Moreover, the popularity is reaching new heights due to the recent TikTok ban and the introduction of new features such as Instagram Reels, Notes, and Direct Messages.

These creative tools keep users engaged and attract new audiences, making the platform a go-to for content creators and casual users alike.

What Makes Instagram Stories the Most Used Feature

Of all the features, Instagram Stories is probably the most used one due to its interactive, time-limited nature. Users can add as many images or videos as they like, which will play like a slideshow and disappear in 24 hours. The stories feature was launched in 2016 but is now a staple of Instagram that allows users to share content without cluttering their main feed.

Here is what makes stories so popular:

An alternate way to see the current activity of those a person follows
The inclusion of polls, questions, stickers, and music makes the content engaging
Users can add text, drawings, and filters to enhance their stories and make them more personalized
Stories can be shared with all followers or specific people, with options to hide from certain users or create close friends lists.
Allows users to see a list of people who have viewed their stories

How the Stories Feature Can Be Used Negatively

With excessive use of the Instagram Stories feature, a person can expose personal details and everyday activities. This allows strangers, bullies, and abusers to track someone's daily activities, location, and emotional state.

The constant visibility may unintentionally reveal personal weaknesses or routines. It puts someone at risk of unwanted attention and online abuse if privacy settings are not carefully applied. Let us view some of those risks:

Sharing too much personal information leads to potential harassment, stalking, or exploitation by strangers
Some individuals may use Stories to bully others by posting hurtful comments, screenshots, or spreading rumors.
Constantly posting personal moments may make users vulnerable to manipulation or unwanted attention from others.
The need to maintain a perfect or curated image on Stories can easily lead to anxiety, stress, or feelings of inadequacy.

Why is Seeing Someone’s Instagram Story Difficult

It is important to keep an eye on your loved ones and prevent them from getting exploited and preyed on. However, Instagram's privacy policies make it challenging to view someone’s stories without being on their friends list. Instagram lets a person control who sees their content by adjusting privacy settings. This means only approved followers can access their stories.

Also, some users block or hide their stories from specific people. While there are workarounds, respecting privacy settings remains key, as unauthorized viewing may breach trust and lead to potential consequences.

The Top 4 Methods to See Someone’s Instagram Story Without Them Knowing

While Instagram notifies users when their stories are seen, there are techniques to bypass this notification and remain anonymous.

Here are the 4 ways to view someone’s Instagram story anonymously.

1) Enable Airplane Mode

Airplane mode is a native setting on almost all Android and iPhones. It disables all wireless communication features, including cellular data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The setting was primarily used during flights to comply with airline regulations. However, it can view certain content on your device, such as Instagram stories, without triggering notifications.

When you activate airplane mode, your phone disconnects from the internet. Thus, this prevents Instagram from sending a "seen" notification to the person who posted the story.

Follow these steps:

Launch the Instagram app and allow the stories to load in the background.
Go to your device settings and turn on airplane mode.
Once enabled, open and watch the story you want to view without triggering the "seen" notification.
After viewing, force close Instagram and turn off airplane mode to reconnect to the internet.

2) View and Block

If you are curious about someone’s Instagram story but don’t want them to know, one alternate way is to block the target user. It is a method where you view someone’s Instagram story and then immediately block them to prevent them from knowing that you have seen it. Blocking them prevents Instagram from sending a "seen" notification so that they won’t be alerted, and you can unblock them afterward.

Let us see the steps:

Open Instagram and view the target user's story.
Immediately after viewing the story, go to their profile and block them.
After blocking, you can unblock them. They won’t receive any notification that you viewed their story or that you blocked/unblocked them.

3) Try the Half-Swipe Tactic

Another method but a somewhat tricky way to view someone’s story discreetly is using the Half-swipe tactic. Instead of fully swiping to open the story, you swipe halfway across the screen, allowing you to preview the content. If done correctly, it enables you to see the story without Instagram marking it as viewed. However, this tactic may not work reliably for all stories or content types.

You have to:

Open Instagram and navigate to the story of the person you want to view.
Instead of tapping fully to open the story, lightly swipe halfway across the screen. This action lets you preview the story without triggering the "seen" notification.
Release your finger before the story fully loads. This allows you to see the content without it registering as a complete view.

4) Use Xnspy

If you are looking for the best way to view someone's Instagram story anonymously, consider Xnspy. It is an advanced app that helps you check and view a target phone's details remotely. The app is supported and works on most Android and iOS devices. Xnspy has elaborate features that detail Instagram activity and 12 other social media apps.

Moreover, once installed, you can directly access a user’s call logs, contact lists, web history, messages, and multimedia. Xnspy works in stealth mode,, which allows it to record all app and phone activity.

The app has a formidable screen recording tool that captures visuals when someone posts stories or uploads photos on Instagram. This screen capture is done in real time and uploaded to remote servers. You only have to log into the secure dashboard to view it.

Here is how to use Xnspy to view Instagram stories without being seen:

Visit the website and make a user account with your email
Access someone’s phone and open the inbox
Click on the download link and then follow instructions to install the app
Grant the necessary permissions
Use your phone, open the website again, and enter credentials to log in
Tap on the screen recording tool, and then select Instagram to view the story.

Source: https://xnspy.com/blog/how-to-view-someones-instagram-story-anonymously.html

Conclusion

While Instagram offers various ways to view stories, it is important to respect privacy and use these methods ethically. Techniques like airplane mode, temporarily blocking users, and the half-swipe tactic can allow anonymous viewing, but they may not be foolproof. Xnspy offers a convenient solution, but always ensure that your actions align with online respect and integrity.