Insta highlights are a collection of a user’s previous stories. They preserve important content for everyone to enjoy. They could also serve as a great source of inspiration. An Instagram highlight viewer may come in handy here. In this article, we show you what a highlight viewer is and why you might use one.
What Is an Instagram Highlight Viewer?
An IG highlight viewer lets you check someone’s highlights remotely. These are IG story posts a user “saves” on their profile in various categories. But you can only view them if you have your own Insta account. Highlight viewers let you bypass this entirely.
You won’t need a detailed manual to use these tools. If you want to check someone’s highlights, simply copy and paste a profile’s URL into the tool. If they have any publicly available highlights, these will show up. You could even see them in their original categories.
Not only do these helpful tools let you view Instagram highlights anonymously, they also let you download them. However, these tools don’t work for private profiles. Your only option here is to follow them.
How To View Instagram Highlights
Checking someone’s IG highlights is quite simple. First, go to the person’s profile by clicking on their name. Their highlights should show up as small circles just above their posts. Each of their “categories” will have a name. Simply click on one of these circles (or the name) to view them.
Each time you open these, they start at the beginning. You can wait for the highlight’s first “slide” to move to the next one. Alternatively, tap the right side of the page to view the next one. If you want to go back, tap the left side. On the IG website, navigate via the on-screen arrows.
Once you finish one set of Instagram Highlights, keep tapping to view the next category. This is mostly the same interface as viewing somebody’s stories. You can even like and share them the same way. If users’ privacy settings allow it, you could also reply directly to their highlights.
4 Easy Ways To View Instagram Highlights Anonymously
Highlights sometimes log views. This means you may want to see them anonymously. However, make sure you have a good reason for this. For example, you might be looking for inspiration for a loved one’s birthday present. Here are a few ways to view Instagram highlights in secret.
1. Use a Highlight Viewer
A browser-based highlight viewer tool shows you somebody’s highlights, even if you don’t have an Insta account. If you do have one, this lets you stay anonymous. You can even download pictures and videos. This could be a great mood board for your profile’s future content plans.
2. Get a Burner Account
Some people make another Instagram account specifically to check people’s profiles in secret. You’ll still show up as a viewer. But the highlights’ respective owners won’t have any idea that it’s you. You shouldn’t do this to get around a block, however. Always respect a user’s right to privacy.
3. Wait for 48 Hours
Story highlights only count views for 48 hours. You can’t tell when somebody updates their IG highlights. But if you’re lucky, you won’t run into new ones. This means the app won’t count your views. However, this route is quite risky, especially if users update their highlights often.
4. Ask Someone Else With an IG Account
Highlight viewers don’t work for private accounts. For these pages, you may ask a mutual friend to look at their IG highlights. They can then report back — possibly with screenshots. Only ask if you have a good enough reason. If you don’t have one, this could affect your friendship.
Downloading Instagram Highlights
Even if you’re okay to view someone’s highlights, you might want to save them. This lets you go back to the photos or videos in their original quality. Screenshots and screen recordings usually don’t look as good. Luckily, many highlight viewers let you save the content they show you.
According to Rival IQ, story posts are steadily reaching more profiles, especially among smaller accounts. But not everyone will see them before they expire. People put their favorite stories up in their highlights so everyone can appreciate (and even save) them.
These tools show each highlight category rather than a mass of every photo and video. The tool may have each category as a slideshow or split them into individual frames. As with viewing the highlights, you can only download public content.
When To View IG Highlights Remotely
You can only watch somebody’s highlights remotely if they have a public IG account. But it’s still important to respect their privacy. You need a good reason to secretly view their highlights. Here are common reasons for people to use an Instagram highlights viewer:
- To get inspiration: These viewers usually let you save a person’s highlights. This could give you ideas for future posts. For example, it might show great IG color schemes.
- To watch highlights offline: Viewing and saving a highlight lets you go back to it at any time. You can build an archive of great Instagram stories and highlights this way.
- To save their own memories: These highlights may have pictures and videos of you. If the creator doesn’t have the original files, this might be your only way to save them.
- To look for gift ideas: Your loved ones might put gifts they want on their highlights. You could secretly view this and surprise them (possibly on their birthday) with the item.
- To preserve content: IG users could edit their highlights at any time. An Instagram story highlights viewer lets you make sure their deleted posts won’t be lost forever.
However, you can’t use these tools in any situation, even when their page is public. If they block you, for example, this might be for a reason. In any case, it’s important you respect their privacy.
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Highlights?
Instagram lets you see your highlight viewers for 48 hours. This is for each individual frame, not the category itself. Every time you add a new one, you can check its viewers for two days. After this point, you can only see who liked the highlight.
To check your IG highlight viewers, simply go to your page. Click on your most recently updated highlight. Once you find a highlight from the past 48 hours, click Activity. This shows you every account that’s watched the highlight since you uploaded it.
Despite what many think, the answer to “Does Instagram show who viewed your highlights?” is yes. But after 48 hours, every viewer is anonymous.
Keeping Your IG Highlights Private
Everyone has memories they want to proudly share with their circle. But even so, you might not want everyone who visits your profile to see your highlights. The simplest way to guarantee your highlights stay private is to lock your profile.
This way, you’ll have to manually approve each follower. Here’s how to lock your IG account:
- Click on your profile picture (or the person icon) in the bottom right of your feed.
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right to view your Settings and Activity.
- From here, scroll to Who Can See Your Content and click on Account Privacy.
- Simply tap the Private Account toggle. This instantly locks your Insta account.
If the highlight was a Close Friends story, only your Close Friends list will see it. This means you can keep certain highlights for your smaller social circle.
Does Instagram Show Who Viewed Your Highlights as a Story?
Every highlight starts life as an Insta story. When you create one, you can only select from your previous or current stories. But you can’t view your story viewers via the highlight. In fact, you’re not able to see your old stories’ viewers at all.
The Stories Archive works similarly to the app’s highlights function. This stores your old stories so you can go back to them and possibly select them as a highlight. But it also shows you each story’s viewers — at least for a short while.
Here’s how to check your Stories Archive:
- Click your profile picture (or the person icon) in the bottom right.
- On your profile, press the three horizontal lines in the top right.
- Tap Archive and make sure the menu at the top is set to Stories.
- You can select individual stories and save them to your highlights.
You have 48 hours to see your story’s view count. This includes the 24 hours the story is on your profile and another 24 hours in the archive.
Frequently Asked Questions
[FAQ] Can I view Instagram highlights without them knowing?
An IG highlight viewer lets you watch (and even save) an account’s highlights. On top of this, an Instagram highlight stops counting views after 48 hours, regardless.
[FAQ] What is the best anonymous Instagram viewer?
GoRead.io offers an Instagram story viewer that lets you save someone else’s story. As for highlights, MollyGram splits these into their original categories. It even lets you save each individual frame.
[FAQ] Can you see who views your Instagram highlights after 48 hours?
No; after 48 hours, the view count disappears. However, if someone likes the highlight, this will show up in your direct messages.
Do Highlight Viewers Work?
An Instagram highlight viewer lets you save stories that resonate with you. If these inspire future posts, you’ll need fans who appreciate them. GoRead.io’s network of real accounts can help you out here.
Our team boosts your profile so it gets real followers and likes. This helps its engagement meet and even exceed your expectations. Try GoRead.io today, and you’ll find more people who love your IG highlights.