We’ve all been there. You want to see someone’s Instagram Story—maybe an ex, a competitor, or just out of curiosity—but you don’t want your name popping up in their “Viewed By” list. Is it possible to lurk in the shadows? Yes. Here are 3 methods that work.
Method 1: The “Airplane Mode” Trick ✈️ This is the oldest trick in the book, but it still works if you are fast.
- Open Instagram and let the Stories feed load (refresh the page).
- Immediately turn on Airplane Mode (disable WiFi and Data).
- Tap the story and view it.
- Close the app completely (kill the background process) before turning the internet back on.
Method 2: The “Half-Swipe” Technique 🤏 This requires steady fingers!
- Tap the story of the person before the target.
- Slowly swipe left without letting go.
- You can peek at the target’s story like a 3D cube.
- Swipe back to the right without “snapping” to the new story.
- Note: This only lets you see the first photo/video, not the whole string.
Method 3: Third-Party Viewer Sites (Easiest) There are websites where you just type in the username, and it shows you the stories without you ever logging in. This is the safest method because your account is never connected to the view.
Want to keep the story forever? Viewing is one thing, but if you want to download the video to your phone before it expires, check out our guide on how to save stories privately.
