How does instagram rank who views your story

Understanding Instagram algorithms: Are Instagram Story views ranked based on your likes?

Trying to understand the data behind your Instagram Story views sequence? Learn how Instagram ranks Story viewers and how you can boost Instagram engagement for your business.

By now, most of us are Instagram users either for business or personal reasons, or both. It’s an amazing platform for visual inspiration and to keep up with everyone from friends to Instagram influencers and celebrities you’ve never met. It has also become a major shopping platform for products and services.

Instagram Stories, in particular, are increasing in popularity. For business owners trying to develop an Instagram presence and engagement, you will benefit from learning more about the Instagram algorithm, what it tells you about potential clients, and how to leverage Instagram into business growth.

You might’ve noticed that you can see a list of people who watch your Instagram Stories, but how much do you know about the data behind the order of viewers that Instagram shows you? Is it meaningful or random?

Let’s dive into Instagram Stories, how to interpret the order of Instagram Stories views, how to maximize your profile views, and how to turn it into conversion for your business.

What are Instagram Stories?

Instagram took a page out of Snapchat’s book by unveiling Instagram Stories in 2016. Since then they’ve only increased in popularity. Now, some Insta users don’t even bother to scroll down their feed, they just stick to story viewing!

Instagram Stories allow users to post 15-second videos that only last for 24 hours. To extend their life, you can save your Instagram Stories to your profile by adding them to your Instagram profile page’s “Highlights,” where they will be available indefinitely.

You can use filters, add text, and add fun gifs and images. Stories allow you to play around with filters, text, GIFs, images, videos, polls, stickers, Q&As, and music. For businesses, Stories present an opportunity to share promotions, discount codes, and behind-the-scenes content. They’re great for content that’s time-sensitive or a little more casual.

Businesses can also advertise using Instagram Stories. Users will see a sponsored story every few Stories that they tap through, so you’ll reach many users with this sort of ad placement.

Can I see who viewed my Instagram story?

Want to know how to track Instagram viewers? It’s simple. Tap your profile picture at the top of your feed to view your story. Look at the lower-left corner of your story. If anyone has viewed it, you’ll see one or multiple profile pictures with a “Seen by” label and number beneath it.

Tap the “Seen by #” label to open your Instagram story viewers list. Here, you’ll see a list of everyone who has viewed your story as well as the total view count.

How does Instagram rank story viewers?

Many users suspect that Instagram displays story viewers in a particular order. According to Julian Gutman, product lead for Instagram Home, the profiles at the top of your list are based on who you engage with the most, not vice versa.

Just because someone is at the top of your viewer list doesn’t mean that they visit your Instagram feed the most or watched your story multiple times. The Instagram algorithm simply displays your viewer list based on your activity and who it thinks you’re closest to.

Your interaction data can come from posts you like or comment on, profiles you look for in the search bar, and when you swipe up on an account’s Instagram Story. This data reveals quite a bit about our social media habits. Your taps and swipes are telling the app who you care about most!

There’s your answer! The profiles at the top of the list have nothing to do with privacy settings, number of views, number of Instagram posts, or your business account’s unfollow ratio — and won’t tip you off if you have an Instagram stalker. It’s simply a reflection of how you spend your time in the Instagram app.

While the order of Insta Stories views isn’t the most compelling engagement data for business owners, it’s interesting to be aware of your own habits and understand how the platform works.

So, the Instagram algorithm isn’t telling me who likes my Instagram business account the most?

The Instagram feed algorithm is different from the Instagram Story algorithm. When we refer to the “Instagram algorithm,” we’re talking about the order in which Instagram presents new content posted by accounts you follow as well as the profiles that appear on your Discover page.

You might’ve noticed that Instagram doesn’t display feed posts in chronological order. The Instagram algorithm intends to surface the best, most pertinent content to each user every time they check their feed.

What you see is an algorithmic timeline, which means the content Instagram thinks you’ll likely be most interested in. The order of photos and videos in your feed is based on the likelihood you’ll engage with the content, your relationship with the account posting it, and how recently the content was posted.

Instagram is all about engagement, so its algorithm is precisely designed to increase the chances of users liking, swiping, or making a purchase in the app. Of course, timeliness still plays a part in what you see, as Instagram considers recent posts more relevant.

If you’re worried that the algorithmic timeline means you won’t see posts from friends and loved ones, Instagram has addressed in concern, stating, “no matter how many accounts you follow, you should see your best friend’s latest posts.”

How to watch Instagram Stories anonymously

Many of us have the occasional instinct to view Instagram stories anonymously. So how can you watch stories anonymously without revealing who you are to the person who posted? If someone has a public profile, you can always view it from your “finsta,” or unidentifiable account. There are also third-party apps that apparently let you view people’s stories without notifying the poster that you viewed them.

How can I improve my Instagram Story engagement?

An Instagram account is worth pursuing for your business simply because there are more than a billion active monthly users on the platform!

The foundation of a successful Instagram presence is to post frequently. First, make sure you have a public Instagram account so people can search for you and gain access to your active Stories. Over time, you will learn how fast and often your audience views, likes, comments, shares, and saves your new posts and Stories. Until then, all you can control is sharing high-quality content regularly. The Instagram algorithm will reward you for your output.

To increase the engagement your posts and Stories receive, which will rank you higher in the app’s algorithm, you should always post crisp, attention-grabbing photos and videos that offer value to your audience.

If your content isn’t as strong as you’d like, you can try doing giveaways or promotions that encourage visitors to engage with you. This may mean responding to a poll, submitting a question, or asking them to slide into your DMs (direct messages) with responses. Soliciting questions from followers allows you to respond to them directly. This establishes authority, lets you give them free advice, and builds rapport.

Your content will improve as you devote more time and resources to it. The better you get at creating interesting content for your audience, the higher your engagement will be and the more relevant your posts will be according to the Instagram algorithm.

If you’re using Instagram for your professional venture and want to know how to get more likes and followers, this guide helps you to do just that.

Download my free guide

Tracking your Instagram insights

Like any project, it’s a good idea to track your Instagram profile insights over time. Keep a spreadsheet where you track each week’s performance metrics, including likes, comments, shares, and saves that your content (both new and old posts) receives.

This will help you objectively measure which posts perform better, and over time, identify trends when it comes to the type of content that delivers the most value. No ads needed! Just organic growth for your business.

You should also seek out other accounts in your niche and engage with them. You can team up for cross-promotions, content collaborations, partner giveaways, or simply repost their content that your follower might enjoy.

What affects Instagram engagement?

Factors that may impact an Insta story or post’s metrics include:

Number of Instagram followers
Number of people who see your post
Hashtags
Frequency of your feed posts
Type of content
Timeliness of content
Number of fake accounts following you

For more tips on how to get the most out of your Instagram efforts, check out our guide for succeeding on Instagram.

Download my free guide

How can I turn an Instagram Story viewer into a client for my business?

Now that you understand how the Instagram algorithm works for Stories and how to use it to your advantage, you can start building a better Insta presence for your business. However, an effective Instagram business profile is only one piece of your digital marketing strategy. The most important part is a professional website, which is where you’ll want to direct all of your online traffic, including from social media platforms.

B12 builds professional websites that have the tools and functionality your business needs to sell your services online and engage new and existing clients. Beyond websites, we offer SEO, blog posts, online scheduling, online payments, and much more. Elevate your online presence and professionalize your business by getting started with B12 today.

How Does Instagram Sort Story Viewers in 2022?

Instagram is more than just a photo and video-sharing platform; it’s a social platform. You’re not just posting into the void. You’re engaging with other users and interacting with them. If you’re like most people, you want to see who’s been stalking your Instagram story. So you go to your story and click on the list of viewers. Suddenly, you’ll see a list that will probably include several familiar faces.

But how exactly does Instagram’s spooky algorithm decide how your story viewers are sorted? The short answer is that it’s super-secret. Instagram isn’t telling anyone, and for good reason. If someone knew Instagram’s algorithm inside and out, they could create a bot to exploit it. That said, we still have a general idea of how it works. Here’s everything you need to know about Instagram story viewers in 2022.

Note: At no extra cost to you, we may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

What Are Instagram Stories?

Instagram first rolled out the story in 2016, and it’s become an incredibly popular feature. Every day, more than 500 million people update their Instagram story. That’s an insane number, and it goes to show just how much people love to post them. But even more people view stories than post them. In other words, any given story will likely have multiple viewers.

Since then, Meta has introduced the story feature on their two other platforms: Facebook and WhatsApp. Stories are pretty much the same on all three services, with similar features. Among those features is the ability to see who viewed your story. This makes stories different from posts, where you can’t see who viewed them. With a post, you’ll only see if someone liked, commented, or otherwise interacted with it.

When you look at who viewed your story, the list will be ordered in a certain way. How does that work?

Recency vs. Engagement

If you’re like most people, you probably assume your story viewers list is sorted chronologically. You’d see the most recent viewer at the top, followed by the second-most recent viewer, and so on. All the way at the bottom, you’d see the first person to view your story.

In fact, this reverse chronological order is exactly how it works, at least until you have over 50 viewers. But at that point, you’re already looking at a fairly long list that likely includes a bunch of strangers. If you were trying to find a particular person, it would be difficult to do so. Instead, Instagram switches things up once your story gets its 51st view.

At that point, the Instagram algorithm kicks in. Instagram is all about engagement, and they want to show you the people you’re most interested in. Furthermore, most people never scroll past the top few story viewers on the list. To drive engagement, Instagram will populate those spots with the people you’re most interested in.

How does Instagram know this? It’s a trade secret, and they’re not telling. But it seems to be related to how much you and the other person have interacted with each other. If someone is a stranger and has never interacted with you before, they’ll be near the bottom of the list.

Outside Interactions

Remember, Instagram doesn’t stand alone as a social media service. While it’s possible to have only an Instagram account, Instagram strongly encourages users to sign up for Facebook. Many Instagram users are also on WhatsApp, and all three of these companies are owned by Meta.

As a result, Instagram has access to your interactions on Facebook and WhatsApp. If you’re friends with somebody on one of those services, Instagram takes those interactions into account. Maybe you haven’t interacted with them much on Instagram. But if you’re constantly commenting on each-others’ Facebook accounts, they’ll show up higher in your story viewers list.

Once again, this is done with the intention of boosting engagement and connecting you with real friends. Instagram wants you to see the people you’re most interested in.

Along those lines, think twice if you can’t find someone you interact with a lot. They may not have seen your story because their account was temporarily or permanently deleted. See if you can find your most recent chat with them in your DMs. If their name has been changed to “Instagram User,” their account has probably been deleted.

Instagram Story View Order Myths

As we’ve discussed, your story viewers are sometimes ordered in reverse chronological order. But when you have more than 50 views, the order changes. This, combined with Instagram’s secrecy about their algorithm, has led to a number of myths. Here are two of the most common ones.

People at the top have viewed your story multiple times

This myth is all over the internet, and it makes intuitive sense. Someone views your story, then falls down the list as more people view it. That same person views your story again and comes back to the top. Unfortunately, this is completely false. Someone may rise higher if they’ve viewed your story a lot in the past. But that’s only one measure of engagement.

The people on top of the list are stalking you

Some people say that when someone views your story but doesn’t interact, they come to the top. That’s 100% false. If anything, they’d rise higher by liking or sharing, because that’s a form of engagement. But once again, these are just a couple measures of how often you engage.

If you’re trying to view someone else’s story and can’t find it, they may never have accepted your follow request. Or, maybe you forgot to request to follow them in the first place. If you’re not sure, check out our guide on how to see who you requested to follow on Instagram.

Do Instagram Story View Orders Matter?

It depends. If you’re an individual, story view order doesn’t really matter. It’s mostly a matter of personal interest and finding people who viewed your story. But we can’t think of a reason why story view order would be important for your personal life.

That said, you might be an influencer, or you might be running an Instagram account for your business. In those situations, story view order can be very important, but not in the way you might think. In point of fact, it doesn’t matter what order people viewed your story in. So keeping track of the first 50 views is pointless.

But once you exceed 50 views, things change. Remember what we said about driving engagement? Well, the people at the top of your views list will be the ones Instagram thinks are most likely to engage. Basically, you can look at those peoples profiles to get a profile for your most engaged followers.

Can an Instagram Bot Help?

Many people use bots called mass story viewers to view as many stories as possible. The idea is simple enough. By viewing a bunch of people’s stories, you show up in their viewers lists. This can expose you to people who otherwise never would have found your page. There are a couple of caveats to this.

To begin with, mass story viewing only really works for exposing yourself to smaller accounts. Remember, once a story gets 50 views, the algorithm kicks in. If someone hasn’t followed you, you’ll be way down at the bottom of their viewers list. It doesn’t matter how influential they are if they never see that they viewed your story. If you view stories from less well-followed pages, you may end up at the top.

Another issue is that mass story viewers may or may not work. They’re technically a type of bot, so you won’t get them from a reputable source. When you pay for one, you’re just trusting some random stranger that their software will work. If you must use a story viewer, do lots of research and find out what previous users are saying.

Finally, the use of bots is against Instagram’s terms of service. If you get caught using one, you can get a lifetime ban. Obviously you can create a new account with a new email address. But you’ll have to start over from square one with zero followers.

The Same Person Is Always at the Bottom of my Story Views – Why?

We’ve talked a lot about the people at the top of your story views. But what about the people at the bottom of the list? If the same person keeps appearing at the bottom, there’s a simple explanation. They follow you, but you don’t follow them. Since you don’t follow them, Instagram thinks you’re unlikely to engage, so they fall to the bottom.

If you’re not sure whether you follow that person or not, check your following and followers lists. If you’re not sure how those lists are ordered, read our complete guide to how the Instagram following and followers list is ordered.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, Instagram sorts your story viewers in two ways. When you have 50 views or fewer, they will be listed in reverse chronological order. When you have 51 or more, they will be listed according to Instagram’s secret algorithm. We hope we’ve given you a good explanation, and helped to dispel some myths.

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Is there a way to find out how many times someone has viewed your Instagram story?

Have you ever wondered who actually views the stories you add to your Instagram account? And can you tell if someone has watched it more than once? Well, there is no need to be surprised, because we will answer all these questions and many more.

What is an Instagram Story?

Instagram allows you to add content that disappears after 24 hours. This is separate from your posts, which are visible on your profile. You can set privacy on your account to control who can view these disappearing stories. Instagram has also added a feature (Private Stories) that allows you to create custom audiences for your stories.

You can also repost content to your story so others can easily find it. Clicking on the repost will take you to the original content. If you want your story to last longer than the 24-hour limit, you can save it to Highlights. Your saved history will be available on your profile.

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How to find out who viewed your story on Instagram

Instagram lets you know who viewed your story in the app. It also lets you know the order in which your history was viewed. This way, you can probably guess who has notifications for your stories.

To find out who viewed your Instagram story, launch the app and click on your story in the top left corner.

At the bottom of the story, you should see a "Who Sees" button with images above it. This means that your story has been viewed. Next to the "Who's watching" box is a number that represents the number of people who viewed your story, i.e. 100 people saw them.

Click the Seen button to open a list of people who have viewed your story.

Alternatively, you can simply scroll through the history.

Do you see how many times someone views your Instagram story?

Although you can see who has viewed your story, it is not possible to tell if a person has viewed your story more than once. The generated list is based on who viewed your story and when. It is not restored if the user views your history again at a later stage.

Every time a new user views your story, they are added to the top of the list. However, if a person who has already viewed your story before reviewing it again, their name will not rise to the top of the list. This means you can't tell if a person has viewed your story once or a hundred times.

Can you tell if someone is taking screenshots of your story?

No, Instagram doesn't notify you if a user takes a screenshot of your story. While some apps, such as Snapchat, immediately notify the user when someone captures their story, there is no way for Instagram to tell the same.

In fact, even if a user shares your story with someone, you won't get a notification.

How to know if someone is taking a screenshot of your DM photo

A new app update now notifies you when a user takes a screenshot of your profile photo. To be clear, you will only get a notification when you send a live photo (taken from your camera) to a person and they take a screenshot. The same does not apply to messages, direct messages, or sent stories.

When a person takes a screenshot of your photo in their account, it will bring this conversation to the top of the list. Your DM list will also say "Screenshot".

In addition, you can check if a person has a screenshot of your photo in their account by opening a chat. A screenshot symbol will appear next to the photo you sent.

What about Snapchat?

So Snapchat tells you how many times your Snapchat story is viewed?

In this aspect, Snapchat follows the same rule as Instagram. The app doesn't let you know if a user has viewed your story more than once. Until a recent update, there was a trick to detect if someone was viewing your story again (because their name jumped to the top of the viewer list). However, a recent update got rid of this feature.

The list of viewers is now simply populated based on the order in which the story is viewed. This way, even if the person views your story again, their name won't move to the top of the list.

What about other social media apps?

Do any social media apps tell you how many times a user views your story?

Currently, none of the popular social media applications allow this. They all seem to follow the same ideology - they don't want users to know that someone has viewed their story multiple times.

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat allow you to see who has viewed your story, but do not tell you if someone has viewed it again. In fact, their viewership lists fill out the same way. Once a person has viewed your story, their name will not move to the top if they view it again.

So currently you have no way of knowing who has viewed your Instagram story more than once. Do you think Instagram should add this feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Related:

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Do you want to evaluate your performance or SMM-specialist? Any analysis begins with the collection of data - this is what statistics are for. In the article, we will consider questions on Stories statistics:

What does Instagram Stories statistics mean*?
How to watch it?
What data should I pay special attention to?

How to view general statistics for Instagram* Stories

To find all statistics for the Stories section, click on the three dashes in the right corner and select "Statistics". Scroll down to the "Content you've posted" section. Specify the period - now Instagram* has a random selection of dates, but within 90 days. And go to Stories - Instagram* will show you how many Stories have been posted.

How to find the statistics section on Instagram* by Stories

Once again, you can select a period and filter all Stories by the specified metric. Stories can also be sorted from newest to oldest and vice versa. What metrics are available, we will describe below.

How to view the statistics of an individual Story

To view the statistics of an individual Story, open it by clicking on the avatar and click on the mini-previews of avatars in the left corner with the inscription "Viewed".

Charts icon must be active blue to view statistics. Otherwise, you will just see users who have viewed your Story

How to view Instagram Stories statistics*, figured it out. Let's move on to what indicators are reflected in it.

What are the indicators in the Stories statistics?

In the general statistics section of the account settings in the filter, you can select the following metrics:

In the general statistics, the metrics will be general for the profile, and not just for Instagram Stories*

The metrics in the statistics of a single Story will depend on what actions users performed, whether they touched stickers/stickers. If you attached a link to a website or a sticker mentioning an account to your History, then statistics on them will be available.

If users wrote to Direct from History or sent a reaction, the statistics will show the number of responses. If you have attached a link, click statistics will appear on it, etc.

Interesting fact - Instagram* is testing the ability for accounts with less than 10,000 followers to attach a link using the "Link" sticker. But there are no statistics on this sticker yet, unlike Stories with a standard link - see photo:

Stories statistics with a new sticker were tested in the account Govorit.moroz

Now to decipher the metrics values.

Basic Instagram statistics metrics*: transcript

Reach and followers metrics

“Account reach” is the number of unique users who viewed your Story.

"Impressions" - the sum of all history views. Are considered including multiple - by the same user.

If you have watched a Story 2 times, then it will be reflected in its statistics as follows: coverage - 1, and views will be 2.

"Subscriptions" - shows the number of accounts that subscribed after viewing your Story.

Navigation metrics

“Navigation” is the sum of the values of all metrics in the section.

"Back" (in the statistics of a separate Story, this is "Go back") - shows how many times the user went to the previous story to watch it again.

"Next Story Transitions" (in the individual Story statistics it is "Transition Forward") - shows the number of transitions to the next of your Stories. The indicator is counted if the user has not watched your story to the end.

"Next Story" - shows the transition from your Story to the Stories of another Instagram user *.

"Exits" - shows the number of users who closed the History, that is, who clicked on the cross to exit the section.

Important! If you have seen the “Forward” metric and cannot understand its difference from other navigation metrics, then read the article by Olya Kochkina about its decoding - everything will immediately become clear.

Stories interaction metrics

“Action statistics for this Story” is the sum of all metrics in the “Interactions” section.

"Clicks on the link" - shows the number of clicks on the link you attached in the History.

"Transitions to the site" - will show users who went to the site after browsing. Do not confuse with the metric above.

"Replies" - shows how many users wrote to you in Direct from History or reacted to it with emoji.

"Profile visits" - the number of people who came to your account from Stories. Counts clicks on your avatar in the top left corner.

"Number of sticker taps" - if you attached a sticker with an Instagram username* (it doesn't matter if it's your own or someone else's), it will show the number of users who clicked on it. Or if you, for example, repost someone else's Story, it will show the number of clicks to it. The username will also be reflected in the statistics.

Figured out how to view Instagram Stories metrics*. As for using them in Stories analytics, you only need to know 3 rules:

All negative actions (closing, swiping and no interactions) signal that your content is not interesting to subscribers.
All positive actions (reviews, sending answers and reactions) allow your Stories to be closer to the top of the search results, get more coverage. This is how algorithmic tape works.
To analyze, you need to collect and compare data about the formats and content of your content in the Stories section. So onward to the next point!

How to evaluate the effectiveness of stories?

Analyzing the performance of Instagram Stories*

Let's start with the fact that there is not enough data in the Instagram* app itself to fully interpret. There is no metric of story views until the end of , but this is an indicator of keeping the attention of your subscriber and, of course, the quality of the content produced.

Not yet ER View - to understand the ratio of the number of reactions to the Story and its views. This is an analogue of ERR for posts, an important indicator for analysis.

And of course, although we can make our own calculations based on the application data, from Instagram* they will have to be transferred manually for each Story and a huge amount of time will be spent. And for SMM people, time is a valuable resource. Plus it's inconvenient.

To simplify the analysis of Instagram* Stories, save time, get advanced statistics and constantly monitor the status of your account, use DataFan - a dynamic reporting service with integration with Google Data Studio, PowerBi.

On the dashboard - the main metrics and positive or negative dynamics of indicators, for quick adjustment of work with Stories

Clear visual graphics can be downloaded in .png or .jpg format:

You can quickly create a report on Stories for the customer and download in the desired format with the main metrics for analysis

The service also helps SMMs evaluate the quality of Stories promotion in comparison with organic traffic. And of course, it will calculate the average number of reactions for you - now you do not need to create separate tables for calculating data:

Deciphering Instagram Stories* statistics data in DataFan service

If the Stories statistics in your account leave much to be desired, start analyzing it with the help of automation as soon as possible - don't waste time, connect DataFan. It works with popular ad accounts like myTarget and 4 social networks. It is especially important for everyone who works with large amounts of data to have social media statistics in one place - that is why I definitely recommend the service to all my large clients.

Remember that collecting data and analyzing Stories allows you to effectively distribute your promotion efforts on Instagram*. If you want to achieve your goals, see which actions with the content in the section bring the most results, and which ones need to be adjusted. Stories statistics needs attention.

I hope the article helped in deciphering the main performance indicators of stories.