No longer see the usual colored ring around your friend’s Instagram profile photo? Don’t know why you can’t see their stories anymore? It could be they’ve hidden their story from you. A missing highlights section is one clue to verify this. Let’s quickly find out whether they’ve hidden their Instagram story from you.
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If You Can’t See Their Story, Here’s Why
- They might have hidden their story from you: Instagram lets users choose who gets to see their stories. If someone wants a bit more privacy, they may hide their story.
- They could have posted a Close Friends story: See those stories with the green circle around them? Those are for Close Friends only. This is a way to share with a smaller group of people. It could be that the user hasn’t added you to their list.
- They might have switched to a private account: If someone switches to a private account, only their followers can see the photos and videos they upload to their stories. If you realize you’re not following them anymore and don’t remember unfollowing them, they may have removed you as a follower.
- You might be blocked: If you can’t see their story or profile at all, they may have blocked you (or maybe they’ve taken a social media break). Another possibility is that they’ve switched their account from public to private. In that case, you won’t see their posts or stories unless you’re already following them.
There are a few simple ways to tell if someone has hidden their Instagram stories from you: check their highlights, use a story-viewing tool, or ask a mutual friend. Read on.
1. Check If You See Their Story Highlights
Instagram lets you pin the stories you post to your profile as highlights. Unlike stories, which expire in 24 hours, highlights stay on your profile indefinitely.
When someone hides their Instagram story from you using the “Hide Story” option, it also hides their highlights. So, if you could previously see highlights on their profile but they’ve suddenly disappeared, they’ve either removed them or hidden their Stories from you.
2. Check Story Using Third-Party Tools (for Public Accounts)
If your friend has a public Instagram account, it’s easy to know if they’re hiding their stories from you. Here are two ways to check:
- Create a temporary account: Create a new account and visit your friend’s profile. If you can see their recent stories or highlights from this temporary account but not your main one, they’ve hidden their stories from you.
- Anonymous Story Viewer: Don’t want the hassle of creating another account? No problem! Visit InstaNavigation on your web browser and enter their Instagram user ID. Check out their stories and highlights. If you see a story here but not on your Instagram app, they’ve hidden it from you.
3. Ask One of Their Followers (for Private Accounts)
If they have a private account, you won’t be able to view their story – even with different accounts – unless they accept your follow request. In this case, a workaround is to ask a mutual friend (someone who already follows them) to check if the user has uploaded a story.
This should help you know if the person is hiding their Stories from you or simply hasn’t posted one yet.
4. Check with Their Close Friends
It could also be that the user has posted a Close Friends story. Unfortunately, you cannot see this type of story unless you’re on their Close Friends list, and no third-party tools can help in this situation.
One possible approach is to check their follower list and find someone they regularly interact with, as they might have a higher chance of being on their Close Friends list. Politely message this person and ask if they see a close friends story. If so, it confirms a story was posted.
Remember to be respectful of everyone’s boundaries. Avoid contacting someone you don’t know well. Even if you do know them, it’s best to have a reason for wanting to know about their uploads. For example, if the person you’re asking about is a mutual friend, you might say you’re checking up on them because you haven’t heard from them in a while.
In Short, They Have Hidden Their Story from You If
- You can’t see their story highlights, but you were able to see them previously.
- You can see their stories through a different account or third-party tool.
- Someone else can see their story, but you cannot.
- They’ve uploaded a “Close Friends” story you’re not included on.
These telltale signs should help you easily check if a friend has hidden their Stories from you. Remember, hiding Stories is a privacy feature, and it’s important to respect everyone’s choice to control who sees their content.
