Instagram is among the latest entrants into the world of social media. However, it has quickly gained a huge user base thanks to its great features, which allow people to share their best moments with friends, family, colleagues, and even acquaintances.
The user, on the other hand, gets the opportunity to glimpse at the lifestyle of those in their social circle and even their competitors if they are in business. The latter requires stealth that can only be guaranteed by an anonymous Instagram story viewer or any other tool that can keep you unidentifiable.
Importance of Maintaining Anonymity While Watching Instagram Stories
Instagram stories are extremely interesting and potentially addictive. However, every time you view someone’s story, the Instagram algorithm notifies the account owner through ‘Seen’ receipts. This includes screenshots.
In addition, the platform does not have an anonymous viewing feature, nor can you download any content. These issues force people to look for ways to ensure a high level of privacy while still enjoying the short video clips, photos, and other contents that disappear in 24 hours.
Here is a summary of the reasons people desire anonymity:
- Privacy Concerns
Sometimes it is good to keep your online activities private and to avoid alerting others when you view their stories.
- Problems with Social Interaction
Social media is not just for highly sociable people. Even those with social phobias may enjoy watching their favorite Instagram stories. If you belong to this group, chances are that you desire to observe content without having to engage in social interactions, such as comments and likes, and maintain a low profile.
- Curiosity Killed the Cat!
If you’re like me, you might be curious about the content your friends, family members, partners, colleagues, and competitors post on their stories but may not want to reveal their identity or interest.
- Avoiding unnecessary attention
If you want to avoid attracting attention or scrutiny while viewing Instagram stories, then going incognito is the best route. This will prevent others from knowing you passed by.
How to ensure anonymity while viewing Instagram stories
Until a few years ago, the only way to avoid being identified by the owners of the stories you watched was to avoid watching them altogether. A wise person once said that curiosity is the mother of invention. People have come up with truly ingenious ways to go incognito while immersing themselves in Instagram stories.
Here are some fascination tricks to allow you to achieve this:
- Use an external anonymity service.
By external anonymity service, we mean using a third-party app or website that offers anonymous Instagram story viewing. Currently, the web is filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of such websites or apps, each claiming to offer IG anonymous services.
Only a few are secure and do work. Others are bots, designed to steal your personal information and then sell it to whoever needs it. For those that work, some work only with public Instagram profiles; these are generally free. Premium options can give you access to private profiles as well.
Among the best free services, AnonyPro stands out. It enables users to view and download Instagram stories without the Instagram algorithm realizing it and notifying the owner of the account. For other services like it, all you need to do is provide the username of the Instagram profile whose story you want to view.
You need to be careful while using third-party apps. Ensure the one you choose does not violate Instagram Community Guidelines, as well as its terms and conditions of service.
- Activate Airplane Mode.
Temporarily switching to airplane mode is a valuable trick that is completely safe, although it might limit you to only watching one video from a series. All internet-enabled devices, including smartphones, iPhones, tablets, PCs, and so on, have Airplane Mode as a built-in feature.
Activating airplane mode allows the device to preload the story content while it is still connected to the internet. It will then load the story for your viewing when you switch on airplane mode and the device does not have access to the internet.
Start by opening the Instagram app and logging into your account. You then go to the Instagram page of the person whose story you wish to view anonymously. Once you are there, patiently wait for the circular loader to process your command and complete the cycle. The completion of the circular loader means the story feed has been preloaded.
Proceed by disconnecting your device from the internet by tapping Airplane Mode to be active. Alternatively, you can just disconnect from the internet by switching off your Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.
Finally, click on the profile photo of the person whose story excites you. The story will play on your screen, and since your device is not connected to the internet, the Instagram platform will not count it as a view.
- Use an Anonymous Instagram Story Downloader.
Some web-based services can allow you to download Instagram stories without the platform notifying the poster of the content. You should know that Instagram does not currently have a feature that allows you to download Instagram stories, let alone anonymously.
These downloaders are designed to help you access the accounts belonging to different people, provided you know their usernames. Some are designed to use hashtags, which are more specific and effective.
Yet more are simply Instagram profile hacking tools that allow you to access public and sometimes even private accounts as if you are the owner of those accounts without them knowing. This can guarantee you limitless story-watching sessions. However, with success comes great responsibility. You will need to pay for the services.
- Open a Secondary Instagram account.
One of the best features of Instagram is that it allows users to open multiple accounts from the main account. In other words, you can just add another account with a new username and credentials and still access your main account by simply switching between them.
You do not have to log out of your regular account. Instead, just visit your account, then tap on your profile picture on the right lower section of your device screen. Locate the three-dash menu on the right upper section of your screen and access the settings.
Here, locate ‘add account’ at the bottom, enter a new username, and click next. You’ll soon get a prompt to enter an email address or a phone number. To ensure complete anonymity, ensure you do not use the same email or phone number you used in the main account.
A confirmation code will be sent to your email or phone, which you will need to enter to verify your secondary account. Go ahead and upload a profile photo that does not identify you. Ensure your account looks legitimate by adding an imaginary name.
Once you are done, you can just switch between the accounts. Use the secondary account to anonymously watch Instagram stories. More on Cookape.
Final Thoughts
While there are other methods you can use to enjoy a certain level of privacy, the tricks we have discussed here are foolproof and can allow you to enjoy Instagram stories all day long, 24/7. Regardless of the method you choose, keep in mind that the people whose stories you wish to watch are also entitled to privacy. These methods have been tested and found to be working. Just be careful not to violate Instagram’s terms and conditions.
