Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. With its massive user base, Instagram is used not only for sharing photos and videos, but also for networking, marketing, and even dating. This is why many people want to look up another user’s Instagram activity and profile information.
While Instagram doesn’t have a built-in feature to see someone’s activity, there are a few clever tricks and third-party apps you can use to get insight into the posts, followers, and other actions of any public Instagram profile. However, it’s important to note that checking on someone’s activity without their consent raises privacy concerns. Proceed with caution and respect other users’ privacy when checking Instagram activity.
Using a Fake Account
The easiest way to check someone’s Instagram activity without letting them know is by using a fake account. Here’s how to do it:
- Create a new Instagram account using an alternate email and identity. Make sure the profile picture and bio don’t reveal who you are.
- Don’t follow or interact with the target account with your fake profile because this will notify them.
- Search for the person’s Instagram handle or name and go to their profile page. This will allow you to see all their posts.
- Tap on their followers/following lists to see who they follow and interact with.
- Check their highlights and story archive if they have a public account.
- Use Instagram’s activity status dots to see if they’re currently active on the app.
The main benefit of using a fake account is you can quietly observe someone’s profile and activity history without the user knowing. Just don’t like, comment, or follow their account from your fake profile.
View Their Profile as a Non-Follower
If you don’t want to create a fake Instagram account, you can simply view a user’s profile as a non-follower. Here’s how it works:
- Access the profile page of the account you want to check.
- Without following them, you’ll still be able to see their posts, user bio, followers/following counts, and highlights.
- You won’t be able to view their story or close friends content unless they have a public account.
- You can tap to see who they follow and interact with.
- Unlike a fake account, the user will know you visited their profile if they check their visitor list.
This method allows you to discreetly view posts and follower lists. But the limitation is not having access to stories or being able to see their activity over a long period.
Use an Instagram Monitoring App
There are a number of third-party apps that let you monitor Instagram accounts. Here are some of the top options:
1. Familio
Familio is a parental control app that offers Instagram monitoring features. Once installed on the child’s device, parents can:
- See who they follow and interact with
- View their search and commenting history
- Get notifications for posts, tags, and new follows
- Monitor DM conversations
- Check their story views and shares
The app costs $7.99 per month for full functionality. It’s designed for parents but can work to monitor other accounts.
2. Bark
Bark is another parental monitoring app that offers an Instagram viewer feature. It lets parents:
- See all Instagram posts, likes, comments, and captions
- Get alerts for potential issues like cyberbullying, nudity, swearing
- Monitor DMs and view chat history
- Check story views and shares
- Weekly report summarizing Instagram activity
Bark starts at $9 per month and is focused on child safety and wellbeing.
3. uMobix
uMobix is designed to monitor children’s phone and social media activity. Its Instagram monitor provides:
- Saved posts, stories, captions, hashtags, and location data
- Screenshots of DMs and conversations
- Notifications for new followers, posts, tags, and comments
- Activity log showing engagement and usage
uMobix costs $16.66 per month for up to 5 device installs. The app must be installed on the target device.
The downside to these apps is needing access to the user’s device to monitor activity closely. They also raise privacy issues without consent.
Use an Instagram Stalker Website
There are a number of websites that allow you to essentially “stalk” an Instagram profile and pull up information on a user’s account and activity history.
Some examples include:
- Gramho – See recent posts, followers growth, engagement stats, and more for public profiles.
- Social Bearing – Analyze new followers, unfollowers, audience stats and engagement for public accounts.
- Insta Stalker – View stories, posts, followers, tags and profiles viewed by a public account.
- StoriesIG – Search for and download public Instagram stories that disappear after 24 hours.
These sites provide a snapshot of a user’s public activity and engagement. However, they won’t show all activity or private account information.
Use the Instagram Data Download
If you have access to someone’s phone or the login for their Instagram account, you can download all their Instagram data:
- Go to Instagram account settings > Security > Download Data.
- Enter password and confirmation to request the data download.
- Instagram will email a download link when ready. This may take up to 48 hours.
- Open the downloaded ZIP file to see information Facebook has saved about the Instagram account.
The download includes complete account info, messages, archived stories, posts, searches, location data, and more. This gives a comprehensive view of someone’s Instagram activity if you can access their account.
Check Notification Emails or Texts
If you have access to someone’s personal device or accounts, you can check their notification emails or texts from Instagram:
- Notification emails are sent for new followers, posts the user is tagged in, and other Instagram interactions.
- Text notifications can also be enabled for direct mentions of the user’s handle in captions and comments.
- This provides details on who has recently interacted with the user on Instagram.
- However, access to a personal device or accounts without consent raises privacy issues.
Use the Instagram Follower Tracker
Instagram’s Follower Tracker shows when an account follows or unfollows you:
- Go to your profile and tap followers.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Select “Follower Tracker” to see a list of followers added and removed.
This only works to monitor follows of your own account, not others. But it can help determine if a certain user has unfollowed you recently.
Check Your Interactions
You can also learn clues based on your own interactions with an account:
- See if they’ve liked or commented on your posts recently
- Check if they responded to your DM or story reply
- Did they view your Instagram story or reel?
- Have they followed or mentioned you lately?
Reviewing your own direct interactions with an account can provide hints on their recent activity, even without spying on their full profile.
Use Stories Viewer Apps
If the account you want to check posts public stories, some apps can identify followers who have viewed those stories:
1. Story Watcher
Story Watcher lets you see who has viewed your public Instagram stories. To use it:
- Download the Story Watcher app.
- Give the app access to your Instagram account.
- Story Watcher will show you which followers and accounts viewed each story.
This gives insight into who interacts with the account’s stories. However, Instagram limits the accuracy of metrics apps can access.
2. Social Insider
Social Insider is another analytics app that shows public story views. To use it:
- Connect Social Insider app to an Instagram business profile.
- Post public stories from that connected account.
- Check the story views report to see who watched.
Social Insider provides more data and metrics for business profiles. But it still has the same limitations as Story Watcher.
Check Your Story Shares
You can also see if an account has shared your public stories as a message or post:
- Go to your story archive.
- Tap the three dots above a story.
- Select “View Story Shares” to see if they shared it.
This shows if a specific account has recently reshared or reacted to your public stories.
See If They Visited Your Profile
When someone visits your Instagram profile, they may show up on your visitors list:
- Go to your profile.
- Tap the followers/following number.
- Swipe over to the “Visitors” tab.
This shows accounts that have recently visited your profile. If the account you’re checking shows up here, they likely visited your profile in the last 7-14 days.
Check Your Tagged Photos
When someone is tagged in your post, they receive a notification. Check any recent posts where you’ve tagged the account to see if they liked it or commented:
- Go to your profile.
- Tap the photo you tagged them in.
- Check if they engaged with the post in any way.
This signifies they were recently active enough to receive and react to your tag notification.
Ask a Mutual Friend
If you have mutual friends with the Instagram account owner, you can try asking discreetly about their recent activity:
- Ask things like “Is so-and-so using Instagram a lot lately?”
- Inquire if they’ve posted on their story or interacted with mutual friends.
- Just don’t be obvious about your intentions when asking.
Having a mutual connection reach out may reveal details about their Instagram activity level.
Conclusion
Checking on someone’s Instagram account without their knowledge raises privacy concerns. While the tricks in this guide may provide details about an Instagram user’s activity, the ethical implications should be considered.
In most cases, directly asking the person or following their account are better options than extensive monitoring. But for parents checking on children’s safety, these methods offer insights into an Instagram account’s activity and engagement.
Which method you choose depends on your specific reasons for wanting to check Instagram activity. Just remember to respect other users’ privacy and boundaries on the platform.
