Instagram Stories have quickly become one of the biggest features on the platform — allowing users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. But if you’ve ever considered taking a screenshot of someone’s story, you may have paused and taken a moment to think:

“Will they know I screenshotted it?”

Let’s clear all that up. Here’s everything you need to know.

Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot a Story?

No, currently, Instagram does not alert users if they screenshot their story.
You can screenshot someone’s story or even screen record it without them being alerted. This includes both stories and close friends’ stories.

Hold On, there Are A Few Exceptions. Although stories are free game, Instagram does alert users for other private activity in the app. Here’s the breakdown:

No Alert:

• Standard stories
• Highlights
• Reels
• Posts (photos/videos on feed)
• Profile Pages
• Public content

Alert Sent:

• Disappearing photos/videos sent in a DM

If someone sends you a disappearing photo or video (View Once or Allow Replay) and you screenshot it, Instagram will alert them.

What About Third-Party Apps or Browser Tools?

Using third-party apps or browser tools to see stories could avoid detection, but these typically violate Instagram’s terms of service and can be unsafe or unreliable. Some might claim to be anonymous viewers or downloaders, but they can:

• Compromise your login credentials
• Be sources of malware
• Result in restrictions on your account or a ban altogether

It is worthwhile to rely on Instagram as your app of choice for safety and privacy.

Can You Tell Who Viewed Your Story?

Yes! Instagram shows who viewed the story, but not if they took screenshots or not.

To see who viewed your story, follow these instructions:

• Start by going to your story.
• Next, swipe up on the screen.
• It will show you a list of the people who viewed your story.
• Of course, this is still not tracking a screenshot.

Is There Any Way to Screenshot Stories Anonymously?

You can! Some popular (but unofficial means) are:

• Putting your own phone in airplane mode after the story has completely loaded.
• Using another device to record a photo or video of what is on your screen.
• Screen-recording it, while Instagram currently does note when screen-records take place, they have not notified users of stories.

Still, please be respectful to people’s privacy when using these methods.

Conclusion

In 2018, Instagram tested a version of the image that notified the user if screenshots were taken, but ultimately decided to abandon this idea altogether.Since then, Instagram has yet to reintroduce it, so for now, you can feel free to screenshot stories without a care in the world.

Now, with private disappearing messages, the rules change, and notifications happen here. As a general rule, always use Instagram responsibly and respect other people’s privacy when viewing and sharing content.

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