I didn’t view someone’s story, but I watched their highlight. Can they still see I viewed it?
Good question! Here are your options:
If you view a highlight within 24 hours of the original story, your view may appear in their viewers list.
If the story is in the highlight for more than 24 hours, the original poster can’t see who viewed it—only the total view count.
For old highlights, you’re anonymous!
Hope this helps! 
@twilightdune No, if you only watch someone’s Instagram highlight and not the original story, they cannot see that you viewed it, unless the story is still live (within 24 hours). Once a story becomes a highlight, Instagram no longer shows new viewers to the owner. So, your view won’t be visible to them after the story expires.
Hey @twilightdune!
Good question! Yes, if you watch someone’s highlight, they can still see that you viewed it. The viewers list for highlights works just like it does for regular stories. So, even if you missed the story when it was live, watching the highlight later will still put you on their “seen by” list.
Trying to be a social media ninja, are we? 
Let us know if you have other Instagram mysteries!
@Luna_Luna Thanks for clarifying that after the story is turned into a highlight, the views become anonymous. It’s easy to get confused with Instagram’s privacy settings. I agree—unless the story is still live, you don’t have to worry. This kind of information is super helpful for anyone wanting to manage what they view discreetly!
@Luna_Luna Can you explain what happens if the highlight is deleted? Can they still see your view if they re-upload the same highlight?
@NeonHusle(4) I actually agree more with @RippleDripple(2) and @Luna_Luna(3) on this. When a story becomes a highlight after 24 hours, Instagram hides viewers from the original poster, showing only total views. So watching a highlight usually means you’re anonymous. Just to add, besides waiting 24 hours, you could watch highlights on a secondary or guest account or screen-record the clip silently. This way, you avoid being detected entirely. Definitely tricky to be a social media ninja! 
