View Instagram stories
Watch the current stories and highlights of a public account in your browser, with tap and keyboard controls.
Public data only, no login needed
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Watch Instagram stories and highlights in your browser
Stories are made for the phone app, and on a computer Instagram asks you to log in before you can watch them. This story viewer plays the current stories and highlights of any public account in a full player: progress bars at the top, tap or click on the right to go forward and on the left to go back, arrow keys on a keyboard, and a pause when you hold.
It is handy on a desktop or a tablet, for people without an Instagram account, and for anyone who wants to watch a shop's or creator's stories on a bigger screen.
How to view Instagram stories online
Type the username
Enter @username or paste the profile link.
Press play
Live stories start first. Each photo stays on screen for 5 seconds; videos play to the end.
Open highlights
Below the live stories, tap any highlight to play the stories saved in it; the player then continues with the next highlight.
Player controls
| Action | Mouse or touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Next story | Click or tap the right side | → |
| Previous story | Click or tap the left side | ← |
| Pause | Press and hold | Space or K |
| Sound on or off | The sound button | M |
| Close the player | The close button, or swipe down | Esc |
What you will and will not see
- Public accounts only. Stories of private accounts are shown only to their approved followers.
- Close Friends stories are visible only to people on the owner's list, so they never appear here.
- Polls and other interactive stickers may be missing from the picture, and you cannot vote, reply or react; those actions need an Instagram account.
- Freshness. The story list is refreshed every 5 minutes, so a story posted a moment ago may need a short wait.
- Expired stories are gone unless the owner added them to a highlight.
Will the owner see your name? Instagram lists story viewers only for signed-in accounts. Here you don't sign in and your Instagram account is never used, so your name won't appear in the viewer list. The page about viewing stories anonymously explains exactly what that means and what we cannot promise.
Story viewer questions
Can I watch stories on a computer without the app?
Yes. The viewer works in any current browser on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebooks, as well as on phones.
Is there sound?
Video stories play with their sound. Browsers may start videos muted until you click once; then sound plays normally. If you mute the player, it remembers that choice on this device.
Can I save a story I watched?
If you have permission, use the story downloader, which offers each item as a file.
Can I watch a highlight from the beginning again?
Yes. Close the player and open the highlight once more; it starts with its first story. Highlights stay on a profile until the owner removes them, so you can come back to them any day.
Why can I not reply to a story?
Replies and reactions are sent from an Instagram account. The viewer only reads public stories and never acts in your name.
Related tools
For posts and Reels of the same account, open the Instagram viewer. To keep a story as a file, the story downloader is the next step, and every viewer is listed under Instagram profile tools.