How to Fix Instagram Story Views Not Showing

Instagram Stories are one of the most popular ways to share quick updates and connect with friends or followers. They last for only 24 hours, and during that time, you can see who has viewed your story. Normally, Instagram shows the total number of views along with the list of profiles that watched it. But sometimes things do not work as expected.

Yesterday I posted a beach photo on my story and later went in to see who had checked it out. To my surprise, the view count was there, but the list of people who saw it just wouldn’t show up. Sometimes the number itself doesn’t even appear. If you’ve ever opened your story and noticed the same thing, honestly, it is kind of annoying, particularly when you want to know if your friends actually saw what you shared.

Many people run into this problem, and the reason behind it isn’t always clear. Sometimes the data shows up after some time, and other times it just doesn’t. Instagram hasn’t really given a proper explanation for why this keeps happening, though a lot of people think it’s something on their server side.

When my Instagram story views disappeared, I tried different tricks until it got fixed. Learn the easy solutions that worked for me.

Table of Contents

8 Fixes for the Instagram Story Views Not Showing Issue

Before trying the solutions, check if you have hidden anyone from viewing your stories. If an account is hidden, they cannot see your stories and will not appear in your views, so keep that in mind. To unhide, go to Hide story and live > Hide story and live from section of the Instagram settings and remove the accounts.

Wait for a Few Minutes

When you post a story, Instagram does not always show the views right away. It can take a few minutes for the number of views and the list of profiles to appear. So instead of thinking something is wrong, just wait for a bit and then check again.

In my case, I faced the same thing. I checked my story views instantly after uploading since I was new to it, and nothing was showing. Later, I found out that Instagram sometimes takes time to update the views. After around ten minutes, my story finally started showing the viewers. So, waiting for a little while can save you from unnecessary worry.

Check your Internet Connection

Many times, the issue is not Instagram at all. If your internet connection does not work right, the app struggles to load the story views. I’ve had this happen when my WiFi was slow, and the views showed up only after I switched to mobile data.

So the first thing you should do is try changing your connection. If you are on WiFi, switch to mobile data and see if it helps, or the other way around. If you only use mobile data, you can quickly test your internet speed using any free speed test app. Another simple trick is to turn on airplane mode for a minute and then turn it off.

Restart the Instagram App

Restarting the app can also help when Instagram is not showing story views. The thing you need to do is, close Instagram completely, clear it from the recent apps, and then open it again.

If you are an Android user, that’s even better because you can go into the Apps section in your phone’s settings and use the “Force Stop” option. After that, open Instagram again and check your story views.

Check If Instagram is Down

The issue with the total number of views on Instagram can be from Instagram’s side. Since everything we see on the app comes from Instagram’s servers, if those servers are down, story views may not show at all. In that case, you might only see a bit of old data on your screen, and if you refresh, even that could disappear.

One easy way to check this is by going to Downdetector to check the Instagram server status. Another way is by checking the latest tweets on X by searching Instagram. If you see a lot of people reporting issues at the same time, then it is most likely a server problem. When that happens, you only have the option of waiting for Instagram to fix it. You can also keep an eye on Instagram’s official pages or Meta’s social accounts, as they sometimes post updates when the app is down.

Log Out and Log In Again

This is another way to try if your Instagram story views are still not showing. Open Instagram and tap on your profile icon. Then tap the menu button in the top right corner and select “Log out” at the very bottom and confirm. After that, log in again with your account details and check if your story views are visible.

Clear Instagram’s Temporary Data

Most of the time, the issue we face on any app can be solved by clearing the cache on an Android device. However, if you are an iPhone user, since iOS handles cache differently and does not have a built-in clear cache option, you can offload the app instead.

On Android: Device Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage > Clear cache
On iPhone: Device Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Instagram > Offload App

Try Instagram Web

If your story views are not showing on the app, you can open Instagram in a browser and check from there. Many times, the website works fine even when the app has small issues. Just go to instagram.com, log in with your account, and see if the story views appear. The only thing you need is a good internet connection for it to load.

Contact Instagram Support

Sadly, the last option is to contact Instagram support. The reason I say sadly is that most of the common fixes have already been listed above, and if none of them work, this is the only way left.

The quickest way is by shaking your phone while the Instagram app is open. A pop-up will appear where you can report a problem directly.

If that does not work, you can do it manually: