Wait, Does Instagram Tell People Who Viewed Their Profile?

Instagram has always been clutch for keeping up with your crush in secret. But now that TikTok basically doxes everyone who has viewed your profile, you might be wondering if the photo app still lets you snoop in private. Here’s what you need to know, and don’t worry — as long as you’re careful, you should be in the clear.

From screenshotting Stories to sending posts via DM to your besties, there are a lot of grey areas when it comes to knowing what will and won’t get you caught on Instagram. You’re probably flashing back to all the times you looked up your Hinge dates before meeting up for the first time, or how you used to check in on your ex after you unfollowed one another. Thankfully, though, you can take a sigh of relief. The app doesn’t alert its users of who has viewed their profile, which means you’re free to keep snooping on accounts with public profiles (or a private profile that you follow), whether it’s your crush, a random Instagram hottie, or your old flings and their new lovers.

Still, you want to be careful when going full detective mode. Accidentally liking a post from 70 weeks ago happens more often than you’d think, and according to the Instagram Help Center, the other party will receive a push notification alerting them of the activity, even if you un-like it in a matter of seconds. However, it will be removed from their Activity tab, so maybe there’s a chance they’ll think the app is just being wonky.

Don’t forget, you’ll also sell yourself out if you watch the other person’s Story, even if you don’t follow them. That being said, there are a couple of things you can do to view Stories privately without having to worry about it being traced back to you, including watching Stories while on airplane mode, using a third-party app, and more.

As for other ways to sleuth on your crush without being caught, you’re safe to screenshot their posts (to send to your group chat, obvi) and screenshot a DM when things start to get ~flirty~. On the flip side, you can subtly hint that you’re interested by liking their Story to shoot your shot. And if you’re looking for an excuse to slide straight into the DMs, you can never go wrong with asking for music recs, inquiring about their pets, or sending a good old meme.