The Instagram viewers list — a popular feature for keeping tabs on who’s stalking you on the photo-sharing service — quietly disappeared overnight.
The move infuriated some Instagram users after they lost the ability to see the full list of who viewed their Stories after 24 hours. Users also can no longer see who viewed their Highlights, causing some to take to Twitter in anger.
instagram deleted the story viewer list on archived stories BUT THE WHOLE REASON I ARCHIVE STORIES IS TO CATCH PEOPLE INSTA STALKING pic.twitter.com/V3vh3ur9Iv
— jessica mathers (@jessicamatherss) February 6, 2019
The viewers list on Instagram Stories has long been an easy way for users to see if an ex-lover or potential crush has been keeping tabs on them. You can still see the viewers list while your Story is live. When you go to archived stories, though, you’ll now see a message saying “viewer lists aren’t available after 24 hours.”
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Removing the viewers list does give users more privacy, especially considering some content creators used it to see specifically who watched their stuff — with no way for viewers to remove their names.
You can still see who is watching your Instagram Stories. However, you must check the list before your post disappears.
“We’re always working to provide a simple and consistent experience for our community. Stories last for 24 hours, and this change brings the same functionality to your story viewers list,” an Instagram rep told Business Insider.
More Instagram changes
Instagram came out with a couple of other significant changes to its app this week. To increase IGTV views, the app now shows previews of IGTV videos in the main feed. The promo posts only appear when someone you follow posts something to IGTV.
The Facebook-owned photo app also says it is banning all graphic images of self-harm. The move comes after Instagram took the blame for the suicide of British teenager Molly Russell. After her death in 2017, Molly’s family discovered she was following a number of accounts that promoted self-harm and suicide.
