Facebook Stories allow users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. With Stories, you can see who has viewed your content, but the details about individual viewers are limited.
Can people see if you view their Facebook Story?
Yes, if you view someone’s Facebook Story, they will be able to see that you have viewed it. However, they will not get detailed analytics about your viewing activity.
When you view a Facebook Story, the creator will see your name listed under the number of viewers for that particular Story. This only shows them your name and does not give them any additional insight into when, where or how often you viewed their content.
Facebook Story viewer list
The viewer list shows the names of who has seen a particular Story, but does not include any metrics or analytics. For example, if Jane views John’s Story, John will simply see “Jane” under the total number of viewers. He does not see how long Jane viewed for, if she screenshotted, etc.
The viewer list shows names in the following way:
- Friends and followers of the Story creator are listed by name
- Friends of friends or public are listed as “Facebook User”
So in summary, if you view someone’s Facebook Story who you are connected to on Facebook, they will know that you have viewed it based on your name being present on the viewer list. Strangers or “Facebook Users” provide less visibility into who viewed content.
Can you view a Facebook Story anonymously?
There is no way to view a Facebook Story 100% anonymously. As mentioned above, the creator can see who has viewed their content through the viewer list.
That said, there are a couple of options that can provide a bit more anonymity:
View stories using a private/alternate account
If you don’t want the Story creator to see your main Facebook name on their viewer list, you can view their content while logged into a different Facebook account. This could be a private account used just for lurking, or an alternate account under different name.
View stories from an account they are not connected to
Similarly, if the Story creator is not your Facebook friend or follower under a particular account, they will just see “Facebook User” instead of your specific name. So viewing their content while logged into an account they are not connected to provides more anonymity.
However, keep in mind they will still see that “a” Facebook user viewed their Story. They just won’t know specifically who.
Can you view a story without the creator knowing?
No, there is no way to view a Facebook Story without the creator being notified in some capacity. As covered above, they will at minimum see an anonymous “Facebook User” on their viewer list.
Even if you view a story from a secret account that the creator is not connected to, they will still see that someone has viewed their content. There is no completely private or invisible way to view Stories at this time.
Could this change in the future?
While current Facebook functionality makes it impossible to lurk on Stories undetected, it’s possible Facebook could update viewing privacy settings in the future. However, since the entire point of Stories is to easily see who has viewed your ephemeral content, it seems unlikely that 100% private viewing will become an option.
For now, Stories viewers should assume the creator will have at least some visibility into their viewing activity if they look at the creator’s Stories.
Metrics creators can see
In addition the list of who has viewed their Stories, creators can also see the following metrics:
- Total number of viewers
- Total number of shares
- Total number of reactions
However, creators cannot see advanced analytics on individual viewers, such as:
- How long a specific person viewed their Story for
- If someone took a screenshot of their Story
- How many times a person viewed their Story
- What device or location a specific viewer was on
The Story creator has visibility into high-level metrics about their overall viewer count, shares and reactions. But they do not have a detailed breakdown of data and analytics for each person that views their content.
Can you see anonymous Facebook Story viewers?
No, there is no way for a Facebook Story creator to see anonymous viewers. If someone views a Story from an account that is not connected to the creator, they will show up as “Facebook User” instead of their name.
The creator has no way to identify these anonymous viewers. Their analytics are limited to seeing the total number of people under “Facebook User” who have viewed their Stories.
Examples of anonymous viewers
Here are some examples of when a viewer would show up anonymously:
- Viewing a Story from a secret or private account the creator is not friends with
- Viewing a creator’s Story as a Page they manage, instead of your personal account
- Viewing a Story from a new account with no friends or identifier details
In these cases, the viewer remains essentially anonymous and unidentifiable to the Story creator.
Pro tips for viewing Stories privately
If you want to keep your Story viewing activities private, here are some tips:
Use a secondary account
Having a separate account just for lurking or viewing content can allow you to stay anonymous from people you know.
Restrict your activity
Be careful not to like, share or react to Stories if you want to remain undetected. These actions will give you away.
Adjust visibility settings
Limit the audience of your own Stories to decrease visibility. Also consider tightening up the privacy settings on your viewing activity.
View Stories off Facebook
Use Instagram or WhatsApp instead of Facebook to privately view disappearing content from friends.
Can Facebook notify someone if you screenshot their Story?
No, Facebook does not notify a user if someone takes a screenshot of their Story. Story creators have no way of knowing if you screenshot their content.
Instagram does send screenshot notifications. But on Facebook Stories, users can screenshot to their heart’s content without the Story creator ever knowing.
Should you screenshot Stories?
Just because you can screenshot privately does not always mean you should. Taking screenshots can be seen as a breach of trust when someone posts ephemeral, disappearing content.
Always consider why you feel the need to screenshot something before doing so. And use your best judgment based on the content, your relationship with the creator, and the context.
Do Stories show up in your feed?
No, Facebook Stories do not appear in your main News Feed. They operate separately from users’ permanent timelines.
Stories have their own specific placement at the top of the Facebook app, labelled “Stories”. This keeps them ephemeral and separated from your standard posts.
Difference from Instagram
On Instagram, any Stories you post will also show up briefly in followers’ feeds. But Facebook Stories remain exclusively within the Stories feature.
Conclusion
While Facebook Stories provide some viewer analytics to creators, the data is limited. You can take steps like using a secondary account or restricting interactions to view Stories more privately.
Overall, someone will have general awareness that you viewed their Story based on the viewer list. But the specific details of your viewing activity and patterns remain private.