Facebook Stories is a popular feature on the social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. Many users enjoy posting Stories to give their friends and followers a glimpse into their daily lives. However, sometimes you may notice that your Facebook Stories are not showing up for all of your friends and followers. There are a few potential reasons why this can happen.
Your audience settings are limited
The most common reason that Facebook Stories may not be showing for some of your connections is because of your audience settings. When you post a Story, you have the option to share it with your entire friends list, a custom list of friends, or just yourself. If you have your audience setting configured to only share Stories with a subset of your friends, this will prevent the Story from being seen by anyone outside of that custom group.
To check your current audience setting, go to your Facebook Profile, click the three dots in the top right corner, and choose Settings & Privacy > Settings > Audience and tagging. Here you will see the current audience for your posts. Make sure it is set to Friends or Public if you want all of your friends and followers to see your Stories.
Your story expired
Another obvious reason your Facebook Story may not be showing anymore is because it has expired. Stories shared on Facebook only remain visible for 24 hours after they are posted. Once that 24 hour period ends, the Story will disappear and will no longer be viewable. The expiration gives Stories their ephemeral, temporary feeling. If you notice a Story is missing, it may simply be because the 24 hours passed and it is no longer available.
Your friends have muted you
In some cases, your Facebook friends may have deliberately muted your posts so that your Stories no longer show up in their feeds. Facebook allows users to “Snooze” friends for 30 days, during which time none of that person’s posts will appear in their feed. If several people have muted you, it can give the impression that your Stories are not showing up when they really are just not showing up for the people who muted you.
To see if any friends have muted you, go to your profile and view your followers list. Click “Followers” below your cover photo. Here you will see a list of your friends who follow your profile. If you notice some friends are missing from this list, it likely means they have muted you and will not see your Stories in their feed.
Your story is blocked by Facebook
In some cases, Facebook’s algorithms may have blocked your Story if it was detected to have inappropriate, dangerous, or harmful content. Facebook utilizes technology to review all Stories and can block ones that are found to violate its Community Standards policies.
If you believe your Story has been wrongly blocked by Facebook, you can request a review. Go to your Profile, click on your name, then choose “View As.” Look for the Story in question and click on the options to Report or Request Review. This will send your Story to Facebook moderators who can unblock it if it does not actually violate any policies.
Your account is shadowbanned
Having your Facebook account shadowbanned is another potential reason your Stories may not be showing to your friends and followers as expected. A shadowban is when restrictions are secretly placed on an account, so other users will not see the shadowbanned user’s posts, Stories, comments, etc.
Facebook may shadowban accounts that appear to repeatedly violate its rules, spam others, or share clickbait or misleading content. You won’t be notified if you are shadowbanned, but you may notice your Stories have very low reach. Unfortunately the only way to restore a shadowbanned account is to appeal directly to Facebook.
You have no active followers
Of course, if you have no friends or followers interacting with your Facebook profile, this will also result in your Stories not reaching anyone. Be sure that you have actively added Facebook friends and have followers who regularly like and comment on your non-Story posts. Having an engaged audience is key to getting your Stories seen by others in their feeds.
Your followers are not active
Along those same lines, if you have Facebook friends added but they themselves are not active users, your Stories may not get much visibility. Since Facebook’s algorithm favors showing users content from the friends they interact with most, inactive friends likely won’t see your Stories in their feeds.
Try to grow your Facebook profile by connecting with friends who actively use the platform if you want your Stories to get the most exposure.
Your story is having technical issues
In some rare cases, a technical glitch may be preventing your Facebook Story from being viewed. App bugs or issues can sometimes interfere with Stories properly posting and showing to others. If the issue persists, try deleting the Story and re-uploading it to see if that fixes any technical problems.
You can also report the problem directly to Facebook through its Help pages so its developers can look into any potential bugs impeding your Story.
Tips to make sure your Facebook stories are seen
Here are some tips to help maximize the reach of your Facebook Stories and ensure your followers see them in their feeds:
- Set your audience to Public or Friends for each Story to allow maximum visibility
- Engage regularly with your Facebook community through likes, comments, etc to boost algorithm reach
- Post consistently, but avoid posting so much it is marked as spam
- Use relevant hashtags and locations so your Stories reach interested audiences
- Ask followers to turn on notifications about your new Stories
- Promote your best Stories through your Facebook feed and Instagram
- Follow active friends and influencers in your niche to gain new engaged followers
If your Facebook stories still aren’t working
If you’ve tried all of these troubleshooting tips but are still having issues with Facebook Stories not appearing correctly, here are a few last things you can try:
- Log out and back into your Facebook account
- Uninstall and reinstall the Facebook app
- Clear your browser cookies and cache
- Try posting from a different device
- Contact Facebook support for additional help
With over 2 billion monthly active users, sometimes glitches happen on Facebook. But in most cases, by reviewing your settings, audience, followers, etc. you should be able to get your Stories showing up properly again. Don’t get discouraged if your views seem lower than expected at first. Consistently creating great content and engaging your followers will help boost your Facebook Stories over time.
Conclusion
Facebook Stories can be a fun and engaging way to give your friends and followers a peek into your everyday moments and adventures. However, it can certainly be frustrating if you spend time creating Stories only to have them not appear in other’s feeds. In most cases, the issues can be easily remedied by adjusting your audience settings, troubleshooting technical problems, and building up a more active follower base. Use the tips provided here to ensure your Facebook Stories are seen and enjoyed by the audience you intend to share them with.