How to see previews of Instagram stories

Would you like to preview a story posted by your friend on Instagram without them knowing that you have viewed it? Not sure about a story you need to post on Instagram and, before proceeding, would you like to see a preview, maybe even to show it to a friend? Don’t worry: thanks to the advice you will find in this tutorial, you will easily succeed in the intent you have proposed.

In the next chapters of the guide you are about to read, in fact, I will explain how to preview Instagram stories through the use of some features of the well-known social network, which can help you in your technological “enterprise” today. First of all, I’ll show you how to preview a story you have posted or that of other users using the Instagram app.

After that, I will also recommend some external solutions, such as some third-party online services that allow you to see other people’s Instagram stories without getting caught. How do you say? You can’t wait to get started. So enjoy your reading and have fun: everything is explained below!

Index

• How to preview the story of other users
  • From Android and iOS
  • From PC
• How to preview your Instagram story
  • Drafts of the stories
  • Story download
• How to preview stories without viewing it
• How to preview recent Instagram stories

How to preview the story of other users

A first solution that you can use, if you wonder how to see previews Instagram stories, understood as the possibility of seeing the stories posted by another user is that which consists of an incomplete swipe in the stories section of the social network.

This specific operation, however, can only be carried out via the Instagram app for Android (downloadable from the Play Store or alternative stores ) and iOS / iPadOS (downloadable from the App Store ). Acting from a PC, through the official website of the social network or its application for Windows 10 and later, you can preview a story using the pause function. But now let’s go in order and see in detail how to proceed.

From Android and iOS

To see the preview of someone else’s Instagram story on your smartphone (or tablet), open the Instagram app and refer to the thumbnails of the stories located in the top bar, on the main screen of the social network.

Then tap on the story of the user whose name is before or after that of the person of your interest: after the playback starts, keep your finger pressed on the right side of the screen and perform a light and short swipe right-to-left or left-to-right, simulating switching to the next or previous user’s stories.

Now, while you see the animation of the passage of stories, stop the swipe at 30-40% of the transition, without releasing your finger, so that you can see the content and, therefore, its preview.

From PC

To preview an Instagram story from PC, refer to the thumbnails of the stories located on the main screen of the social network.

Once this is done, click on the round icon of the story next or previous to the one you are interested in, to view it and then pause the automatic playback of the stories, using the ❚❚ key.

By doing so, in fact, you will be able to see the preview image of the story of your interest, which will be located on the right or on the left of the story you have opened.

How to preview your Instagram story

If, on the other hand, your intent is to see a preview of your story that you are making, perhaps to verify it before publishing it, or to show it to someone else by sharing it on other apps and platforms, you will be happy to know that you can use it. of the functionality relating to the drafts of the stories of Instagram, or to the one relating to the download of the same.

Drafts of the stories

Using the Instagram app for smartphones and tablets, you can save a draft of your stories, in order to preview them before publishing.

Therefore, to get started, launch the social network app, log into your account (if necessary) and open the story editor, by swiping to the left on the main screen.

Once this is done, start creating the story by recording a video, taking a photo or importing an item from your device’s memory. Also, customize the story as if you were publishing it, adding any interaction elements such as music, hashtags or mentions. When you have finished creating, press the icon (x) and tap the Save draft button, to save the created story in the Drafts.

To preview the story at a later time, via the Drafts section, open the story editor and swipe down. Stories saved in Instagram drafts are automatically deleted after seven days; therefore, if the preview of the story satisfies you, click on the button Your story, to publish it.

Story download

To preview a story you can also download it, using the appropriate functionality of the photographic social network.

However, before starting, keep in mind that, in this specific case, if you insert interactivity elements in the story ( GIF, Hashtag or Mentions ), these will not be selectable, as a static file will be downloaded.

Subsequently, then, by importing the image or video again into the Instagram story, the elements previously added will continue to be static. In short: use this solution if you want to preview a story that does not have interactivity elements.

To start, after making a story through the Instagram editor, tap on the icon with a down arrow located in the upper right corner. By doing so, you will download a copy of the story to your device’s memory.

Then reach the Gallery of your device and inside it you will also find the Instagram story just created, with the possibility of sharing it through other apps and services.

How to preview stories without viewing it

To view the previews of the stories of the users you follow without them knowing it, you can use Insta-Stories, an online service that works with all the main browsers (even on mobile devices), through which you can both see the previews of the stories, than to download the contents present in the latter.

How is it used? First of all, go to its main page and, in the text field that is shown to you, write the username for the account you want to see the stories of and press Enter on the keyboard.

Now, on the page that opens, click on the Stories tab. If the person has actually shared new content in the stories, you can see them by clicking on the preview images and, if you want, you can also download the photos or videos published by pressing the Download button.

How to preview recent Instagram stories

Wondering how to preview recent Instagram stories? In that case you should know that, in the past, Instagram showed a preview section of the stories directly in the Feed.

However, this screen, although it is still present, only shows the previews of the Reels and no longer those of the stories. Therefore, at the time of writing, it is no longer possible to succeed in this specific intent.