How to hide Instagram story from everyone but one person. Stories are the heart and soul of Instagram. We love sharing our daily updates in stories. However, if it weren't for the privacy settings Instagram offers, we would be wary of sharing content on it.
We usually hide an Instagram story from one or two people and show it to others. What if we want to reverse the situation? Hide Instagram story from all but one person.
How to hide Instagram story from all but one person.
There are many reasons to do this. For example, I use it to test various Instagram Stories features. Similarly, someone may want to check if their girlfriend is seeing their stories or not. You can also fool your friends with this trick by giving them the impression that they have shared the story with everyone. In case you're wondering how to show your story to just one person, there are two ways to do it. Let's take a look at them.
| Step | Hide Story Method |
|---|---|
| 1 | Use "Hide Story" in Instagram settings. Select the people to hide, leaving only the special person. Disadvantage: the other person does not know that the story is exclusive. It can be tedious and does not protect from no followers on public profiles. You can make your profile private in Settings > Privacy > Account privacy. |
| 2 | Use the close friends list. Add the special person to this list and share the story only with them. The story will be visible only to that person. |
1. Hide the Instagram story from all but one person using the Hide story option.
The first method involves the usual process of hiding stories from others . That is, you have to go to Instagram settings and select the people you want to hide your story from. In this scenario, everyone except the special person. Now let's go through the steps in detail.
- Open the Instagram app and go to your profile screen. Tap the three-bar icon at the top. Select Settings from the menu.
- Go to Privacy followed by History.
- Tap the People option in the Hide history from section.
- Your followers will be displayed. Select them all individually by tapping the spinning bubble next to their name. Yes, you will have to select them all manually. Instagram does not yet offer the Select All option. Leave the person you want to show the story to unchecked. Finally, tap the checkmark icon at the top in the case of Android. On the iPhone, tap Done.
When you use this method, the other person does not know that you created the story specifically for them, as is the case with method two below. However, as you may have noticed, the method is tedious, as you have to manually select all of your followers.
Also, if you have a public profile,your non-followers can still have access to your history. This is because you only hid your story from your followers. If this is a problem, you should make your profile private. To do this, go to Instagram Settings > Privacy > Account privacy. Enable private account. We added a section at the end of this article on how to hide history from non-followers.
Do others know if you've hidden your story?
No. Your followers will not receive a notification when you hide your story from them.
Who can see my story?
If your account is in private mode, only authorized people can access it and see your posts and stories. You can hide your stories from them, but they will still be able to see your posts. To enable private mode, go to settings, tap Privacy, swipe Privacy Account and enable the option next to Private Account Settings.
If your account is public, anyone who is on your account will also be able to see your stories. All they have to do is go to your profile and tap your profile picture. This will show them all your active stories. Of course, you can hide your stories from anyone who is not connected to you by accessing their story and following the instructions described above.
2. Use the close friends list
Another way to hide your story from everyone but one is to use a close friends list. Introduced last year, the close friends list is a special category of your followers who have exclusive access to your Stories. When you add a story to your close friends list, only people added to that list can see the story. Others do not have access to those stories.
So, in this case, you should add that person to your close friends list . And then add the story only for your close friends list. That way, the story will only be visible to that particular person. Here are the steps in detail.
- On the profile screen of the Instagram app, tap the three-bar icon at the top. Select Nearby friends.
- Use search to find the person you want to add to the list. Remove others from the list in case you don't want them to see your story. Then tap Done.
- Go to the main Instagram app screen and tap the camera icon at the top or tap Your Story.
- Take a new photo or select one from the gallery. You can change them according to your preferences. Then, tap the Nearby friends button at the bottom. The story will only be visible to the selected person.
What's the caveat
While this process may seem simple, there is a catch. Stories added to the Close Friends list have a green circle around them instead of the usual pinkish red. So the other person will know that you added them to this list. In case the person is already in your close friends list, this is the best way, as you just need to remove the others from this list.
How to hide Instagram story from everyone but one person, extra method.
As we mentioned above, if you have a public profile, its history is visible to people who don't follow it. To hide it from a specific non-follower, follow these steps:
- In the Instagram app, open the profile you want to hide your story from.
- Tap the three dots icon in the top right corner.
- Select Hide your story from the menu. Confirm by tapping Hide in the pop-up menu that appears.
Why would you like to hide a story?
Instagram stories are easy to hide. Simply tap the middle or right side of the screen to move to the next story or the left side of the screen to go back to the previous one. Swipe left or right to jump to the next person's stories .
With such easy navigation, it's really annoying to swipe left or right when you don't want to see some content. Well, it may not seem like it, but if you follow a lot of people (as many Instagrammers do), it could become a big time waster.
Most people prefer to have relevant content that entertains, informs and/or inspires.
Alternatively, you may want to prevent a particular person from showing you their stories, whether they follow you or not. Whatever the reason, you want to be able to prevent people from seeing it. Instagram knows this and made it possible.
How to hide the story from everyone?
Actually, it's not about making the story disappear completely, but rather muting it so that it doesn't appear at the top of the screen.
Here's how to hide an Instagram Story step by step:
- Log in to Instagram.
- Look at the stories at the top of the screen.
- Press and hold the story you want to hide.
- In the menu that appears at the bottom, select the "Mute" option.
- Then choose whether you want to mute only the stories or all of the user's posts.
From that moment on, that user's story will be placed at the bottom. In other words, it will not appear among the first positions. If you follow a lot of people, the stories you have muted may not be shown again, as the others always have priority.
How do I set who can see my stories on Instagram?
To control who can access your stories on Instagram, you have two alternatives.
First, you can go to your profile from the settings section. Under the "Account" option, you will find a section called "Story Settings" or "Story Controls". Click on it. Once there, you will have the ability to select the specific people you want to allow to view your story.
In the initial part of the settings, you will notice the option "Hide story to..." . When you click on this alternative, all your contacts will be displayed. Search for the corresponding user name or go through your list to find the person or people you would prefer not to see your story, and confirm your choice. It is important to remember that these people will still have access to your profile and posts, but will not be able to view your stories.
The second option involves opening an already active story and swiping the screen up . A list of people who have viewed the story will appear, next to each of them you will find a small "x". Locate the person you want to exclude and click on the "x" to stop them from seeing your stories, until you decide to change this setting and go through the same process to deselect them.
Can you tell if I hide Instagram stories?
The short answer is no, Instagram does not send notifications to users when you decide to hide your story from them. They simply won't be able to view it, and they won't receive alerts or messages informing them about it.
However, it is important to note that an observant user might notice something unusual if he or she notices other people commenting on or interacting with a story that he or she can't see.
How to hide Facebook stories?
If you're looking for a way to hide your Facebook stories from someone in particular, you're in the right place. You have the option to prevent certain people from seeing the stories you share on your Facebook account. Here are the steps to follow:
- Log in to your Facebook account on the website.
- Click on the arrow next to the existing stories or select the "View all stories" option.
- Alternatively, you can go directly to facebook.com/stories in the address bar and press Enter to access the site.
- Once there, click on the "Settings" option.
- You will initially be directed to the "Stories you have muted" tab.
- Then, select the "More" option and switch to the "Story Privacy" tab.
- Click "Hide Story To."
- Facebook will show you a search box to find the person you want to exclude from your friends list. Find them, select them and click "Save".
- If you want to block multiple people at once, select them before clicking "Save".
How to mute stories on Instagram?
The famous Instagram stories are ideal for sharing photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. However, if there is someone whose stories don't interest you, you can mute them to avoid seeing their updates without them noticing.
Here's how to mute stories, either from the mobile app or from your computer:
- From the Home tab, swipe to view stories.
- Press and hold the story of the person you want to mute.
- Select the "Mute" option.
- Choose from the available options: "Mute story", "Mute story and posts" or cancel the operation.
That's it! From that moment on, that person will not be able to see your stories, and you will not be able to see theirs for the period you have set. Remember that you can revert this action and reactivate that person's stories at any time from their profile.
We hope we have helped you to know how to hide Instagram story from everyone but one person. If you liked this content, you might be interested in these related articles:
