How it works
What happens between typing a username and watching a story, what we keep, and for how long.
The request
Our server fetches the public data from Instagram and from data services, then sends back the result. Your own Instagram account is never involved, and your browser never contacts Instagram.
- YouType a username. Nothing is sent from your Instagram account, and you don't need one.
- StoryViewerFreeOur server requests the account's public stories from Instagram, directly or through data services.
- InstagramAnswers the server. No Instagram account of yours is involved at any point.
What we keep
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Public profile details and the latest posts, as shown on the profile page | Until the next update. Some accounts are updated weekly. |
| Follower, following and post counts, one entry per update | For as long as the profile is shown here |
| The list of an account's current stories | 12 minutes |
| Copies of story photos and videos | Deleted within about an hour of the story expiring on Instagram |
| Copies of profile photos, post thumbnails and highlights | Deleted 7 to 14 days after the account was last loaded |
Everything here was already public on Instagram. When an account owner has their profile removed, all of it is deleted; only the username is kept, so the account stays blocked. Remove a profile
Fresh data and limits
A profile that someone loaded in the last day opens instantly from our copy, with the time of the last update shown under the counts. Refresh fetches it again if that copy is more than an hour old.
Stories are fetched when you ask for them and reused for 12 minutes, so the first person to open an account's stories waits a few seconds and the next person doesn't.
Each request to Instagram costs us money, so every visitor can make a limited number of new lookups per day. A short, invisible check confirms a real person is asking before a new lookup runs.