Instagram’s Stories are a fun way to share sneak peeks into your life, showcase OOTDs and GRWMs, or document your daily routine. But it also comes with an unfortunate feature that reveals to the account owner who watched their story—even if you don’t “like” or comment. As a result, many users want to surf Instagram and the different profile pages it harbors in absolute privacy.

Anonymous Instagram Story Watcher solutions broadly referred to as Instagram Story Viewers offer users the ability to surf Instagram in complete anonymity. They typically enable you to search Instagram profiles and view reels, Stories, and Highlights without requiring you to log in. Many of these tools are web-based and offer a higher degree of user security than apps that require downloads, as they don’t have access to your device files or data.

SmiHub is one of the easiest, most dependable, and free-to-use online services to browse Instagram profiles without their owners’ knowledge. It is a simple website that lets you paste a username into the search box to instantly view a user’s profile. It also provides a list of recent users who viewed the specified profile—perfect for stalkers and people who are curious as to what their friends are up to.

EasyComment is another online service that offers the ability to watch a user’s Instagram Story without them knowing. However, this tool goes beyond stealth viewing to provide additional functionality such as data extraction, AI-powered comment suggestions, and engagement tools. This makes it an ideal choice for social media managers or brand influencers who need to keep track of competitors, trending topics, and engagement metrics.