Facebook wasn’t going to accept that Snapchat should be the only place where users could create Stories that only lasted 24 hours.
After buying Instagram and adding Stories on Instagram (Instagram Stories), Zuckerberg wanted to do the same thing on Facebook, his social network par excellence.
Let’s just say this way of getting users to interact worked really well, especially on Snapchat and Instagram — hence the decision to bring Stories on Facebook, aka Facebook Stories, to the platform.
Let’s take a closer look at what it’s all about. Here we go!
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Let’s start by understanding what Facebook Stories are.
Facebook Stories are posts made up of photos, or a photo plus a caption, or just text, stickers, videos — in short, they’re posts you can create and share with your Facebook friends.
What makes Facebook Stories special (made possible by the social network’s update) is that your stories won’t show up on your Timeline unless you want them to — instead, they’ll appear at the top inside a little circle.
You’ll also find this feature on Instagram and Snapchat — as we mentioned above — so if you already use it there, you’ve got an idea of what we’re talking about.
Free image from Pixabay
Before we get into how Facebook Stories work, you need to know that to get this feature and be able to use it, you’ll have to update your device to the latest version of Facebook.
To check whether you’re up to date, go to the Google Play Store and search for the Facebook App. See if there’s a button next to it that says Update, and if there is, go ahead and update.
You’ll need to do the same thing on iOS, but through the App Store.
If you already have the latest version of Facebook, you won’t see anything except the Uninstall option — just ignore that one!
If you’re asking yourself “why can’t I see stories on Facebook“ or “why don’t I have Stories on Facebook“, here’s our answer: you probably haven’t updated the app.
Free image from Pixabay
Do you already know how to view Facebook Stories? If not, we’ll explain it right now…
- First of all, open Facebook.
- Once it’s open, at the top you’ll see a horizontal bar with a series of circles, with the names of your friends who have posted their story — or their stories of the day — underneath.
- The photos in the circles outlined in blue are the ones you haven’t watched yet.
So how does it work? How do you view your friends’ Facebook Stories?
To view Facebook Stories, all you have to do is tap the circle you see. That way you can watch everything your friend has posted over the past 24 hours.
At the bottom you’ll find a button with emoticons and a space to type some text: that means you can reply to Stories on Facebook. This works both on your phone and on your computer… in both cases you can watch and comment.
Pretty cool, right?
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Heads up: Facebook lets you create Stories using the camera built right into the app.
There are three ways to create a Facebook Story:
- Open Facebook and at the top, in the Stories section, next to your little circle with your photo and the + sign, tap add and start creating your story by taking a photo or shooting a video, adding filters or text to the photo, tapping Next and then choosing to publish to: Your Story.
- Open Facebook and tap the icon in the top left corner that looks like a camera. This option lets you quickly take a photo or video (to record a video, hold down the round button that appears at the bottom) and publish it.
- Open Facebook, then in the Stories section tap add — or tap the camera at the top — and you can also select an existing photo from your phone’s Gallery.
Once you’ve created your story, you can also choose to share it with just certain people.
One question a lot of people ask is: who can see your Facebook Stories?
It’s not hard to find out!
Until recently, Facebook was against showing who looked at your profile. Now, with the arrival of Facebook Stories, that’s no longer the case — or at least only partially.
The interesting part is that you can now find out who views your Facebook Stories, which means knowing who’s taking a peek at your profile — and you’ll even figure out who does it repeatedly (because they watch every single story you post).
Once you’ve published your Facebook Story, if a blue dot shows up, it means someone has viewed it.
If you open the Story, you’ll see an eye at the bottom. Tap the eye and Facebook will show you who has viewed your Story.
Free image from Pixabay
As you may know, you can share the photos and videos you take with just a few people, or post to a close-knit group. Using the same system — taking photos or shooting videos with the camera inside the Facebook App — you can then select one user or a group of users.
Those users will get a notification letting them know that something has been shared with them, and it will show up as a “Private message” or as a Direct, borrowing a bit of the philosophy behind Instagram Directs.
Facebook Direct messages will appear on the right, in the top corner of your profile. You’ll recognize this section by a little paper-plane icon.
By opening these direct messages you can view them and reply. They also last 24 hours, but once a message has been viewed, there’s a chance to watch it a second time.
If your friends reply, you can view the content again.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start using Facebook Stories too!
Conclusion
To wrap up: with this lesson you’ve learned how to create Stories on Facebook, how to view them, and how to find out who’s looking at your Facebook profile.
So, is it clear now how Facebook Stories and Direct Messages work?
We’ve given you everything you need to start creating your own Facebook Stories — and not only that… you now also know that you can interact with them, and how to do it.
In the upcoming lessons we’ll dig into more and more advanced topics. Stay up to date with the lessons from your favorite Facebook Academy!
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- Readers Rating
- Rated 4.6 stars
4.6 / 5 (16 Reviewers) - Outstanding
- Your Rating
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Carmela De Dominicis
on June 23, 2019 at 20:52How can we choose which friends’ stories to watch?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 9, 2019 at 10:46Hi Carmela,
thanks for your message.
Stories appear at the top of your feed, and you can’t choose which ones to watch and which ones not to.
Best,
Claudio-
christian
on September 9, 2019 at 22:59hi claudio mine just don’t show up at all, what should I do
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Claudio Colombo
on September 10, 2019 at 9:54Hi Christian,
stories appear automatically at the top of your feed.
There’s a first rectangle on the left where you see the + — tap it to add your own story. That one is always there.
Next to it are rectangles showing your friends’ stories. If you don’t see those rectangles, it means none of your friends have posted a story in the last 24 hours.
But in general, you don’t need to turn anything on to see the stories section. It’s there by default on Facebook.
Best,
Claudio-
Francesca
on June 14, 2020 at 23:42Hi, sorry — I posted a story on Facebook open to everyone, and I see two views from people who aren’t my friends. How can I find out who these people are? Who watch but aren’t in my friends list? Thanks 😊
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Claudio Colombo
on June 26, 2020 at 10:16Hi Francesca,
there’s no way to know who they are.
Best,
Claudio -
Zambaiti sarah
on February 3, 2021 at 15:23Hi Claudio.. I set my stories to public.. I can see that even people who aren’t in my friends list are watching them, because it says “6 others” or however many people it is.. but how do I find out WHO IT IS?
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Claudio Colombo
on February 16, 2021 at 12:35Hi Sarah,
there’s no way to “find out” who they are.
Best,
Claudio
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Francesco
on April 6, 2020 at 21:35Hi ..I’d like some info ..I tapped on a story but then left immediately..does it still count as a view??
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Claudio Colombo
on April 7, 2020 at 10:54Hi Francesco,
yes, it will show that you viewed it.
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Cristina
on June 6, 2020 at 17:01Hi, but if I’m not in the friends list of the person behind the story, will my view (however short or long) show up with my name or as “other”?
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Claudio Colombo
on June 7, 2020 at 10:03Hi Cristina,
yes, you’ll show up as “Other”.
Best,
Claudio
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Marina Del Duca
on June 1, 2020 at 3:37Hi
When I check who’s viewed my stories, I notice “1 other” down at the bottom
It tells me that since the story is public, anyone can see it, even people who aren’t my friends
How can I find out who this person is if it doesn’t give me a name?-
Claudio Colombo
on June 1, 2020 at 9:51Hi Marina,
if it says “other”, there’s no way to find out the name.
Best,
Claudio-
Terry
on June 4, 2020 at 22:11Right, but how do they get to them? Even if I make my stories visible to everyone… when I go snooping on a non-friend’s profile I don’t see the blue circle or even their featured stories… so how do they get in? Thx
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Claudio Colombo
on June 7, 2020 at 10:10Hi Terry,
if you set your stories to visible to everyone, it means every Facebook user will be able to see your stories.
It doesn’t mean you’ll see every Facebook user’s stories.
So if a non-friend of yours has set their stories to friends-only, you won’t be able to see their stories.
Best,
Claudio -
Manuela
on August 29, 2020 at 20:27So if someone who isn’t a friend watches a story, it means they looked directly at the profile, which is public? So it shows “other” and not the name of whoever viewed it..?
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Claudio Colombo
on August 30, 2020 at 17:03Hi Manuela,
yes, exactly.
Claudio
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Francesca
on July 9, 2019 at 18:22I muted a friend’s story — how can I turn her story back on? Thanks.
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Claudio Colombo
on July 10, 2019 at 10:25Hi Francesca,
thanks for your email.
Here are the steps to unmute a story and to mute one.
To unmute a story:
– go to the stories section at the top of your feed
– tap “Story options” in the top right of the stories section
– tap the story you muted
– tap “Unmute” next to the name of the person, page or groupTo mute a story:
– go to the stories section at the top of your feed
– tap the story of the person, page or group you want to mute
– tap “Story options” in the top right of the stories section
– tap “Mute [Username]”
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Angela
on July 15, 2019 at 14:20If I accidentally watched the story of someone who isn’t in my friends list and blocked them right away, will it still show that I viewed it?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 15, 2019 at 19:43Hi Angela,
yes, I can confirm that if you viewed a story while logged into your Facebook profile, the person will see that you viewed their story.
Best,
Claudio-
valeria
on September 19, 2019 at 15:48SORRY CLAUDIO, what does “while logged in” mean? is it possible to keep that person from seeing that I watched their story?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 19, 2019 at 16:26Hi Valeria,
“while logged in” means watching the story while you’re signed into Facebook.
It’s actually very easy to watch a Facebook story anonymously. Just log into the app, go to your feed, refresh by pulling down, switch on airplane mode and watch the stories.
Best,
Claudio
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Manuela
on August 29, 2020 at 20:39Excuse me Claudio..but they’ll see “other”.. Not the name… Thanks, Manuela
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Claudio Colombo
on August 30, 2020 at 17:04Hi Manuela,
yes, I confirm they’ll see “other”.
Best,
Claudio
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Maria
on July 21, 2019 at 8:40Hi, I’d like to remove a reaction I left by mistake on a friend’s story. Is that possible?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 21, 2019 at 16:51Hi Maria,
thanks for your message.
Go to the story, tap the reaction you left and hold it down. After a few seconds you’ll get the option to go back and remove the reaction.
Best,
Claudio-
lisa
on July 27, 2019 at 13:51Hi Claudio, my Facebook story shows a “following” — what does that mean, thanks.
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Claudio Colombo
on July 28, 2019 at 19:11Hi Lisa,
You can see the profiles that viewed your Facebook story — I’m not sure if that’s what you mean. By “following”, do you perhaps mean that a profile that viewed your story is showing up?
Let me know.
Best,
Claudio
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Nicolò
on December 13, 2019 at 19:36Hi Claudio, if I remove my reaction to someone’s story, do they still get the notification that something came in?
Thanks-
Claudio Colombo
on December 17, 2019 at 16:40Hi Nicolò,
if you remove the reaction, the notification is removed too. So if the person didn’t see the notification before you removed it, they’ll never see it.
Best,
Claudio
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Giorgio
on March 10, 2021 at 0:24If I post a story on facebook, people who aren’t among my friends can see it too… But I only see the views…how do I see who those people watching my story are when they’re not my friends?
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Claudio Colombo
on March 22, 2021 at 17:59Hi Giorgio,
you can’t see who the users identified as “Other” are.
Best,
Claudio
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Pierre
on July 23, 2019 at 23:01Hi, are my likes on other people’s stories notified to anyone besides the person concerned? 🙂
Thanks-
Claudio Colombo
on July 24, 2019 at 9:47Hi Pierre,
no, likes on Facebook stories aren’t notified to anyone else.
Best,
Claudio
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Giulia Abbate
on July 31, 2019 at 13:36How can I find out who, outside of my fb friends, has viewed my stories? If I tap the little eye it shows me the list of friends who viewed, and at the bottom left there’s “OTHERS” 1…. but if I tap on it nothing happens. Is there a way?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 31, 2019 at 14:27Hi Giulia,
thanks for your message.
At the moment we’re not aware of any method or tool to see which non-friends have viewed your stories.
If and when we find a way, we’ll post it in the comments.
And if you find a method first, let us know 🙂
Best,
Claudio
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Federica
on July 31, 2019 at 21:48Hi, I’d like to understand what the blue dot next to a person on my story means — not everyone has it
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Claudio Colombo
on August 1, 2019 at 0:01Hi Federica,
if I’ve understood the question correctly, I think you’re talking about the dot that shows the user is online at that moment.
Best,
Claudio-
michela
on August 27, 2019 at 11:28Sorry, but it’s a blue dot next to some contacts (not all of them) who viewed the story, and it’s not the green dot that shows the person is online! can you tell me what it means?
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Daniela
on September 2, 2019 at 23:38Hi, I wanted to ask this question too. The dot that shows someone is online is green. This one is blue…
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Claudio Colombo
on September 6, 2019 at 10:03Hi everyone,
mystery solved by our Francesca.
The blue dot indicates new views since the last time you checked.
For example:
– you check and you have 12 views
– you check again an hour later and you have 14
– so there are 2 new views since the last time you checkedIn the list of who viewed your story on Facebook, you’ll find the names of those 2 contacts who made the new views, with a blue dot next to their names.
Best,
Claudio
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Arianna
on August 3, 2019 at 14:11I accidentally watched the story of someone I wasn’t following, then I blocked them and deleted my Facebook account — will it still show that I watched the story??
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Claudio Colombo
on August 3, 2019 at 14:30Hi Arianna,
if you deleted your account, the person in question shouldn’t be able to see that you watched their story.
Best,
Claudio
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Renato Soffritti
on August 4, 2019 at 15:49Hi,
is it possible to publish a Facebook note as a story if it was posted 24 hours earlier?
I’ve noticed that some notes I made previously appear as stories, and I don’t remember doing anything in particular — as happened with other posts, it must have occurred automatically.-
Claudio Colombo
on August 5, 2019 at 19:09Hello Renato,
thanks for your message.
Facebook notes and Facebook stories aren’t connected. I believe they were added to the stories manually.
Have a great day,
Claudio
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Marina
on August 5, 2019 at 11:28Hi
I accidentally tapped the picture of someone who shared a post with one of my friends — next to their name they had their profile picture with a blue circle around it. The story started playing, and I stopped it right away at the end of “1 of 4″… I don’t know if they were photos or something else… since I didn’t watch it to the end, will that person still see that I viewed their story? This person isn’t in my friends list but we have mutual friends-
Claudio Colombo
on August 5, 2019 at 18:43Hi Marina,
if you saw even just the first photo, the person in question will see that you viewed their Facebook story.
Best,
Claudio-
Martina
on March 1, 2021 at 17:32Is it possible not to show up as a viewer of a story once you’ve watched it?
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Claudio Colombo
on March 25, 2021 at 12:02Hi Martina,
no, it’s not possible.
If you watch a story while logged into your profile, you’ll show up as a viewer of the story.
Best,
Claudio
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Vincenzo
on August 5, 2019 at 14:11Good morning…. how can people who aren’t my friends see my stories on Facebook? I’m in public mode, but I only see my friends’ stories and not those of people I’m not friends with. Could people who used to be friends, or people I’ve exchanged messages with on messenger, see my stories precisely through messenger????
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Claudio Colombo
on August 5, 2019 at 18:50Hi Vincenzo,
If you follow someone on Facebook, even without being friends, you’re able to view their story.
You can customize the Privacy settings on your Facebook story.
Publish the story, tap the little down arrow and select your audience.
You can choose between:
Public: your stories will be seen by your friends, the people who follow you and the people you’ve chatted with on Messenger.
Friends and connections: your stories will be seen by your Facebook friends and your Messenger contacts.
Friends: only your Facebook friends will see your story.
Custom: you pick the people who can see your stories.
Best,
Claudio-
Flavia
on December 10, 2019 at 20:09hi, if I add a reaction to someone’s story but then remove the reaction, does that person get the notification?
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Claudio Colombo
on December 17, 2019 at 16:39Hi Flavia,
when you remove the reaction, the notification is removed too. So if the person didn’t see the notification before you removed it, they never will.
Best,
Claudio
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Giova
on August 9, 2019 at 20:21If someone isn’t in my friends list and I view their story, will they see my name or just the numbers 1. 2. 3 that show up at the bottom on the side?
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Claudio Colombo
on August 9, 2019 at 21:19Hi Giova,
they’ll see your name among the profiles that viewed the story.
Best,
Claudio
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Stefanja
on August 13, 2019 at 21:38Hi… How come when I put photos in my stories they come out super grainy after publishing? Unrecognizable — I get that Facebook lowers the resolution, but why so much graininess?
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Claudio Colombo
on August 14, 2019 at 8:37Hi Stefania,
you’re probably using the wrong resolution.
The correct image size for stories on Facebook is 1080 x 1920 px.
Have a great day,
Claudio
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Mariagrazia
on August 14, 2019 at 18:16Hi… about “featured stories” — if this person isn’t in my friends list and we have no mutual friends, if I watch those stories, will my profile show up? Thanks for your reply and enjoy the August holiday!
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Claudio Colombo
on August 15, 2019 at 10:24Hi Mariagrazia,
yes, if you watch a Facebook story, your view will show up.
Best,
Claudio
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Sonia
on August 17, 2019 at 22:21If you wanted to keep stories on your profile beyond the 24 hours, is there a way to do it? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on August 18, 2019 at 9:59Hi Sonia,
Facebook stories disappear after 24 hours and there’s no way to feature them.
You can, however, feature your stories on Instagram.
Best,
Claudio
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Angela
on August 25, 2019 at 15:13Hi, I have a problem. Among the people viewing my stories on Facebook, there are also people I’m not friends with. Do you happen to know how I can find out who they are?
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Claudio Colombo
on August 25, 2019 at 21:10Hi Angela,
unfortunately there’s no way to see the names of those accounts that viewed your Facebook story.
Best,
Claudio
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Elena
on August 26, 2019 at 13:08Good morning,
I set my fb stories privacy to “visible to friends only”. Why does it still say “others: 1”, meaning an anonymous view? How is that possible? Considering that none of my friends has run off after seeing my stories…I’m curious to understand what’s going on…-
Claudio Colombo
on August 26, 2019 at 14:09Hi Elena,
there are ways to watch stories without being recognized by Facebook.
The unnamed profiles are surely using one of those methods.
Best,
Claudio
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sabrina
on August 30, 2019 at 15:01Hi, how can I find out who has muted my stories on Facebook?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 6, 2019 at 10:23Hi Sabrina,
unfortunately there’s currently no way to know who has muted your stories on Facebook.
Best,
Claudio
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Claudia
on September 4, 2019 at 11:23Hi, I set my FACEBOOK STORY privacy to “FRIENDS AND CONNECTIONS”. However, only my Facebook friends can view it, while my Messenger contacts CAN’T. How can I fix this? Thanks.
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Claudio Colombo
on September 6, 2019 at 10:13Hi Claudia,
if you set your privacy to “friends and connections”, your Messenger contacts are allowed to view your Facebook stories.
It’s even written in Facebook’s own documentation, and I’ve never seen problems on this front.
So unfortunately I can’t pinpoint a possible cause for your problem.
Let’s leave the question open — if anyone reading this article finds a solution, feel free to reply.
Best,
Claudio-
Claudia
on September 7, 2019 at 20:30I tried asking more than one Messenger contact, and indeed none of them sees the blue circle around my profile photo that marks an “active story”.
Thanks anyway.
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Dina
on September 17, 2019 at 13:33What does the blue dot to the right of the names of the people who viewed your story on Facebook mean?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 18, 2019 at 10:47Hello Dina,
we’ve already answered this question.
It indicates new views of the story — you can read the full answer I wrote on September 6, 2019 at 10:03 above.
Best,
Claudio
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Elisa
on September 21, 2019 at 19:15Hi, how can I see whether a user has seen the comment or reaction I left on their story — will they see it for sure?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 22, 2019 at 17:39Hi Elisa,
there’s no way to see whether a user has seen your comment or your reaction.
Usually, all personal profiles — having very few interactions on their stories — do see the interactions they get. On profiles with a big following, though, they probably don’t look at them because there are too many.
Best,
Claudio
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Roberta
on September 26, 2019 at 21:08If I watch a “featured story” (so, an old story) of a person who isn’t in my friends list, will my view show up?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 27, 2019 at 8:00Hi Roberta,
yes, the person in question will see your view.
Best,
Claudio
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Caterina Bombara
on September 27, 2019 at 10:04I watch the story of a person who isn’t in my contacts but with whom I have mutual friends.
I’m fairly certain the person in question watches my stories, which I’ve deliberately set to public. But looking at the views, I see the names of my contacts plus a label: 1 other, which in no way shows the… stranger’s name. I’d like to know how to find out who it is and whether, conversely, the other person can somehow check my views of their stories from the app or from a computer. Thanks for your attention.-
Claudio Colombo
on October 22, 2019 at 9:21Hi Caterina,
you can’t find out the names shown as “others”.
If you’re one of their contacts, the other person can see when you view one of their stories on Facebook.
Claudio
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Claudia Gervasic
on October 3, 2019 at 7:03Can someone I’ve blocked still see my story somehow if my setting is on “everyone”??
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Claudio Colombo
on October 22, 2019 at 9:19Hi Claudia,
no, they can’t.
Claudio
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Anna
on October 5, 2019 at 18:19Hi, I wanted to ask what it means when a person views my story on facebook and under their name it says “hidden”?
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Claudio Colombo
on October 22, 2019 at 9:18Hi Anna,
it means that person isn’t among your contacts.
Claudio
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Rita
on October 12, 2019 at 18:54If I watch the same story several times, does facebook tell the story’s owner each time?
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Claudio Colombo
on October 22, 2019 at 9:17Hi Rita,
no.
Claudio
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Anna
on October 16, 2019 at 15:11Hi, is it possible to know whether someone views your story more than once? Also, what determines which names come first in the list and which come last?
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Claudio Colombo
on October 22, 2019 at 9:16Hi Anna,
no, there’s no way to know whether a user views your story more than once.
The names are shown in chronological order.
Best,
Claudio
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Felenia
on October 22, 2019 at 10:13Hi. I’ve noticed that in the list of who views my story, some people are always at the top even though they viewed it 10 hours before others. Does that mean they view it multiple times? Thanks!!
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Claudio Colombo
on October 23, 2019 at 9:34Hi Felenia,
the profiles viewing your stories on Facebook are listed in chronological order, not by how many times they’ve viewed them.
Best,
Claudio
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Mik
on November 1, 2019 at 22:22Hi. The stories list always includes about ten stories. I imagine many more friends post Stories every day. What’s the criteria for selecting the stories I get to see?
And if I always watch a friend’s stories, will he always see mine too? Or does it depend on how many times you visit each other’s profile?-
Claudio Colombo
on November 4, 2019 at 21:41Hi Mik,
you should be seeing all of your friends’ stories.
At the moment there shouldn’t be any limits on story visibility, so what you’re seeing is probably genuinely all the stories your friends have made.
Best,
Claudio
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Alessia
on December 17, 2019 at 14:51Hi, I’ve had this problem for quite a while now, and even contacting facebook support I get no news.
Only my Facebook friends can see my stories
My Messenger contacts can’t, and even though I’ve tried the FRIENDS AND CONNECTIONS and PUBLIC settings, I have the same problem.
I post my stories through Facebook and thought that was the problem, so I tried posting them with Messenger, but it’s just the same-
Claudio Colombo
on December 17, 2019 at 16:31Hi Alessia,
the only way to make your stories visible to everyone is:
– tap privacy
– set “friends and connections”If you’ve already done that, try setting it to “Public”, so that the people you’ve chatted with on Messenger and the people who follow you can also see your stories (with this setting, only your friends will still be able to comment on your stories).
If that doesn’t work either, I honestly wouldn’t know how to help you, and I’d suggest trying to contact Facebook support again (even though unfortunately they usually don’t reply).
Best,
Claudio-
Alessia
on December 17, 2019 at 17:55Indeed, I’ve tried contacting support several times, but with no result. I set friends and connections and I set public.. too bad, I don’t know what to do
They can’t reply, but can they still leave reactions if I set it to public?
Anyway, I give up 🙁
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Tonelli Gabriella
on January 17, 2020 at 13:08Who can read the comments on stories — only the people directly involved, or everyone who has viewed the story?
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Claudio Colombo
on January 18, 2020 at 9:42Hi Gabriella,
if a user can see a story, they can also see the comments.
Claudio
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Debora
on January 17, 2020 at 14:02Hi Claudio, I’ve also noticed a “1 other” on the left, at the bottom of the list of my fb friends, on my stories. How is that possible given that my privacy is set to “friends only”? And there’s no way to figure out who they are, from what I’ve read?
Thanks.-
Claudio Colombo
on January 18, 2020 at 9:43Hi Debora,
there are ways for non-friends to see your stories too, and there’s no way to figure out who they are.
Best,
Claudio
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Angela
on March 9, 2020 at 0:44Hello
I viewed the story of a person who isn’t among my contacts by mistake. Will they see my name even though I’ve deactivated my profile?
Thanks so much.-
Claudio Colombo
on March 9, 2020 at 10:51Hello Angela,
if they’re not among your Facebook or Messenger contacts, they can’t see your name.
Best,
Claudio
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Rex
on March 11, 2020 at 11:12Hi! I looked at a friend’s profile on facebook, but without viewing their story. Will my friend see “story viewed”? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on March 11, 2020 at 11:13Hi Rosita,
if you don’t view the story, your friend won’t see that you viewed it.
Best,
Claudio
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Anonymous
on March 23, 2020 at 9:09Hi! I accidentally viewed the featured story of an Fb profile that isn’t among my friends. Will they see that I viewed it? If so, would they still see it if I blocked them? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on March 23, 2020 at 10:28Hi,
if they’re not among your contacts, they won’t see your name.
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Romina
on March 25, 2020 at 8:27Hi Claudio — first off, because of the way I’ve set things up, my Fb stories can only be viewed by one person. I sometimes see a blue dot next to her name in the views list… even hours after she’s viewed the story…. What does it mean? Thanks.
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Claudio Colombo
on March 25, 2020 at 13:38Hi Romina,
the blue dot indicates new views of the story since the last time you checked.
So it means that the profile with the blue dot next to it has watched your Facebook story again.
Best,
Claudio
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Francesco
on March 28, 2020 at 0:33Hi Claudio, I viewed a story by mistake — they’re in my friends list — can my view be removed so it doesn’t show up for them, thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on March 28, 2020 at 9:19Hi Francesco,
once you’ve viewed a story you can’t undo it, and your view will be visible to your friend on Facebook.
Best,
Claudio
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DANIELE BENVENUTI
on March 31, 2020 at 1:32Hi Claudio, of all the STORIES my friends post, I only get notifications for some of them. What does that mean? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on March 31, 2020 at 10:22Hi Daniele,
Facebook sends notifications based on what it thinks will interest you most.
It’s completely normal — it doesn’t mean anything in particular.
Best,
Claudio
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Giuly
on April 1, 2020 at 16:09Good evening. I’d like to know something: my account was deactivated. I reactivated it, and by mistake I viewed a story I wasn’t even interested in. I found it among my notifications and clicked by accident. I deactivated my account again right away. I’ve been told that since I’m now deactivated, they no longer see my name — just one extra number. But certainly not my name, since I immediately deactivated my account again. Is that true? Can I relax? Thanks.
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Claudio Colombo
on April 1, 2020 at 16:31Hello Giuly,
honestly, we’ve never come across a situation like this.
I can assume that, since your account is deactivated and therefore no longer exists on Facebook, your name shouldn’t be visible.
Best,
Claudio
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Giuly
on April 1, 2020 at 16:59Thank you, Claudio. You’ve been really kind and cleared up all my doubts and fears. Thanks again.
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Gemma Attanasio
on April 1, 2020 at 21:10Hi. I’ve had more than one active story, posted a few hours apart, and I noticed that a couple of friends viewed only the last one I added — not the two before it. Since you can’t choose which story to view, they would have had to watch the earlier ones first to see the last one, right?…So how is that possible?
P.s. this always happens with the same two people-
Claudio Colombo
on April 2, 2020 at 9:11Hi Gemma,
this usually happens because of story-viewing bots.
So the 2 profiles in question are probably using bots/automation.
That said, it usually happens more on Instagram than on Facebook.
Best,
Claudio
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Luca
on April 17, 2020 at 1:07Hi. I’ve set my facebook stories to be viewable by friends only. Why is it that when I go to my archive I notice that some stories have been viewed, besides by my contacts, also by “1 other”? If the story can only be viewed by friends, who could be watching my stories?
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Claudio Colombo
on April 17, 2020 at 8:49Hi Luca,
there are ways to watch Facebook stories privately (someone who doesn’t want their name shown), and they get reported as “Others” in the views list.
Best,
Claudio-
Alex
on April 17, 2020 at 14:11This happens to me too. Couldn’t it be that when it shows up like this, the featured story was viewed by people who hadn’t watched it in real time but only later, once it was saved — so they stay anonymous? Otherwise it doesn’t add up
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Claudio Colombo
on April 17, 2020 at 14:29Hi Alex,
there are very simple ways to watch a story anonymously without showing your own name. And if a story is watched anonymously, it’s identified as “others” in the views list.
Best,
Claudio
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Luca
on April 17, 2020 at 16:33Hi Claudio, and thanks for the reply — I’d actually thought of something similar myself. But couldn’t it also be that people who viewed the story are no longer in my friends list? Or is it necessarily someone watching the story anonymously? It would be interesting, though, to know what the methods for viewing stories anonymously are…Bye
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Claudio Colombo
on April 17, 2020 at 17:33Hi Luca,
the method people use is:
– open Facebook and let all the stories load
– switch to airplane mode
– watch the stories
– close the app
– turn wi-fi or mobile data back onThis way you watch a Facebook story without your friend knowing, because Facebook only counts views made with an active connection.
Best,
Claudio-
Alex
on April 18, 2020 at 0:49So I guess that applies to the friends you have on Facebook, since my privacy is set to visible to friends only. Or could the anonymous viewer be someone who isn’t your friend on Facebook?
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Claudio Colombo
on April 18, 2020 at 13:01Hi Alex,
if you selected “Friends”, it means only your Facebook friends can see your story in the Facebook and Messenger apps.
Best,
Claudio
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Aura
on February 24, 2021 at 17:20Does it also work for users who are no longer in your friends list?
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Claudio Colombo
on February 24, 2021 at 18:06If a user isn’t your friend and has set their stories to be visible to friends only, you won’t be able to see their story even using this method.
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Silvia
on May 11, 2020 at 16:00Good morning, I wanted to know if it’s possible these days to see who viewed your story (I only see ±others, not the name) when they’re not among your friends — are there any apps for this? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on May 11, 2020 at 16:40Hi Silvia,
as far as I know, there are currently no apps that show who viewed your stories anonymously.
Best,
Claudio
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Giuseppe
on June 17, 2020 at 10:01Dear sir, how does one go about viewing the past stories of Facebook users? Thank you
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Claudio Colombo
on June 26, 2020 at 10:15Hi Giuseppe,
stories stay visible for 24 hours.
There’s no way to view stories older than 24 hours.
Best,
Claudio
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Serenella Marini
on June 20, 2020 at 22:39Hi, my understanding is that only I can see who watches my story and the emoticons that get left — is that right? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on June 26, 2020 at 10:11Hi Serenella,
yes, that’s right.
Best,
Claudio
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claudia
on June 25, 2020 at 21:52Hi Claudio..my question is this: if I post a story set to everyone, obviously everyone can see it…but the question is: do all these people have to deliberately go visit your profile to see your new story, or do they still get told you’ve posted a new story even if they’re no longer among your friends?? I want to figure out whether the non-friend guy viewing my story is seeing it by chance or is a snoop…I don’t know if I’ve explained myself well…
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Claudio Colombo
on June 26, 2020 at 10:14Hi Claudia,
If they’re not your friends, they don’t get a notification when you post a story.
Best,
Claudio
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enzo
on July 6, 2020 at 9:42can a person who has blocked me watch my story if I’ve set it open to everyone?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 6, 2020 at 11:27Hi Enzo,
usually, if someone has blocked you, they can’t see your updates (including FB stories).
Best,
Claudio
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Emma
on July 17, 2020 at 18:37Hi — first off, my story is visible to EVERYONE.
Every day, a contact who isn’t among my friends views my story. Does the contact in question have to go to my profile to see it, or does the story show up among the stories at the top for anyone??-
Claudio Colombo
on July 24, 2020 at 17:57Hi Emma,
they have to go to your profile to see the story.
Best,
Claudio
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Anibal
on July 24, 2020 at 17:46My profile is public, so my stories can be seen by everyone, even by people who aren’t among my friends. FB only lets me see who views my stories if they’re among my friends. is there a way to see who viewed them but isn’t in my contacts list?
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Claudio Colombo
on July 24, 2020 at 17:56Hi Anibal,
there’s no way to see who views your stories when they’re not one of your contacts.
Best,
Claudio
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Gigia
on July 25, 2020 at 16:25hi, I wanted to know — if I put an emoticon on a contact’s story, is it visible to everyone or only to the person who posted the story…
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Claudio Colombo
on July 26, 2020 at 15:55Hi Giorgia,
it’s visible only to the person who posted the story.
Best,
Claudio
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Lucia
on July 29, 2020 at 19:56I viewed the story of a user who isn’t among my Facebook contacts…can they still see my name even though we’re not friends on Facebook?
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Claudio Colombo
on August 15, 2020 at 17:38Hi Lucia,
no, they can’t see your name if you’re not friends.
Best,
Claudio
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Maria
on August 6, 2020 at 7:44I understand that if I accidentally viewed the story of a profile I’m neither a contact nor a follower of, that profile will see my view — but I didn’t understand whether, since I was logged in at the moment of viewing, they’ll see me with my first and last name, or whether, since we’re not friends, they’ll see my view as “other” (without my first and last name (even though I was logged in)
thanks-
Claudio Colombo
on August 15, 2020 at 17:36Hi Maria,
you’ll show up as “other”.
Best,
Claudio
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Erica
on August 30, 2020 at 18:41Hi, I viewed a featured story on a profile I’m not friends with. What will they see? My name, or “other”?
Thanks-
Claudio Colombo
on September 2, 2020 at 8:59Hi Erica,
they’ll see “other”.
Best,
Claudio
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Simona
on September 1, 2020 at 20:58I set my story to be visible to everyone, so tapping the eye shows me all the names of the friends who viewed the story, but at the bottom it says “1 other”, which is a view from a non-friend — how do I see who it is?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 2, 2020 at 9:01Hi Simona,
when it says “other”, it means it’s not possible to see the profile’s name.
Best,
Claudio
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Sara
on September 6, 2020 at 14:13Hi, I posted several stories, and among the views one of my friends shows up as having viewed only the last one — how is it possible to view only the last one? Could he have already viewed the previous ones anonymously?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 16, 2020 at 9:25Hi Sara,
if you watch a story for less than 3 seconds, you don’t appear among the users who viewed it.
So your friend skipped quickly through the first stories and only watched the last one for more than 3 seconds.
Best,
Claudio
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Daniela
on September 10, 2020 at 22:59Hi, if I view a featured story (that is, old stories) by mistake, will my name be among the people who viewed it?
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Claudio Colombo
on September 16, 2020 at 9:14Hi Daniela,
no, it shouldn’t be shown.
Best,
Claudio
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Annarita
on September 25, 2020 at 23:56Hi, I’m Annarita — when I see “1 other” on my stories and I don’t see them among my followers, does it mean they’re anonymous, or that they go watch and then block their profile, or that the program shows them as anonymous? please answer me
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Claudio Colombo
on September 28, 2020 at 10:37Hi Annarita,
they’re users who aren’t among your contacts and who saw your story.
We’ve answered this question many times — if you look through the comments, you’ll find how and why it can happen.
Best,
Claudio
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Stefania
on October 20, 2020 at 15:09Hello Claudio..I absolutely want to know who’s viewing my stories 24/7 without being on my friends list…I want to know who’s watching them!!!!! Why isn’t it possible???? There has to be a way!!! Other people get to spy and I can’t find out??? Impossible!!! Find me a way, please
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Claudio Colombo
on October 29, 2020 at 15:02Hi Stefania,
unfortunately, it’s impossible.
Or at least no one has found a way so far — if you find one, let us know in the comments.
Best,
Claudio
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francesco
on November 13, 2020 at 22:16hi, I’d like to know how I can see who has viewed a story posted by my girlfriend
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Claudio Colombo
on November 18, 2020 at 20:10Hi Francesco,
you’d have to log into Facebook with your girlfriend’s account.
There’s no way for one account to see another account’s views.
Best,
ClaudioBest,
Claudio
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Irene
on December 29, 2020 at 0:27Hello, last night two stories were posted that I didn’t put up — bear in mind that I have an iPhone, my passwords have been changed, and if anyone tries to get into my profile, I get a message. After the second (inappropriate) story I was forced to suspend my profile! Can you help me?
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Claudio Colombo
on December 31, 2020 at 10:41Hi Irene,
if someone is getting into your profile, it’s because they’re able to get at your password.
Maybe also change the password for your email address and for wherever you store your passwords (maybe you save them on Drive?).
Best,
Claudio
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Giuggio
on January 2, 2021 at 12:59Hello Claudio, I need some info. By mistake, the other evening I selected a featured story (that’s a story in the highlights, right?) of a person I don’t have among my fb friends — I left right away, without finishing the content. I’d like to understand whether they’ll see my name among the views or just the label “other”. Please note that we have 1 mutual friend… I hope you’ll reply. HELP
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Claudio Colombo
on January 2, 2021 at 13:04Hi,
they’ll see “other”.
Best,
Claudio-
Giuggio
on January 2, 2021 at 13:11Thank you so muuuch. You saved me! I was terrified they’d see my name. So if we view stories or featured stories of people we’re not friends with, even if we have mutual friends, they’ll have no way of seeing the name of whoever viewed — just “other”, right!? Sorry, and thanks
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S2016
on January 11, 2021 at 23:09Hi Claudio, about two weeks ago I posted a story on Facebook, and this is now the second time I’ve gotten a notification saying: ‘Your story of the day has reached 80 views’ — but the number of views hasn’t changed. So now I’m wondering, is it an automatic notification, or is someone viewing anonymously without showing up? Thanks
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Claudio Colombo
on January 13, 2021 at 8:52Hi,
it’s an automatic notification, and it counts all the people who saw the story.
There are no other people viewing without being reported.
Best,
Claudio
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andrea
on January 12, 2021 at 0:52Hi, I’ve set my facebook stories to be viewable by everyone — so also by people who aren’t friends but are just Messenger contacts of mine. Is it possible to know WHO viewed my story BESIDES the people who are my friends — to be clear, the ones marked at the bottom as others? Thanks a lot. Andrea
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Claudio Colombo
on January 13, 2021 at 8:53Hi Andrea,
no, there’s no way to get their names.
Best,
Claudio
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Stefano
on January 14, 2021 at 15:46can I add more seconds to my story?
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Claudio Colombo
on January 15, 2021 at 9:36No
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Aura
on February 24, 2021 at 16:12Hi Claudio, yet another request for confirmation. If I were to watch the story of an fb user who is no longer in my friends list (but with mutual friends), would they see my name in the views, or would it show as other? Would they have any way of tracing it back to me? I know you’ve already answered this question, but a couple of the answers left me puzzled. Thanks so much, also for your patience
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Claudio Colombo
on February 24, 2021 at 16:23Hi Aura,
if you manage to view a “private” (i.e. non-public) story of a user who isn’t among your friends, that user won’t see your name. They’ll see “Other”.
Best,
Claudio-
Francesca
on March 17, 2021 at 10:15Hi Claudio, I wanted to ask how it can be that I posted two stories and only the second one has “1 Other”?
They were posted a few minutes apart and they’re both public
Thanks so much-
Claudio Colombo
on March 22, 2021 at 17:54Hi Francesca,
the only thing that comes to mind is that they might have skipped straight to the second story.
Best
Claudio
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Massimiliano
on March 6, 2021 at 22:16How can I find out who that “1 other” is that keeps showing up so often?
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Claudio Colombo
on March 22, 2021 at 18:00Hi Massimiliano,
there’s no way to know who they are.
Best,
Claudio
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TheDoctor
on April 16, 2021 at 10:39Is it possible to view the Facebook stories of “non-friend” contacts anonymously?
If you do it the normal way — looking up the profile whose story you want to view — assuming the published story is visible to everyone and not just friends, does it leave a trace?-
Claudio Colombo
on April 17, 2021 at 11:22Hi,
it’s very easy to watch a Facebook story anonymously. Just log into the app, go to your feed, refresh by pulling down, switch on airplane mode and watch the stories.
If you view anonymously, the profile that posted the story you watched will see “other” and not your name.
Best,
Claudio
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Roberta
on May 23, 2021 at 13:30Hi Claudio, how can I see who isn’t among my friends and viewed the story I posted publicly?
Besides the names of the friends who saw the story, I get +1 +2 etc.. that is, the number of people who aren’t among my friends but viewed the story. But it won’t show me who they are-
Claudio Colombo
on June 2, 2021 at 21:43Hi Roberta,
there’s no way whatsoever to see the names.
Best,
Claudio
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