Ever since its debut in 2020, Instagram Reels have been a popular feature for content creation. This attention-grabbing video content format has been especially liked by influencers and content creators with followers who can use metrics like views to determine how popular their content is. However, can you see who views your Instagram reels? This is a question we will answer in this article.
If you are able to know who saw your reels, it would be easier to determine who your biggest fans are. This could also come in handy for things like giveaways and loyalty rewards programs.
What Are Instagram Reels?
To put it simply, Instagram Reels are short-form videos that Instagram users can create to capture the attention of others.
Reels are often put through a more in-depth creative process than Stories, and sometimes video posts as well. This is due to Instagram making it easy to include different kinds of audio and visual effects and elements. Creating highly-engaging content has never been easier thanks to the introduction of IG Reels.
Reels also get distributed potentially farther than other types of IG content. This is due to them being shared on:
- The feed page
- Your profile’s Reels section
- The Explore page
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Reels?
Most content creators using the Reels format want to know whether they can view who saw their reels.The unfortunate answer is that no, Instagram does not currently provide details on who specifically viewed reels.
The reason for this is simple. Unlike Stories which tend to get the fewest views out of any content type, allowing you to see exactly who viewed them, Reels could have significantly more. This means knowing everyone who views the reel would not be possible, negating much of the benefits of knowing this information. This is the most likely reason Instagram does not provide this information to content creators. Another potential reason is to ensure Instagram’s guidelines on safety are upheld.
On the bright side, you can still get valuable insights for your reels. Instagram provides the total amount of views each reel gets. You also can see everyone who has liked it or left a comment. If you have a Business account or Professional account, you will see further details that can shed some more light on your audience.
Note: If someone watches your reel more than once, each time will be considered a view. This means getting 1,000 views does not usually mean that 1,000 people saw your reel.
How to See the View Count for Reels
Although it is not possible to know who specifically saw your reel, you can still find out the total number of views a reel received.
Here are the steps you need to take:
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap on your profile picture in the bottom-right of the screen
- Tap on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right of your screen
- Scroll down to the For professionals section and tap on Creator tools and controls
- Tap on Switch account type
- Tap on either Switch to professional account or Switch to business account
After you have taken the above steps, you have taken the prerequisite to be able to view more detailed insights.
Take these steps to see view counts and other metrics for Reels:
- From your Instagram feed page, tap on your profile picture in the bottom-right of the screen
- Tap on the Reels icon (clapboard containing a play button) to view your reels
- Tap on a specific reel whose metrics you want to see and then tap on View insights
From here, you will be able to view a few key metrics:
- Profile follows
- Plays
- Initial plays
- Replays
- Watch time
- Average watch time
- Like
- Comments
- Saves
- Shares
Bottom Line: Can you see who views your Instagram reels? Unfortunately not right now. However, there are other insightful metrics you can get access to if you switch from a Personal account to a Business or Professional account.