How to Know If Someone Screenshots Your Instagram Story: An Instagrammer’s Hack

How to know if someone screenshots your Instagram Story? If this is something that has been going on your mind, you are not the only one!

Since its rise to dominance in social media in recent years, one of the most used features on Instagram is Instagram Story. This feature allows users to post photos and videos that will be alive for only 24 hours before they disappear.

The idea is to create urgency and encourage real-time interaction. Though content shared within the Instagram story disappears within a certain time, users still want to monitor how their content is being shared, especially after it has been screenshot.

Knowing whether or not someone has taken a screenshot of your Instagram Story is a very valid concern for content creators, influencers, and even regular users who just simply want their pictures kept safe.

This article goes in-depth with how Instagram notifies you when someone takes a screenshot of your Story, whether those notifications are reliable, and what you can do to defend your content from unwanted captures.

An Overview of Instagram Stories and How It Works

Before we get into how to track screenshots, let’s clarify what Instagram Stories are and how they work.

This category of posts contains the stories presented in a horizontal row and become invisible after 24 hours. Users can add photos, videos, and content using different filters, writing text, setting music, or adding stickers; this is quite a fun, temporary way to relate to followers.

Instagram’s story feature is the best for an update in real-time, presenting behind-the-scenes moments or promoting products and services. Once a Story is published, a user can view it by tapping on a profile icon at the top of the Instagram app.

The audience of the Story can react with a direct message or reaction such as emojis, and the publisher can view a list of who viewed the Story.

What if, though, someone screenshotted your Story? In a case like that, how to know if someone screenshots your Instagram Story?

How to Know If Someone Screenshots Your Instagram Story (Or, Can You?)

Let me say it out loud and be done with it. NO. Sadly, you cannot find out if someone has screenshotted your Instagram Story on the app.

“But, I thought you could know!”

And you are not wrong if you are thinking that way. Well, TBH, in 2018, there was a feature that was available for a short time. This could let you know of anyone has taken a screenshot of your Story.

However, the popular social media platform discontinued this notification feature specifically for reasons related to viewer’s privacy.

Does Instagram Notify You When Someone Takes a Screenshot of Your Story?

When someone takes a screenshot of your Instagram Story that you have sent in a DM, Instagram does send you a notification. The notification is a small, subtle camera icon next to the name of the person who took the screenshot. This helps you track who is capturing your content.

However, you need to remember one thing: THIS ONLY HAPPENS IN A DM and not in the case of an actual IGStory.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Camera Icon: It is a small camera icon located beside the person’s name in the viewers’ list. This gives the feeling that they have taken a screenshot of your story.
• Timely: It notifies after taking the screenshot, but it is not immediate. For instance, if someone opens your story and takes a screenshot when he or she is offline or in airplane mode, then the app would have delayed sending the notification to you.
• Screen Recording: If a viewer records your Story rather than taking a screenshot, you’ll also be notified with a camera icon appearing next to their name. The notification for screen recording is very similar to the one for screenshots.

How to Know If Someone Screenshots Your Instagram Story in a DM?

To check who took a screenshot of your Story, follow these simple steps:

1. Share Your Story: Share your post – photo, video, or text post.
2. See Your Story: Once you have posted, tap your profile icon to see your story, as well as the list of people who have viewed it.
3. See the Camera Icon: If someone takes a screenshot or records your Story, a little camera icon will appear next to his or her name. That tells you exactly who took your Story.

It makes it easy to monitor who is looking at your content, and you know if a particular person is saving your content.

Can You Know That Someone Has Taken a Screenshot of Your Instagram Story?

While Instagram enables you to find out whether somebody has taken a screenshot of your Story, it is also useful to consider that there are a few caveats around this.

Limitations to Instagram’s Notification of Screenshot

Even as Instagram’s notification of a screenshot may be valuable, they have limits that would degrade the use of this function. Let’s, therefore explore a few of the limits below:

1. Third-party Applications and Screen Recorders: The third-party apps and screen recording tools do not trigger the Instagram notification system. Users might take screenshots through apps that are not recognized by Instagram. For example, if a user takes a screenshot of an Instagram post using the native screenshot function of their phone rather than the Instagram app, it may not be tracked by Instagram.
2. Airplane Mode: In case someone opens your Story during their airplane mode and takes a screenshot on your account, it may not inform you since they will only be notified once they get back internet connection.
3. Scheduling: When some of the people are accessing your story, taking screen shots and had not opened Instagram yet for that whole day then that person opened Instagram there, therefore the one person being notified for your screenshot were probably delayed happening.
4. Multiple Screenshots: Instagram only notifies you when someone takes the first screenshot or screen recording. If a person screenshots the same Story more than once, you will not be notified about subsequent screenshots. This may make it more difficult to track the number of times your content is being saved.

Table 2: Limitations of Screenshot Notifications

Workarounds to Track Screenshots?

Unfortunately, there is no way to track all screenshot or screen recording instances on Instagram Stories. Third-party apps and airplane mode bypass the notification system of Instagram.

However, there are a few ways to manage your content and reduce the chances of your Stories being captured:

Adjust Privacy Settings

Instagram offers several privacy settings to determine who can see your stories. If you want to limit who may access your content, these are the best options for you.

Here is a quick overview:

These features can be used to control access to your content and prevent it from being screenshot by someone else.

Add Watermarks on Your Content

Watermarking your stories is actually a great way to dissuade other people from sharing or reposting your content.

When you add your logo or any text visible on the photo or video, then it becomes impossible for someone who is screenshotting your story to screenshot it without the watermark on it, thereby making it hard to use the content without giving you credit.

Educate Your Followers

Sometimes, they have no clue as to why one should not share other people’s work. When one needs to secure their work by protecting it as intellectual property, then teach them what could go wrong once your content gets captured without one consent.

Teach the audience to inform them of taking screenshots of sharing your content by blocking their numbers.

Prevent Sharing Ability

Instagram allows you to limit who can share your Stories. You can turn off the ability for others to share your Story so that your content remains within your control. Although this does not prevent screenshots, it can reduce the spread of your content.

How to Stop People from Misusing Your Instagram Content

Though you cannot stop a user from taking a screenshot of your Story, you can do the following to decrease the possibility of its misuse:

1. It can report a violation of your content: That is if someone has taken your content and is misusing it. For instance, posting on another platform, using it without crediting, and others. Instagram has a reporting feature embedded in its application with which you can flag inappropriate content including stolen images and videos.
2. Be in Control of Your Content: You should monitor your Instagram profile to see if the photos uploaded by you are being misused. At least you can report them or reach the user if your posts are getting shared without permission.
3. Legal Action: Severe copyright infringement of the posted contents may lead to legal action. The developers of this content can consult intellectual property lawyers for further action.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Instagram Stories?

In conclusion, it’s not all bad news! Instagram does at least give you some indication of who took a screenshot on your Stories.

This is far from perfect, as there are very obvious limitations. However, what you can do is limit screenshotting by relying on privacy controls, adding watermarking to all your content, and teaching people who follow you.

Although you cannot prevent someone from taking a screenshot or screen recording, you can control your content through these means.

The strategies that I have mentioned above will allow you to be in control and limit the spreading of your work on Instagram. In that way, the company’s notification system can be an important tool for keeping you up to date on how your content is being shared.

Thus, having information about privacy features and correctly making use of the same shall let you look into the stories in Instagram the way you are suited to without bringing risks upon the content in posting with or against your wishes.

Read Also:

• Does Facebook Notify Screenshots?
• 5 Methods How To Screenshot Snapchat Without Them Knowing