Does Instagram notify when you screenshot a Story?

Plenty of questions keep us all up at night, such as, “What’s the meaning of life?” and “When you screenshot a Story, does Instagram notify the person who posted it?” We can’t answer the former, but we can help you rest a little easier by clarifying Instagram’s most ephemeral feature.

So can people see if you screenshot their Instagram Story? If you’re tossing and turning over whether your ex will get an Instagram screenshot notification when you accidentally snap a pic of their latest video, fear not: The app doesn’t notify users when an Insta Story viewer takes a screenshot.

But your concerns aren’t unfounded. For a period of time in 2018, Instagram did notify people whenever another user screenshotted their content, much like Snapchat still does. And although that’s no longer the case, there’s a good lesson here: social media apps’ policies change all the time, so it’s wise to stay up to date.

When does Instagram notify users about screenshots?

What about Close Friend Stories – does Instagram notify when you screenshot those? Many people think so, but the answer here is also no. So where does this misconception come from?

People might be confused because, although the Instagram app doesn’t notify people about screenshots of their Stories, it does let them know about other kinds of screenshots people take.

When someone screenshots a disappearing photo or clip in a direct message (DM), Instagram will notify the sender by putting a tiny starburst icon next to the content. This content is intended to be unretrievable after the recipient has viewed it, but that perk vanishes if a user takes a screenshot of it. If you screenshot a chat, however, the app won’t report this activity to the other user.

If you’re DM-ing a photo or video you’d like your recipient to be able to keep forever (without needing to take a screenshot of it), select the Allow Replay function in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen before hitting Send.

Whether or not people know you're taking pics of their content, screenshotting without permission isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s OK to save a screenshot of that charitable organization's Story about an upcoming food drive so you can participate, but respect individuals' privacy by not screenshotting personal content intended for temporary viewing. It’s also good practice to get permission before reposting someone else’s content. We’re sure your favorite food blogger will let you repost a screenshot of their famous mac and cheese recipe if you ask nicely first.

What about Instagram posts?

You can screenshot posts without Instagram alerting the content creator. However, there’s no real reason to since the app offers a Save feature.

Instagram allows you to bookmark and categorize posts you want to return to. This way, you can make a folder dedicated to images of perfect pizzas, dream travel destinations or whatever else you’re into.

To bookmark a post, click on the icon that looks like a tiny banner under the bottom right-hand corner of the image. When you tap the bookmark icon, a bar will pop up that says Save to Collection. Click on the plus sign in the upper right-hand corner of the pop-up if you want to create a new folder for the post.

Can I prevent someone from screenshotting my posts?

Maybe you make the best pizza dough and you don’t want other people to steal your ideas. Or perhaps you want to prevent that ex you haven’t spoken to in five years from taking a screenshot of your account, even if it’s “by accident.” If privacy is a concern, you’ve probably already set your Instagram account to private and set up your Stories to only be shown to close friends. But can you completely protect yourself from someone taking a screenshot?

Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix. If you have a public account, anyone could take a snap of one of your Stories. If you’re posting content you don’t want the world to see, use the Close Friends feature so your Stories only go out to a hand-selected list of people you trust, and keep your account private to prevent strangers from viewing (and possibly screenshotting) your content.

Making the most of social media

People worry about accidentally screenshotting material on social media platforms because it could appear as though they’re violating other people’s privacy or using their content without permission. That fear comes from an honest place. We should all respect one another on social media, which means following Instagram’s guidelines and best practices. Instead of asking whether or not you can screenshot Instagram Stories without the other person knowing, ask yourself if it’s the right thing to do. Aside from showing your social media peers the same respect you would in real life, there are a couple of other ways to make the most of your time online. Always post high-quality content that represents you or your business well, mix things up with features such as live streaming and videos, and link to outside content so followers can get to know you better across all platforms. If you want to include more than one URL in your social media bios (e.g., to both your website and YouTube channel), get a Linktree, which branches out to several places on the internet.