Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot a Story?

Last Updated on January 9, 2026 by Ethan

You wanna screenshot someone’s story, but you’re paranoid they’ll find out. I get it. We’ve all had that moment where our thumb hovers over the button, and we hesitate.

So does Instagram tell them?

Nope.

The Answer

Instagram doesn’t notify anyone when you screenshot their story. Go ahead and do it. They won’t get a notification, won’t see your name anywhere special, and won’t have any idea. Unless you literally show them or they’re standing behind you watching, they’ll never know.

This has been the case since like 2018, when Instagram briefly tested notifications, and everyone freaked out. They removed the feature after maybe two months and never brought it back.

So yeah. Screenshot away.

But Wait, I Heard Instagram DOES Notify…

You probably heard old information. Or you’re confusing stories with DMs.

Here’s the thing. Instagram DOES notify for some stuff. Just not stories.

Disappearing photos in DMs? Yeah, those notify. If someone sends you one of those photos that vanishes after you view it, and you screenshot it, they get a notification saying you captured it.

Vanish Mode? Same deal. That’s the thing where messages disappear when you close the chat. Screenshot anything in there, and Instagram tells the other person.

But regular stories? Regular posts? Someone’s profile? Reels? Normal DM conversations? Nope. Screenshot all you want. Nobody knows.

Quick Breakdown

What You Screenshot	Do They Know?
Stories	Nope
Feed posts	Nope
Profiles	Nope
Reels	Nope
Regular DMs	Nope
Disappearing DM photos	Yep, they know
Vanish Mode stuff	Yep, they know

One Thing Though

They can’t see your screenshots. But they CAN see you viewed the story.

When you watch someone’s story, your name pops up in their viewer list. So while they won’t know you saved it, they’ll definitely know you watched it.

Most of the time, that’s fine. But if you’re trying to creep completely under the radar, that’s a problem.

There are ways around it. The story viewer lets you watch stories without your name showing up at all. Completely anonymous. They don’t know you viewed, they don’t know you screenshotted, they don’t know anything.

What About Screen Recording?

Same thing. No notification.

Instagram can’t detect screen recordings. You could record someone’s entire story with sound and everything, and they’d have zero idea. The only thing they see is that you watched it.

The 2018 Thing

People always ask about this, so let me explain.

Instagram tested screenshot notifications for stories back in 2018. If you screenshotted, a little icon appeared next to your name in the viewer list. The story poster could see exactly who saved their content.

People absolutely hated it. Like, massive backlash. Instagram pulled the feature after a few weeks and acted like it never happened.

That was eight years ago. They haven’t tried it again since. Probably learned their lesson.

Will They Ever Bring It Back?

Doubt it.

Snapchat’s had screenshot notifications forever, and people constantly complain about it there, too. Instagram watched that play out and decided it wasn’t worth the drama.

Could they surprise us? Sure. But after eight years of not doing it, I’m betting they won’t.

If You’re Still Paranoid

Look, there’s no notification. I’ve told you that like five times now. But if you’re still nervous, here are some options:

Airplane mode. Open the story, turn on airplane mode, screenshot, force close the app, and turn airplane mode off. Old trick. Probably unnecessary, but people swear by it.

Second phone. Watch on your phone, take a picture with another device. Impossible to detect.

Anonymous viewer. Don’t view through Instagram at all. Use something like the anonymous story viewer where your name never shows up in the first place.

Or just… screenshot normally. Because again, there’s no notification.

What About Highlights?

Same rules. No notifications. Highlights are just saved stories, so everything works the same way.

If you want to browse someone’s highlights without them knowing you looked, the highlights viewer does that anonymously.

Can You See Who Screenshots YOUR Stories?

Nope. Works both ways.

You can’t see who screenshotted your stuff. Instagram doesn’t tell you. Never has, probably never will. The only way you’d know is if someone literally tells you or reposts your content somewhere.

If you wanna know what IS happening with your audience, though, like who follows and unfollows you, UnfollowGram tracks that stuff. Different from screenshots but useful for understanding who’s paying attention to your content.

The DM Exception

Gotta mention this again because it’s the one thing that actually notifies.

Disappearing photos and videos in DMs. The kind you can only view once or twice. If you screenshot those, Instagram tells the sender.

The airplane mode trick sometimes works here, too. Open the message, go offline immediately, screenshot, force close Instagram, and go back online. The notification doesn’t always send.

Emphasis on sometimes. Not guaranteed.

Also: If someone sent you something that disappears, they probably wanted it to disappear. Think about whether you should be screenshotting it at all.

Bottom Line

Screenshot stories. It’s fine. Nobody gets notified.

Disappearing DMs are the exception. Those tell the sender.

And if you don’t want them knowing you viewed at all, use an anonymous viewer.

That’s it. Stop overthinking it.

Related: Stories Downloader • Profile Viewer • Photo Downloader