How Can Someone See My Second Instagram Story but Not the First?

Are you aware of which content formats are currently trending on Instagram the most? We have two words for you: STORIES and REELS. For those who want to keep their community involved in their everyday lives on the go, stories are hit. And if you want to get even the tiniest bit creative with videos, reels are meant for you. Both these content formats are equally popular on the platform for different reasons. However, if you were to ask which one could be created and uploaded more easily, Stories are your answer.

The story contents today are no longer as temporary as they once were. While they still have a validity of 24 hours, you can make them more permanent by adding them to highlights.

In this blog, we’ll address a concern many readers are facing on Instagram stories lately. Keep reading till the end to find out what it is and what could be causing it.

How Can Someone See My Second Instagram Story but Not the First?

So, we understand that you’re here because you recently noticed a tally error in the Viewers list of your stories on Instagram. There was one user whose name was added to the list of your second story but on the first one. How could that have happened?

Well, there are two possibilities behind someone not seeing your first Instagram story, only the second one. The first one usually happens with picture-format stories, while the second is seen more commonly in the case of videos.

Let’s check these out one by one below:

Reason #1: They didn’t spend enough time on your first story

Did you know that Instagram only registers a story view when the user has spent a minimum of 3 seconds on it? This might come as a surprise to some of you, but that’s how the platform works.

So, while 3 seconds is the bar set by the platform, it’s not necessary for all users to spend that time on a single story. Some of them might be in a rush and tap to the next one before 3 seconds.

In such a case, their view will not be recorded on that particular story. To you, it might seem like they didn’t see the story at all because their name isn’t in its Viewers list, while they actually have watched it and moved forward voluntarily.

If you’re fully frank with this user, you can even ask them up front to confirm our theory.

Reason #2: Their internet connectivity has glitches

As we discussed earlier, this possibility occurs more frequently in the case of video stories. This is because videos require a stronger internet connection to load properly.

Suppose you posted two stories; the first one is a video, and the second one, is a picture. Now, someone who follows you but has a glitchy connection on their device attempts to view these stories.

It’s very much possible that the first story was taking too much time to load, which is why they skipped to the next one. And when they did that, their view was only registered on the second story, not the first one.

Can users choose which story to watch out of a cluster?

Many of us upload stories on Instagram in a cluster, especially when we’re on holiday, or it’s our birthday. However, just because we upload multiple stories doesn’t mean everyone who follows us HAS to see them all, does it?

So, can our followers pick which story to watch? Unfortunately, not. While the choice of opening a story – or not – rests with the viewers, they don’t have the option to open a particular one.

In fact, they can’t even tell how many stories you upload without opening them first.

Does Instagram count re-watches on the stories?

While we’re on the subject of Instagram stories, here is another common question a majority of Instagrammers wonder about:

Does the app count re-watches on an Instagram story?

As you might already be aware of, the views on an Instagram story are arranged in reverse chronological order. In other words, the one who has seen your story most recently will turn up on top.

This leads some users to the assumption that the person on top of the Viewer’s list of their story have watched it multiple times. So, is this assumption true?

Well, only partly. While the person on top of your Viewer list might or might not have checked your story multiple times, their name being on top is not an indicator of it. This is because Instagram records only one view – the first one – of every individual account on a particular story.

Once a person has watched your story once, they’re assigned a place on the list accordingly. And no matter how many times they re-watch it, they’ll still remain on the same spot in your list.

For those of you who seek an alternate method of finding who watched your stories how many times, we’re afraid there is no workaround method to get that done as of now. If something new comes up in the future, we’d be happy to share the news with you!

Wrapping things up

As the time of wrapping things up has approached us, we’re here to quickly summarize the lessons learned above before you take our leave.

Our discussion in this blog revolved around Instagram stories and their views. We came across a peculiar scenario where someone saw your second story but not the first one. After pondering the topic thoroughly, we came down to two possible reasons why such a thing could’ve happened.

Towards the end, we also addressed a frequent question about whether or not the platform keeps tabs on story re-watches. If you have any other Instagram-related query you’d like us to resolve, look for its solution here.

Also Read:

• How to See Unsent Messages on Instagram (Updated 2023)
• How to See Who Reported You on Instagram (Updated 2023)
• Why Are Some Instagram Profiles Circled in Color While Others Aren’t?
• Can You Change How Long Picture Displayed on Instagram Story?