Privacy Policy

We built IG Story Viewer around the idea that your viewing should stay private — including from us. Here's exactly what we collect, why, and what we don't.

Last updated: January 31, 2026

Introduction

IG Story Viewer is a tool for watching public Instagram stories anonymously. We take your privacy seriously — not just as a legal obligation, but because it's the whole point of what we do.

We collect as little data as possible. We don't ask for your name, your Instagram credentials, or any personal account. We don't build profiles on our users, and we don't sell data to anyone.

This policy explains what technical information we do collect, why we need it, and how we handle it. If you have questions, our contact page is always open.

1. What we collect

We only collect what's genuinely needed to run the service:

1.1 No account required

You never need to create an account or give us personal information like your name, email, or Instagram credentials. IG Story Viewer works without any of that. We will never ask for your Instagram username or password — if any service does, don't trust it.

1.2 Technical usage data

When you visit the site, we automatically receive standard technical information — your IP address (which may be anonymized), browser type, device type, the page you came from, and which pages you visit. This is the same basic data any website receives. We use it to keep the service running, diagnose issues, and prevent abuse — not to track individuals.

1.3 Story request data

When you enter a username and load stories, we temporarily process that request — the username, media type, and related technical metadata. This data is used to fetch and deliver the stories to you and is discarded within 24 hours. We don't create a history of what you've viewed.

1.4 Analytics

We use privacy-focused analytics to understand how people use the site in aggregate — which features get used, where errors happen, and how performance can be improved. This data is anonymized and aggregated. It can't be traced back to you personally.

2. How we use it

Everything we collect serves one of these purposes:

2.1 Delivering the service

The main reason we process any data is to fulfill your request — fetching the public story data you asked for and displaying it in your browser. Without that minimal processing, the service simply can't work.

2.2 Improving the service

Aggregated, anonymized usage data helps us understand what's working and what's not. It informs decisions about what to fix, what to build, and how to make the tool faster and more reliable for everyone.

2.3 Preventing abuse

We monitor for bot traffic, automated scraping, and denial-of-service activity. Temporary logs may be retained briefly to investigate and block abusive behavior. This protects the service for legitimate users.

2.4 Legal requirements

In rare cases, we may be legally required to disclose information — for example, in response to a valid court order. We'll only do this when legally compelled and will notify you where the law permits.

3. Cookies

We use a small number of cookies to make the site work properly:

3.1 Essential cookies

These are required for the site to function — things like remembering your language preference and maintaining your session while you're on the page. They don't collect personal data and are deleted when you close your browser. You can't opt out of these while using the service.

3.2 Analytics cookies

These help us understand how visitors interact with the site in aggregate — page views, session duration, popular features. We use privacy-focused tools that don't track you across other websites or build personal profiles.

3.3 Advertising cookies

We display ads through Google AdSense to help cover server costs. Google may use cookies to serve and measure ads. Ads may be personalized or non-personalized depending on your region and browser settings. We never share your Instagram data or viewing history with advertisers.

3.4 Managing cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings — block them, delete existing ones, or get notified before they're set. Blocking essential cookies may break some features. Blocking analytics or ad cookies won't affect story viewing. You can manage Google ad preferences at https://adssettings.google.com.

4. Your rights and data security

We respect your rights and protect what little data we do hold:

4.1 Your rights

Depending on where you are, you may have rights under GDPR, CCPA, or similar laws — including the right to access, correct, or delete data we hold about you. Because we collect very little personally identifiable information, these requests may have limited scope. To exercise your rights, reach out through our contact page and we'll respond promptly.

4.2 Security

We use HTTPS to encrypt data in transit, keep our server infrastructure updated, and limit access to data to the people who genuinely need it. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable and industry-standard precautions.

4.3 How long we keep data

Story request logs are deleted within 24 hours. Abuse-prevention logs are kept for up to 30 days. Aggregated, anonymized analytics data may be retained longer to support ongoing improvements. If you want specific data removed, contact us and we'll handle it.

4.4 International transfers

IG Story Viewer operates globally. If your data is processed outside your country, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place — including standard contractual clauses or working with compliant service providers.

5. Third-party services

We work with a small number of third-party providers — for hosting, analytics, and advertising. Each has access only to what they need to do their job, and they're contractually prohibited from using your data for other purposes.

These providers include infrastructure and CDN services, privacy-focused analytics tools, and Google AdSense for advertising. We vet our partners and review their data practices regularly.

Our site may occasionally link to external pages. We're not responsible for those sites' privacy practices. Review their policies separately if you choose to visit them.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service evolves or when legal requirements change. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes may be announced on the site.

Continuing to use IG Story Viewer after a policy update means you accept the revised terms. If you disagree with a change, you should stop using the service. For material changes that affect your rights, we may ask for your explicit consent.

Questions about privacy?

If you have questions about this policy, want to exercise your data rights, or have a privacy concern, we're happy to hear from you.