Instagram is now one of the most used and thus popular social networks where people publicly share the content they create. But today, it’s not just a platform for inspiration; it’s also a powerful source of targeted audience and a significant boost for your brand awareness.
Even though the social network is open or, so to say, public, the phenomenon of stalking is gaining more and more momentum. Of course, there are negatives as a result, but today we’re going to focus more on ethical stalking and how spying on Instagram users in moderation can be good for your IG account development.
That’s why let’s look at ways of stalking both with Insta-stalker tools like Bigbangram, Private Photo Viewer, Gramvio, Dumpor, etc. and traditional IG stalking methods, and, of course, we’ll look at the positive sides of stalking.
Insta does not stand still, and constant updates (like soon a desktop posting update) show that being on the platform is becoming more engaging and user-friendly. As for anonymous viewing, it can be done from both a computer and a mobile.
Hopefully, you’ll end up being good stalkers who won’t violate user confidences and only benefit from anonymous content viewing to grow your business, for example, but nothing more than that. Anyway, let’s go over everything in order.
Can stalking even be associated with a good thing?
IG Stalking is a concept that is related to anonymous viewing of another user’s content, i.e., the user is unaware that someone is watching his or her profile, Stories, etc. However, there are some negative aspects to this concept as well.
But today, there is also ethical stalking which can instead be described as harmless spying that does not damage a user’s data or a user himself via anonymous browsing of his profile, Stories, etc. It is this kind of stalking that will be discussed below.
5 Good Sides of Stalking on Insta
#1. Stay in touch with your favorite bloggers without having your own IG account
Follow updates on a user’s profile you are interested in, watch videos posted, and of course, Stories without having to sign up to Insta.
So even if you decide to delete your account for some reason and make up your mind not to relaunch it, you can still keep up to date with content using an online Insta-stalker.
#2. Find out more about your competitor
Anonymity will do some good when it comes to stalking a competitor. I think you don’t always want to “be caught” by your competitor. So stalking helps you “safely” explore your competitor’s content, which can provide you with ideas for developing your Insta business strategy, or maybe an excellent Story design will inspire you to work out your own Story designing concept.
In addition, according to the Forbes article, Stories are one of the first things on today’s must-haves list for business enhancement both on Insta and FB. So, spying on decent competitor’s Stories can be really helpful!
#3. Follow a user even after you’ve been blocked
It doesn’t matter what the reason is for a user blocking you. But if it is your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, you still have a chance to satisfy your normal human curiosity.
#4. Explore more info about your partner/influencer
Observe for a while what kind of content your partner with whom you will collaborate is posting. After all, you’re more likely to find out about people today on Insta via their Stories and posts they publish.
You may decide that he or she is not the right person to collaborate with or that this partner is precisely a person you need for your marketing campaign and marketing data improvement.
#5. Grab Influencers’ content ideas
Maybe spying will be helpful in that you will be inspired by Story design ideas, video or photo editing by influencers? Of course, you shouldn’t wholly copy their account, but taking some ideas and redesigning them to suit your content development strategy will be worthwhile in times of need.
Methods of Insta Stalking
#1. Online tools
Web IG viewers are one of today’s methods of safe spying on Insta. Plus, they usually have a user-friendly interface, and there is no challenge in the process of stalking with such web savers. The only thing you should do is to type a username into an empty field of a web viewer, and that’s it.
Here is a detailed guide on how to spy with online tools:
- Open your browser and type in Insta-stalker online to pick out a tool (Private Photo Viewer, Bigbangram, Gramvio, Dumpor, Mystalk, ImageRocket, etc.).
- Decide on a web tool for stalking and then insert a username of a person you want to spy on.
- Press a stalk (or search) button and wait for seconds to load a user’s content on Insta.
NB: among such tools, some are designed only for anonymous Story viewing but not for spying on posts, Reels, IGTV, etc.
#2. Apps for anonymous Story browsing
Users often look for ways to browse Stories discreetly. If you view a user’s Story, you are automatically added to the “Viewers” list. It means that the author of the Story will see your account in the list. So many users are looking for ways to browse Stories anonymously. In addition to separate online tools for viewing Stories, there are also separate applications.
Unlike previous instruments, mobile apps require installation on your phone. For example, Story Reposter (iPhone) and Story Saver (Android) are exs of such apps.
The principle of Story viewing here is much the same as in web services (but you can’t avoid installation):
- Install an app from Play/App Store to your mobile.
- Launch the app and log in to your IG data to access your profile.
- Using a search bar, find a necessary user via his or her nickname, and enjoy browsing Stories without being noticed.
NB: usually, third-party apps have more features than online services. Thus, you may not only view other people’s Stories unnoticed but also repost content and save it to an app folder or your gallery (depending on an app you’ll choose).
#3. Mobile airplane mode usage
It is one of those tricky options that will appeal to those who aren’t keen on using extra Insta-stalker software and those who aren’t frequent spy enthusiasts. It is because the given method is not very convenient for regular use. But if you occasionally spy on Stories of a particular user, you might find this way to be the most suitable.
An airplane feature works in the following way: when you switch it on, you interrupt your Internet connection and go offline. So when you view a user’s Story in the offline mode, you do not get into a list of those who have browsed the Story, which means that viewing the content entirely anonymous.
How it works in practice (both Android and iPhone are suitable):
- Open your IG and update your Stories feed.
- Then go to a mobile Settings (as an iPhone user, I swipe the screen from bottom to the top and then pick out a plane icon on a pop-up Settings) and switch on an airplane mode button.
- Go back to the Story feed and click on a Story that you want to view unnoticed.
#4. Fake account
I should warn you right away that I wouldn’t recommend using this method in the first place because it’s considered the most dangerous, and it can lead to account blocking. Besides, it takes even longer to create an account than to install the app.
But with all that said, this method of spying has a place to be (and used to be the most common stalking method) if:
- You’re willing to take the time to create and design content for your fake account;
- If you’re serious about creating an account;
- If you’re ready to end up with account blocking (maybe) by the Instagram administration.
Since fake accounts used to be commonplace on Insta, the platform is now taking the issue seriously and blocking accounts irretrievably at the first suspicion of a fakeness. It is one of the way how Instgram tries to keep Instagrammer safe today and ensure security on the platform.
Wrapping it up
- There is also good stalking today, which will be helpful for you and will not harm a user. Ethical stalking is now the safest one.
- There are some methods of stalking, the most popular of which is the use of third-party online tools, as it is fast and reliable today.
- Spying on Stories is the most popular type of stalking and can be done with third-party apps and the phone’s built-in feature.
- Creating a fake account and carrying out surveillance in this way is not the most recommended way, but if done correctly, it can be pretty effective.
Important: whichever way you choose to spy on an Instagrammer’s content, it’s essential to know the limits and not to make spying your daily routine. It is important to respect the rights of users. Thus, try to be an ethical stalker to avoid problems in the future.
I hope you’ve found the article rather useful and comprehensive and have already had a chance to test the Bigbangram Insta Stalker. Please, feel free to leave a comment about how you find the tool (is it helpful for you?). We’d be glad to see any feedback as it helps to make the Insta Stalker even better.
About the Author!
Nastya Ker is a senior content creator with a deep background and experience on various topics. Working on the Bigbangram project, she adores sharing her knowledge with readers and making it more creatively and simply.
Hi, very useful article thank you! It is really very important not to violate other people’s personal boundaries, but sometimes you have to be interested in the social activity of your children to make sure they are safe. For example, I used the Snoopreport service to monitor their likes, follows and comments. This is convenient if you want to learn more about someone’s interests and hobbies
This was a damn good piece of content
Instagram stalking is a great strategy for brand marketers because learning from competitors marketing strategies is a proven approach to improving your brand’s social media presence, regardless of your niche or target demographic.