But just how accurate is the “Active Now” indicator? In this post, I did some testing to find out.

Over the past week, I monitored the “Active Now” status of several friends at different times of day. I then reached out to them to verify if they really were on Instagram when it said they were “Active Now.”

The results revealed some interesting insights into how this feature actually works. Read on to find out what I discovered about the accuracy of Instagram’s “Active Now” indicator and how it compares to real activity in the app.

What Does Active Now Mean On Instagram?

The “Active Now” feature shows users who are currently online and active in the Instagram app.

ou’ll see a green dot next to the profile names of your followers who are actively using Instagram at that moment. This could mean they are scrolling through their feed, watching Stories, commenting on posts, direct messaging, or using Instagram in any other way.

Essentially, if someone has the app open and they’ve interacted with it in the last few minutes, they will show as “Active Now” to their followers.

It’s a way to get a sense of who is live on Instagram and available for engagement in real-time.

But as we’ll explore in this post, it isn’t an exact science. The “Active Now” indicator gives you a good idea of current activity, but it isn’t flawless.

See what does Active Today means.

Is Active Now On Instagram Accurate?

During my testing over the past week, I found that Instagram’s “Active Now” status is reasonably accurate, but not 100% precise. There were definitely times when friends showed as “Active Now” and they really were actively using Instagram at that moment.

However, there were also a number of occasions when someone displayed as “Active Now” but they actually hadn’t opened Instagram in over an hour. It seemed to lag behind their real activity at times.

I also saw cases where friends told me they were browsing Instagram but their status didn’t say “Active Now.”

Overall, I’d say the “Active Now” indicator is generally reliable, but with some inconsistencies. It provides a good guideline for who is current active, but you can’t always take it as complete gospel.

The status seems to update on a delay at times, or occasionally gets stuck showing users as active when they’re not.

But in most cases, if someone is marked “Active Now” they likely have been using Instagram very recently. It’s just not perfectly precise to the minute.

It is safe to assume there is a 10-minute delay, after which only the Active Now status goes away in most cases.

How Long Does the Active Now Status Last on Instagram?

During my testing, I found that the “Active Now” status remains for a fairly short period after you’ve been actively using Instagram. From my observations, the green dot typically disappears around 10-15 minutes after you’ve stopped interacting with the app.

For example, if I was browsing Instagram for 20 minutes straight, my status would show “Active Now” that whole time. But if I then didn’t touch the app for 15 minutes, I would no longer display as active even though I still had Instagram open.

It seems the “Active Now” indicator is based more on your recent activity rather than whether the app is open.

You need to continually be liking, commenting, messaging, etc for the status to remain green. If you’ve been inactive for 10-15 minutes, Instagram seems to assume you’re no longer actively using it and will remove the online indicator.

Can I Disable Active Now on Instagram?

If you don’t want your activity status displayed to others, you can disable the “Active Now” feature in your Instagram settings. Here’s how to turn it off:

Go to your profile and tap the three line menu in the top right.

Go to “Settings & Privacy“.

Select “Messages and story replies“.

Select” Show Activity Status“.

Under Activity Status, switch the toggle off for “Show Activity Status”.

Once you toggle this off, you will no longer show as “Active Now” to other people when you’re on Instagram. Other users will not see when you are actively using the app.

Here’s a detailed on disabling last seen on Instagram.

This gives you more privacy and prevents followers from knowing when exactly you are online.

FAQ

How does Instagram determine “Active Now” status?

Instagram uses signals like in-app activity, user interactions, and recency of app usage to determine who is “Active Now.” It’s not just whether the app is open, but if you’ve liked posts, watched Stories, etc. recently.

Is “Active Now” status always accurate?

It’s fairly accurate, but not perfect. Sometimes it lags behind and shows some users as active when they aren’t. Other times it fails to show some active users with the status. But in most cases, it gives a good indication of who is currently on.

Can someone see if I’m Active Now on Instagram?

Yes, your followers can see when you are shown as “Active Now” and know you are online. The only way to hide this is to disable it in your settings.

How do I turn off “Active Now” status?

Go to Settings > Privacy > Activity Status and toggle off “Show Activity Status”. This will stop you from being shown as active.

What happens if I turn off Active Now?

You won’t show as active to others. But you also won’t be able to see anyone else’s “Active Now” status – it works both ways.

Can I hide my Active Now status from specific people?

No, it’s either on for all your followers or off for all. You can’t select who sees your activity.

Wrap Up

In closing, the “Active Now” feature on Instagram provides a useful, if imperfect, way to get a sense of who is currently active on the platform.

Through my testing, I found that it’s reasonably accurate in showing real-time activity, but the status can sometimes lag behind actual usage. The indicator lasts for around 10-15 minutes after you’ve stopped interacting with the app.

The post How Accurate is Instagram ‘Active Now’? [I TESTED!] appeared first on IPEEWorld.

How can I see who I sent follow requests on Instagram? This is one of the most asked questions!

Viewing sent follow requests on Instagram was very simple back in the day. But with the new update, Instagram has removed the option to see sent follow request directly on the app.

But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

I’ll share a nifty little trick by which you can see sent follow requests on Instagram in less than two minutes. The method works flawlessly on both Android and iOS or PC.

How To View Sent Follow Requests On Instagram?

The only way to view sent follow requests on Instagram is by downloading the complete account information zip file. After downloading the zip file, extract the folder, navigate to “followers_and_following” folder, and open the “pending_follow_request” HTML file, and you should see all sent follow requests.

If you want to view sent follow requests on the Instagram app, follow the steps below, or if you are on a PC, follow the next section.

See Sent Follow Request On Instagram On Android & iOS?

Most of you might be using Instagram on a smartphone. Let’s see how to view sent follow requests on the Instagram app for Android and iOS.

Ensure you have downloaded the latest version of the Instagram app.

Open the app.

Tap your profile picture on the bottom right corner of the screen and visit your Instagram profile page.

Once on the profile page, tap the hamburger menu icon on the top right corner of the screen.

On the pop-up that appears, tap Your Activity.

Scroll all the way down and tap the option that says “Download your information” underneath the “Information you shared with the Instagram” tab.

Tap “Request a download” button.

Now Instagram will ask you the select the type of data that you want to download. Tap the “Complete copy” option.

Next, you need to configure a few options.

First, tap the Notify option and enter the email to which you want to receive the file when it is ready.

You can enter any email address to which you want to get the notification when the file is ready. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the email address associated with your Instagram account.

Tap the Format option and select HTML.

Select media quality as Medium. Since our primary focus is to find the list of people we have sent follow requests, this option really doesn’t matter.

Lastly, select the date range.

If you want to see data only for the last 3 months, select the “Last 3 months”. Or, if you want to see the complete list of all people you have sent follow request, tap “All time“.

Once all the necessary options are selected, tap the “Submit request“ button.

Depending on the number of uploads, chats, and other personal data on your Instagram account, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours to prepare the data.

Wait till then.

As soon as the file is ready for download, you will receive an email saying the same.

Once the data is ready, open the Instagram app > tap on the profile picture > tap on the hamburger icon > tap on Your Activity > Download your information.

You will now find an option to Download the file.

Tap the “Download“ button.

A page will open on your browser. Enter your Instagram password to authenticate and save the file.

Head to the downloads folder on your phone, and you will find a zip file. The file will be named “instagram_your_username”

Tap on the file to unzip, and view the content inside.

Open the extracted folder. Tap “followers_and_following“ folder.

Next, tap the “pending_follow_request” HTML file.

The HTML file should now open, and it will list all the profiles for which you have sent a follow request.

Note down the username of each individual profile and open the Instagram app. Search for the username and tap the Requested button to cancel the request if needed. Repeat the same steps for all profiles.

How To Sent Follow Requests on Instagram On PC

Even if you use Instagram on your PC, you can easily view sent follow request by following the steps below.

On a web browser, head to instagram.com and log into your account.

Once logged in, tap the hamburger menu towards the bottom of the sidebar on the left side of the screen.

On the pop-up that appears, click “Your Activity“.

Select the “Download your information” option underneath Your activity tab.

On the next page, enter the email address to where you want to get the notification when the file is ready to download.

Select the format as HTML and click Next.

Now, wait 30 minutes to a couple of hours for Instagram to process and get the files ready.

You should receive an email when the file is ready to download.

Head to the same “Your activity” page and select the Download your information option.

Now, you will find the option to download the file. Click the Download information button to save the zip file to your computer.

Wait for the Zip file to download.

Depending on the amount of content and your account’s size, the Zip file’s size varies.

Once downloaded, double click the .zip file to extract it.

Open the extracted folder and double click “followers_and_following” to open it up.

Locate the “pending_follow_requests” HTML file and double-click to open it.

The HTML file will now open in your web browser. It will show all the sent follow requests on Instagram.

Upon clicking the username, the Instagram profile of that particular person will open up. If you want to cancel the request, tap Requested button.

How do you cancel a sent request on Instagram?

We all follow many people on Instagram. Some of these profiles may be private, and the user should accept the follow request for us to be a follower.

Over time, the number of sent follow requests on Instagram increases, and you may want to cancel them.

Or

You may have accidentally sent a follow request to someone, and you don’t recall the username. Now, you are wondering how to find the profile and cancel the request.

In all these cases, the method above should help you find the complete list of sent follow requests and cancel them if needed.

See what happens if you accidentally like a post or follow someone on Instagram?

How to know if someone rejected your follow request on Instagram?

Do you want to know if someone on Instagram rejected your follow request?

Well, it is very simple.

Open the Instagram app.

On the search bar, enter the username of the person who you want to see if they rejected your request.

Tap on the profile.

After you land on the profile, if you see a Follow button, provided that you sent them a request previously, it means they rejected your request.

If you see a button that says “Requested” right before the plus person icon. It means the person has not accepted the request yet.

It is not possible to know if that person has seen your request or not.

When you send a follow request, the other person will get a notification. They will have two options – either approve the request or ignore it.

Every Instagram private profile will have a dedicated section to see all the follow requests.

On the other person’s Instagram account, towards the top of the notification screen, there will be an option called “Follow request“. Upon tapping the follow request option, the person can see the list of people who have requested to follow.

Underneath each profile, there will be two buttons –

• Confirm
• Delete

If you see the Requested button on the other person’s profile, it means your profile is still in the Follow Requests section, and the other person has not deleted it.

Also, see if it is possible to see Instagram stalkers.

Wrap Up

A few months back, the option to see all the pending follower requests or sent follow requests was readily available in the Instagram app. You can directly view all those follow requests by visiting the profile section.

But with the new update, Instagram has completely removed the option.

As of now, the only way to view send follow requests on Instagram is by downloading your complete account information, extracting the file, and opening the pending follower request HTML file.

The trick mentioned above applies to both the Instagram app and the web version.

In the future, if you want to see the complete list of people who have not accepted your follower request, follow the steps above and find them. You can then cancel the request if needed.

The post How To See Sent Follow Requests On Instagram (The ONLY Way) – 2024 appeared first on IPEEWorld.

Many are confused about the icon with a person and a plus sign on Instagram profiles. Are you curious to know what it does and whether you should be using it?

In this article, I will explain what the plus person icon means on Instagram and what it does.

A plus person icon on Instagram means suggested accounts on the platform. Tapping the plus person icon will show you a bunch of profiles similar to the one you are in right now. In short, it’s Instagram’s profile suggestion.

What Does Plus Person Icon Mean On Instagram

The icon with a plus sign and person next to the message button on Instagram means suggested accounts to follow.

This suggested accounts to follow section differs significantly from Instagram’s traditional profile suggestion. This plus person icon only appears on specific Instagram profiles.

As soon as you tap the icon, a new section will appear below it. It will now show you a bunch of profiles similar to the one you are currently in.

For example, if you are on a celebrity’s Instagram page, clicking the plus person icon will show you similar accounts.

Similarly, if you visit a company’s Instagram account, for example, Apple, upon clicking the suggestions icon, it may show other Insta pages like Samsung or LG.

The Instagram algorithm will analyze and come up with a list of profiles that are very similar to the profile that you are in. You may click the follow button next to each profile to follow them instantly.

The plus-person icon appears even if you are using Instagram in full screen on an iPad via PWA as well.

Who Are Shown Under Plus Icon On Instagram?

Some might be curious about which profiles are shown when you tap the plus person icon on Instagram.

Instagram mainly only suggests accounts that are very similar to the account that you are at right now.

For example, if you are in a celebrity’s Instagram profile, you will most likely see other celebrities.

Similarly, if you are on a sports person’s Instagram profile, tapping on it will show other sports persons.

Is My Instagram Profile Shown In This Section?

Instagram randomly selects an account similar to a profile and shows it under the plus person icon or the suggested accounts tab.

If you have enabled the account suggestions feature on Instagram, your profile will also be shown when someone visits a profile like yours and tap the plus person icon. So yes, Instagram shows your profile in the plus person icon section.

Can I Turn Off Account Suggestions on Instagram?

Many people find the account suggestion tab on Instagram very annoying. If you’re one of them and want to remove the plus person icon and the entire account suggestion tab from Instagram, follow the steps below.

Open the Instagram app.

Tap your profile picture from the bottom right corner of the screen.

Tap Settings.

Tap Notifications.

Select Following and followers.

Now turn off the option that says Account Suggestions.

Now that you have turned off account suggestions on Instagram, you will no longer see any suggested accounts on the platform.

Turn off account suggestions for your Instagram profile

Every time someone follows you on Instagram, they will be shown a few others similar to yours. Instagram allows you to turn off account suggestions if you don’t want that to happen.

Follow the steps below to turn off account suggestions for your Instagram account.

Open the Instagram app and tap the profile picture on the bottom right to visit your profile.

Tap the Edit Profile button.

Untick the Similar account suggestions option and hit Submit.

Why Did The Icon Appear All Of A Sudden?

The plus person icon on Instagram is the latest addition to its platform. It’s been a few months since Instagram started displaying this suggested accounts icon on Instagram profiles.

If you suddenly started seeing this plus person icon on Instagram, it may be because you updated the app or the changes were rolled out on your account recently.

This icon started to appear for many beta users of the Instagram app a long time back. Instagram is now gradually rolling out to the stable version. Most users should now see this suggested account icon on every profile they visit on the platform.

How Is The Plus Person Icon Useful On Instagram?

While it may seem like just a bunch of suggested accounts, the plus person icon or the recommended section under a profile on Instagram has a lot of benefits.

If yours is a personal Instagram account, it might not be as helpful for businesses and creators.

Creators and businesses on Instagram truly benefit from this feature.

Suppose you are a creator or business on Instagram. In that case, this section on the Instagram app makes it extremely easy and convenient for you to find accounts similar to yours or competitors.

After visiting your business profile from a different Instagram account, tap the plus person icon. It will show you a bunch of accounts that are similar to yours. You may take note of all these accounts shown under this suggested section.

Once you have a list of similar accounts, you may go through them one by one and look at their content strategy, posting frequency, content styling, etc., and try to figure out why they are winning.

You may copy their tactics and strategies on your Instagram profile to boost your reach.

What’s Next?

The icon with a person and a plus sign on Instagram means suggested profiles. Upon tapping the icon, Instagram will show you a bunch of related or similar accounts like the one you are in.

You may tap the follow button to follow any of the shown accounts instantly.

The Instagram algorithm automatically categorizes a few similar accounts. And these accounts are shown under the plus person icon. Users do not have any control over the accounts that Instagram shows under this panel.

You may also take a look at way Share Full 30-second Reels as Instagram Story and what to do when your Instagram Stories are blurry.

The next time you visit an Instagram profile and want to see a bunch of similar profiles, tap the plus person icon on Instagram, and it will now list a few accounts that are very similar to the one you are in right now.

The post Instagram Plus Person Icon Meaning (2024) appeared first on IPEEWorld.

In this article, I will explain everything you need to know about what happens after accidentally liking someone’s Instagram post. We will discuss the following:

• Will they know if you unlike it immediately
• Will they get notified
• Will the notification disappear after unliking the post

It’s a nightmare to many when they accidentally like the Instagram post of a person they shouldn’t. Recently, I accidentally liked a photo of a person on Instagram and wondered whether the other person had received a notification.

You may have accidentally double-tapped on the post or tapped on the heart icon. There are multiple scenarios for what happens. So let’s go through them.

What Happens When You Accidentally Like And Then Unlike An Instagram Post

Instagram sends a notification saying “[username] liked your photo” as soon as you double-tap a post or tap the heart button beneath the post. If the other person has enabled notification for post likes on Instagram, they will receive a push notification. After you unlike the post, the notification is removed from the Instagram app, but the push notification stays.

There are multiple scenarios of what will happen if you accidentally like and immediately dislike a post on Instagram. We will go through every single scenario and explain what happens in each case.

Will They Know I Liked Their Instagram Post?

Instagram provides users the option to turn off or turn on notifications for individual actions like when a person likes your post, when a person follows you, when someone comments on your post, when someone messages you, and more.

If you open the Instagram app and go to Privacy settings, you will find an option to enable or disable notifications for “Likes.”

If the other person has disabled notifications for likes, they will not receive any push notifications. But a notification saying you liked their post will be visible under the Notifications section inside the Instagram app.

If they are currently using the Instagram app, even if the like notification option is turned off, the user will get to know you liked their post as a heart icon appears.

But if the like notification option is disabled, the person will not receive any push notification. And as soon as you unlike the post, the like notification will disappear from the notifications section on the Instagram app.

See how to disable last seen and how accurate is active now status on Instagram.

What If Like Notification is Disabled?

If the like notification is disabled on Instagram, they won’t receive any push notification when you like their post. But a notification saying [username] liked your post will be visible in the notifications section on the Instagram app. As soon as you unlike the post, the notification should go away.

Below are the steps to turn off or turn on like notifications on Instagram.

• Open the Instagram app.
• Tap your profile icon from the bottom right corner.
• Tap the three lines (hamburger) icon from the top right corner.
• Tap Settings.
• Tap Notifications.
• Tap Post, stories, and comments.
• Under the Like section, you have three options – Off, From people I follow, and From everyone. You may select the off option to no longer receive any notification when someone likes your post or set it to other options per your preference.

Will They Still See The Notification If I Immediately Unlike The Post

The most asked question in this context is whether the other person knows if I immediately unlike the post on Instagram.

There are many cases where liking a post on Instagram may embarrass you. Maybe you are stalking your ex or crush or going through years-old posts of a person.

There are two cases here.

Firstly, if the person has disabled the Like notification option, the push notification won’t be sent when you like their post. But a notification saying you liked the post will appear inside the Instagram app.

If this is the case, the person will only know you liked their post if they were actually on the Instagram app when you liked it. Otherwise, you are good to go. The other person won’t know you liked the post after immediately unliking it.

Secondly, if the person has enabled Like notifications on the Instagram app, the person will receive a push notification saying you liked their post. But after unliking the post, even if the person taps on the push notification, it will disappear from the Instagram app.

If the person has seen the push notification, they will know that you liked the post and then unliked it immediately.

But there may be other cases, too.

For example, the person might not have seen the notification and cleared all the push notifications, or they have received many notifications from different apps, and Instagram notification is buried deep under.

What Happens When I Unlike An Instagram Post?

When you unlike an Instagram post, your name is instantly removed from the list of people who liked the post. If someone goes through the list of people who liked the post, they won’t find your name.

As you will be removed from the list of people who liked the post, the total like count will reduce by one.

Instagram does not send any notification saying you unliked the post.

Similarly, anyone can view their liked posts on Instagram and see if there are any posts that you shouldn’t like and unlike them immediately.

Does Instagram Notify When You Unlike A Post?

Instagram does not notify when you unlike a post, reel, video, or comment. Instagram only sends a notification when one likes a post.

Instagram allows users to see the list of people who liked their posts. So, if the other person goes through the list, they will know you unliked that post.

If they don’t check the list of liked people, they will not know you unliked the post. And be rest assured that Instagram does not notify them when you unlike a post.

Can I Know If Someone Saw The Notification?

Instagram does not provide an option for you to know whether a person saw the notification. If the person has turned on push notifications for post likes, the probability is higher that the other person will see the notification. On the other hand, if the like notification is turned off, they won’t see it.

The only way to know about it is if they talk to you. Otherwise, you can’t.

If someone is using Instagram on iPad with PWA in full-screen mode, it is highly unlikely.

Will They Know If I Unlike A Story On Instagram

Instagram notification settings are the same for both story and post. If the person has turned off like notification, they will not know if you unlike a story on Instagram. But on the other hand, if they have enabled the like notification, a push notification will be sent whenever a person likes your story.

Immediately after unliking the story, the notification is removed from their Instagram app. But the push notification will stay on the notification panel of the smartphone.

How To Avoid Accidental Likes on Instagram?

It’s very easy you may accidentally like a post on Instagram.

When you double tap a post or tap the heart button beneath the Instagram post, Instagram counts them as a like. So you must be extremely cautious when swiping through Instagram. Only use one finger to swipe and gently scroll down to view posts.

You may also turn off the WiFi or put your phone in airplane mode and then view Instagram. This way, even if you accidentally like a photo on Instagram, it won’t be reflected as your phone does not have internet connectivity.

The post Accidentally Liked Instagram Post: Will They Know Immediately After Unliking? appeared first on IPEEWorld.

Your Reels are not getting views on Instagram because it is not properly optimized for the algorithm. You must include trending music, niche-specific hashtags, and user engagement elements and be consistent to get more views on Reels.

Your Reels will only get views if the Instagram algorithm promotes it to the users. If it doesn’t, you won’t get any views. So it is essential to optimize your Reels for the Instagram algorithm so that it recommends your reels to more people.

Not optimizing Reels in the right way is the number one reason why many people fail to get any view.

Let’s look at what to do when your Reels are not getting views on Instagram.

Why Are My Reels Not Getting Views?

First, let’s start by looking at why your reels are not getting views on the platform. Below are some common reasons why this happens.

• Poor User Engagement: The Instagram algorithm suggests videos with the most engagement. If a reels get more comments, shares, likes, or followers, then the algorithm suggests it more. So you must add user engagement elements to your reels.
• Not Using Trending Music: You should use trending music on your reels to get more views and likes. Trending music will have a huge following base, increasing the likelihood of your reels getting more views.
• Not Using The Hashtags: Do you know that using correct hashtags will boost your reels views dramatically? Instagram lets people follow hashtags, so you should include the most popular hashtags in your niche to increase views.
• Not Optimizing Reels: You should adequately optimize the reels for both users and the Instagram algorithm. You can find more on this later in this article.
• Instagram Might Have Gone Down: If Instagram is down, no one will be able to view any reel on the platform. It can be a reason why your reels aren’t getting any views.

How To Get More Reels Views

Now that you are aware of common reasons why your reels are not getting enough views, let’s look at things to improve your reels to boost views and likes.

Make sure to go through the entire checklist and ensure your Reels meet all of them.

Create And Post Trending Reels

Posting reels on trending topics is the number one thing you need to do to increase the views and likes on your reels.

When a particular topic is popular on Instagram reels, the algorithm suggests such content more. There will be a massive surge in the number of people making such reels and users consuming them too.

So you should leverage it.

The key here is to create trending reels that are currently popular. When a particular trend is popular, users will search for more reels on the same topic, and your likelihood of increasing reels views increases.

But now you might be wondering how to find trending reels topics, right? Let’s see how.

How To Find Trending Reels?

Follow the steps below to find trending topics for your next reel.

• Open Instagram and switch to the reels section.
• Scroll through the page until you find songs with an arrow mark symbol right next to them. (Refer to the screenshot).

If there’s an arrow next to the audio of an Instagram reel, it means the topic is currently trending, and more users are watching such reels.

Now it’s just a matter of time and your creativity to come up with Reels with the same topic and music to gain massive views.

You may also find recently watched reels on Facebook to find new ideas.

Use Currently Trending Reels Music

Using trending music is key to reaching more people on Instagram. Whenever a piece of new music is popular on Instagram reels, more people create content around it, and in turn, more people watch such reels.

So you should always be up to date and create reels with trending music. Acting fast will give you more views and momentum than usual.

One more thing to keep in mind is that when a new song is viral, a vast number of people try to make reels around it. So you should create your reels and publish them as fast as possible.

Now how do you find trending music and reels?

How To Find Trending Reels Music?

Open the Instagram Explore page.

Tap random reels and scroll down. Tap the song cover when you find a reel with an arrow mark next to the song name.

It will show you the entire list of reels using the same music.

Go through a few reels and see user engagement metrics like likes and comments. If a good number of reels have outstanding likes and comments, then it is trending music currently.

Add Proper Hashtags

You might be using hashtags on your reels, but if it’s not the right ones, it will negatively impact the views of your reels.

You need to take care of certain things while using hashtags on Instagram.

Back in the day, many people used hashtags to spam Instagram and increase views. Once Instagram figured it out, the algorithm started penalizing accounts that used many unrelated hashtags.

Don’t add just about any hashtags to your reels. It will do more harm than good.

Below are some key things you should keep an eye on while selecting hashtags to add to your reels:

• It should be related to your niche
• Hashtags should be trending and have a good number of followers
• Do not use more than 3- 5 hashtags on your reels

Yes, you heard it right. Instagram officially recommends using between 3 to 5 hashtags for broadening visibility. (As shared on Instagram’s creator handle)

Where To Find Hashtags

1. Open Instagram
2. Search for #yourtopic [replace yourtopic with your niche. For example, if you are into traveling, search #travel]
3. Switch to the Tags section
4. You’ll find a list of trending hashtags related to your niche with number of posts.
5. Tap on any hashtag to view content posted by other people and check likes and comments.

Repeat the process above and find five hashtags to use in your new reel.

Add the same to your reels when you publish them to increase your reels views on Instagram.

Collaborate With Your Friends

Recently, Instagram introduced a new feature where you can collaborate with your friends when posting new content on the platform. The same applies to Reels, too.

Collaborating is something similar to tagging, but it is different.

When you invite a person to collaborate, if they accept it, the reels will reach all the followers of the other person. The reels will also be visible on both of your main Instagram profiles as well.

When selecting people to collaborate with, ensure they have a considerable follower base so that the reels reaches many more people, increasing its views and likes.

How To Collaborate on Instagram?

• Open Instagram
• Tap the plus button to upload new content
• Switch to Reels
• Select the video
• Tap Next
• Tap Tag people on the publishing page
• Tap Invite Collaborator
• Search and find the person
• Tap to Add as a collaborator
• Now publish the reels

A notification will be sent to the other person; if they accept it, the reels will appear on both of your Instagram profiles.

Increase Reels Watch Time

Instagram is a social media platform that wants to keep users on it as long as possible.

If a particular reels makes people watch it more and stay on the platform for longer then the Instagram algorithm will recommend it more than other reels with less watch time.

So the key is to make people watch the entire reels.

If many people skip your reels before completely watching them, it’s a red flag in the view of the Instagram algorithm. The algorithm finds users do find anything interesting in this reel and will demote it.

Below are some tips to improve the watch time and let people watch your reels from the start to the end.

Add More Cuts

In a study, it is found that people tend to watch videos with more cuts than videos with fewer cuts.

Fast-paced videos with more cuts and dramatic elements increase curiosity, making them watch the entire video and increasing the watch time.

Use Unique Transitions

Adding unique transitions between different clips is another way to make people stay longer and watch your reels fully.

Add Texts

Adding text elements like hardcoded subtitles or other info will make people stay longer. The next time, try adding some text to your reels and see how it performs.

Focus More On A Specific Niche

Building a highly targeted audience is absolutely necessary. So you should focus more on a specific niche rather than posting random reels of just about anything.

There should be a reason why a person views your reels and follow you on Instagram.

Say, for example, someone saw one of your travel reels and follows your Instagram account. The next day you post some random cooking or funny videos; it’s going to be annoying for the person who followed you.

So, if your account is about travel content, niche down and publish only travel-related content. If you have some other niches in mind, start a new Instagram account and post related reels accordingly.

So the takeaway is to target a specific niche and post related content to grow an audience with similar interests. This will be very useful if you plan to do paid collaborations in the future.

Invite People To Comment And Engage

Comments and user engagements are two metrics that the Instagram algorithm favors the most. The algorithm wants to recommend the best of the best video to its users.

If a specific reel has high engagement, like comments or shares, then the algorithm recommends that particular reel to more people, eventually increasing the number of views.

So if your video gets more comments, user engagement, or high watch time, it’s more likely that the algorithm will recommend it to more Instagram users generating tons of views.

Well, how do you increase engagement and the number of comments?

You need to add elements to your video to make them comment or share it with their friends. You may post a couple of videos like this, which should positively impact your Instagram account.

Once a person engages with one of your reels, the same person will see more of your content in the future.

Post At The Right Time

Posting at the right time matters a lot.

It’s evident that if you post your reels when most of your followers are online, you will get many more views than usual.

If yours is a creator or business Instagram account, you will get some insanely valuable insight like when is your followers active during the day, which days they are most active in a week, and so on.

You may use this data to post your reels at the right time to increase the likes, views, and comments in the initial few hours.

Let’s see how to view when most of your followers are active on Instagram:

• Open Instagram and head to your profile
• Tap Professional Dashboard
• Tap See all next to Account Insights
• Tap Total followers under Overview
• Now scroll down to find Most Active Times
• Use the back and forward buttons to see the most active time for each day. The bigger the blue bar, the more the number of followers are online.

Once you have the data, post your reels accordingly, and your reels will surely get more views.

Post Consistently

Not just with Instagram, consistency is the key to growing your social media account.

If you consistently post reels on your Instagram account, you will surely get a lot more followers and views.

The algorithm likes people who create more content and make them stay on the platform longer.

So you should come up with a proper schedule for uploading and posting reels.

The frequency can be anything as per your constraints. It can be once a week, twice a week, or even once every day. But you must ensure you post consistently for at least a couple of weeks to see positive growth and more reel views.

Tip: You may create a couple of reels beforehand and draft them so that you will never miss your planned schedule.

Share Reels As Stories

If your account already has a good number of followers, then you must leverage the power of Instagram Stories to get views on reels.

You must be wondering how I can get views on my reels via stories, right?

Well, the Instagram algorithm works differently for stories and reels. When it comes to stories, they will be recommended to your followers only. On the other hand, reels will be recommended to just about anyone on Instagram.

Some of your followers might not even see your reels in the first place.

Let’s see how to get more reels views via Instagram stories.

After posting the reel, tap the Share button and tap ‘Add reel to your story‘.

This way, all your story viewers will be able to see your new reels.

You can either share your reels as a story right away after posting it or wait for some time and get some views and likes before adding them as a story.

Use Out Of The Ordinary Captions

Captions are one of many factors that decide whether a person should watch reels in the first place.

Many people look at the captions even before watching the reels. The caption will be visible even before the reels start to play.

You should add captions to your reels that build anticipation and curiosity. This way, your viewer will be eager to know what’s in your reels and increase watch time and other user engagement metrics like comments, likes, and shares.

Before hitting that publish button, brainstorm a little bit and add some cool captions to be a stiletto in a room full of flats.

You may even search for interesting captions and quotes online as well.

Leverage Other Social Media Platforms

If you have many followers on other social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, etc., you may leverage it to bring views to your reels.

Now you might be wondering how I can get views on my reels if I have followers on other social media platforms. Let’s see how.

After posting the reels to your Instagram account, share it across all your other social media handles and let your followers know about it.

Not everyone will follow you on every social media platform. This way, people who are not following you on Instagram will get to see your reels, and they might follow you.

Do not forget to add your Instagram account on TikTok!

This is an excellent method to increase both reels view and Instagram followers.

Grow An Audience

Growing an audience is important!

The Instagram algorithm may find one of your reels and recommend it to many people. And that particular reel may get many views, shares, and comments. That’s it. None of your other reels will get the same number of views.

Nothing concerning the algorithm is in our hands. But there is something that we can do to get consistent views across all our reels.

If you have a good follower base, all your reels will get many views. If not, your reels will struggle to get any views.

You should grow your Instagram account to reach more people and generate more reels views.

The simple way to do so is by making every people who visit your Instagram profile follow you. Create some killer posts, reels, and videos that will make people want to follow you for future updates.

Add Texts

It is found that adding text to your videos will increase watch time and interaction. If applicable, add some nice text and animations to your reels to make them pop out. This way, you will be able to increase the watch time and make the Instagram algorithm recommend it to more people.

Not just by adding text but do whatever it takes to get more user engagement.

Other Reasons Why Your Are Not Getting Reels Views

Now let’s see some of the technical reasons why you’re not getting reels views even when you have a good follower base.

Instagram Reels Is Down

Occasionally, the Instagram servers might go down, interrupting the service for users across the globe. This year alone, Instagram has gone down more than three times.

Well, how do you find out if Instagram is down?

• Visit downdetector.com
• Type Instagram in the search box and hit search
• It will now show you if Instagram services are down.

Scroll down a bit and look at the Instagram outages reported in the last 24 hours. This way, you’ll be able to see if Instagram faced any outages in the past few hours. If yes, this is a reason why your reels have few views.

If you post a reel and Instagram goes down, none of your followers will be able to see it. If this happens, there is nothing we can do about it.

We need to wait until the Instagram server is up again.

Wrapping Up

Not optimizing your reels properly is the number one reason why it does not get any views.

Adding correct hashtags, using trending music, creating reels about trending topics, adding collaborators, etc., are some of the few ways you can increase reels views on Instagram.

Closely go through the checklist, refer back in the future, and ensure you optimize your reels the right way to increase the likelihood of the Instagram algorithm recommending the reels to more people and generating more views.

I hope you found reasons why your reels are not getting views and how to fix it.

The post Reels Not Getting Views? Here’s Why (Fix To Boost Views) appeared first on IPEEWorld.

You click some fantastic pictures and videos on your smartphone using that high-quality camera and post them as a story on Instagram.

After uploading, the quality of the story drops, and certain parts of the story look blurry. I know how frustrating it can be.

Let’s go through some reasons why your high-resolution Instagram story looks blurry after uploading them.

Why Are My Instagram Stories Blurry?

Incorrect aspect ratios and oversized images or videos are the reason why your Instagram stories look blurry after posting them. For your Instagram story to look good, it should be in the 1080 x 1920 px resolution, and the file size must be below 1MB.

Incorrect Resolution

Instagram story resolution is 1080px by 1920px. If the image or video you try to upload is lower than the abovementioned resolution, then Instagram will stretch the content to fill the screen. As you know, stretching images or videos makes them blurry or pixelated.

On the other, if the picture or video you uploaded is way bigger than 1080×1920, then Instagram will automatically resize it. During the process, the image or video will lose its quality.

Poor Internet Connection

Did you know that Instagram will lower the quality of the story if the Internet speed is too low when uploading?

Yes, you heard it right. If your internet connection speed is poor, it will affect the quality of the story you post.

It will take longer than usual or show try again error when you upload Instagram stories with poor internet speed. Due to this, Instagram will automatically chop the quality of the image or video to upload it faster.

The key here is to upload the image or video when you have a fully stable, faster internet connection. This way, the image/video gets uploaded fast, and Instagram won’t lower the quality.

Instagram Compression

If Instagram were to store the image and video without compressing, it would take at least 100x resources to store it in their servers.

Furthermore, users who view the content on their devices will have to wait longer, and some people with a poor internet connection might not even be able to view them.

So, it’s essential for Instagram to compress the image or video so that it can be displayed to all users without any issue relating to internet speed or storage.

But if you do some little things like maintaining the proper resolution when uploading, it will help you to save some quality loss that Instagram would make. More on this is below.

How To Fix Blurry Instagram Stories

To fix blurry Instagram stories, you must ensure that the video or photo is in 1080 x 1920 px resolution and that you upload it while connected to a high-speed and stable Internet connection. Also, make sure to toggle off the Data Saver option in Instagram Settings.

Check The Aspect Ratio And Resolution

The official Instagram story resolution is 1080px x 1920px.

If the size of the story is smaller or more, then Instagram will automatically adjust it to make it 1080 x 1920. And the way Instagram does this is not in an optimized manner.

If you manage to size the image or video before uploading correctly, you can escape the Instagram resizing process. This will help you to improve the quality of your Instagram story significantly.

So here is what you need to do.

Before uploading the image or video, use a video editing app or photo editing app to make the resolution 1080 x 1920.

If you don’t want to use any application for this, your smartphone will probably have an editing tool to let you resize the image or video.

Below are some best settings to keep in mind while preparing content for an Instagram story:

• An aspect ratio of 4:5 or 8:10
• 1080px x 1920px resolution
• 720 PPI

Now export the image or video in the best settings and format for the web.

Once you have the final file, upload it to Instagram, and it won’t resize it this time as the file is already in 1080 by 1920 pixels resolution.

If you view Instagram stories on an iPad and the app is too small, you may use Insta PWA to make Instagram full screen on an iPad.

Turn Off ‘Data Saver’ Option In Instagram Settings

Instagram has a setting that will help you to save data usage by restricting high-quality uploads.

If this option is enabled, Instagram will highly compress the image or video before uploading so as to save data. But this option does more harm than good.

We all want our Instagram stories to look great. If yes, you should turn off the Data Saver option.

Disabling this option will stop the compression to a great extent which will help us to post high-quality Instagram stories.

Let’s see how to turn off Data Saver mode on Instagram:

• Open the Instagram app and go to your profile
• Tap on the three dots icon from the top right corner
• Go to Account > Cellular data use
• Toggle off the Data Saver option

This option let alone will help you upload high-quality Instagram stories.

Use Stable And Fast Internet When Uploading

A stable and faster internet connection is necessary if you want your Instagram story to look sharp and crisp.

If you try to upload an Instagram story with a poor Internet connection, a considerable compression process will take place, significantly lowering the quality.

You must always ensure you have a good quality internet connection that is faster and more stable.

It doesn’t matter if it is in mobile data or WiFi. The thing is that the Internet speed should be good.

You can visit websites like fast.com or speedtest.net to check your Internet connection quality and speed.

An internet speed of more than 15Mbps is good and will help you post high-quality Instagram stories.

If you are on the go and don’t have access to high-speed internet, it will be better to post the story when you have access to stable and faster internet.

Use Right Settings While Capturing The Content

These days, smartphones come with excellent cameras and hardware capable of taking high-quality images and videos.

But you must use them properly to capture high-quality content.

Every device will have some sweet settings that will help you to capture images and videos with the best quality and detail.

The setting will differ from device to device.

Before capturing images or videos, check:

• Image resolution
• Video quality
• Codec
• Format
• FPS

For best quality, set the resolution to at least 1080 x 1920.

You should always shoot the content in the maximum high setting possible. You can resize it later while preserving the quality at the same time. If you capture more details at the source, the same can also be maintained during the editing.

Properly Share The Image/Video Between Devices

You should take utmost care while transferring images and videos from one device to another.

This is one of the biggest mistakes made by people that result in terrible Instagram story quality.

Apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger compress the images and videos heavily before sending them. These apps do lossy compression that will ruin the detailing of the image or video.

Services like these will ruin the quality of content.

You should never use apps like WhatsApp to share content.

The best way to share images and videos on the Internet without losing quality would be to use Google Drive, iCloud, Google Photos, etc.

You may even use Nearby Share or Airdrop to transfer files locally without losing quality.

Reset Internet Settings On Your Device

Network quality can cause blurry Instagram stories. Your Internet speed will get affected if the network settings are not correctly configured, affecting the quality of the Instagram story you upload.

The simple solution here is to reset the network connectivity settings to eliminate any misconfiguration that might be affecting the overall internet quality on your device.

On Android:

• Go to Settings
• Find the Network settings. You can search for it on the search bar.
• You need to find an option that says ‘Reset network settings‘
• The name of the option will differ from device to device. But all Android smartphones will have some settings to reset the network configurations.

On iPhone:

• On your iPhone, go to Settings
• Open General > Reset
• Find Reset Network Settings and proceed with the process.
• Once done, wait for a couple of seconds for your iPhone to find the network signal, connect and stabilize.

Misconfigured internet settings will cause quality issues even while sharing Reels to your Instagram Story.

Update Instagram App

Outdated or older versions of the Instagram app are prone to bugs, and you might miss out on some new features. You are always advised to update your Instagram app to the latest version whenever available.

Most phones will have automatic app update enabled by default, but for some reason, if that doesn’t happen, you should manually check and see if an update is pending for Instagram on your smartphone.

The outdated Instagram app will cause issues like the app crashing continuously or a Try Again error.

On Android:

• Open Google Play Store
• Search for Instagram in the search box
• See if you can see an ‘Update‘ button next to the app name
• If an update is available, click on the Update button to install the same.
• Now open the Instagram app to see if the issue is solved.

On iPhone:

• Open the App Store app
• Tap your profile icon from the top right corner of the screen.
• Go through the list of apps available under the Available Updates section.
• Tap on the Update button next to the Instagram app and wait for it to complete

Switch The Internet Source

No matter what you do, if there is some issue with your Internet connection, then Instagram might fail to work as expected.

Latency issues, speed fluctuations, etc., are a few common types of errors that you may find in your Internet connection.

If this is the case, we can try connecting to a different Internet network to see if that fixes the issue.

You might have multiple internet sources available. For example, if you are using mobile data to access Instagram, try connecting to WiFi and see if it makes any difference.

Similarly, try switching to mobile data if you are using Instagram on your device while connected to a WiFi network.

This way, we can eliminate standard network connectivity-related issues and get Instagram working as expected.

Try Instagram’s Inbuilt Camera

Apart from the inbuilt camera app, there are various other third-party camera apps for your device. If you have been using a third-party or inbuilt camera app for clicking pictures, using the Instagram camera might help you to prevent quality loss.

Pictures taken by Instagram’s camera will be better optimized for the platform. It will correctly optimize the photo or video for the correct resolution, quality, and aspect ratio.

So next time when you are about to post a story on Instagram, try capturing the same using the Instagram camera and post them. Many people have noticed significant differences between the photos or videos taken by the camera app on your phone and the Instagram camera.

Reinstall Instagram On Your Smartphone

Reinstalling the Instagram app on your Android or iOS devices is another way to get rid of blurry Instagram stories. You can follow the steps below to uninstall and reinstall the Instagram app on your device.

On Android:

• Go to Settings
• Manage Apps
• Find Instagram from the list of installed apps
• Tap the Uninstall button
• Open Google Play Store
• Search for Instagram and tap the Install button
• Once installed, log in with your Instagram account.

On iOS:

• Find the Instagram app shortcut icon
• Tap and hold it for a few seconds, and tap on the Remove App option
• Tap Delete App
• Open the App Store app on your iPhone
• Use the search box to search for Instagram
• Tap the Install button.

Once reinstalled, you will have to log into your Account again as the account-related data is wiped upon uninstalling Instagram.

What’s Next

Uploading properly sized images will help you to fix blurry Instagram stories to a great extent. Using Instagram’s camera, updating the Instagram app, disabling the data saver option, and using a stable Internet connection are a few things to do if you notice blurry Instagram stories after uploading them.

If you feel like your smartphone camera quality is not up to the mark, you may use a high-quality professional camera to capture content and then transfer it to your device to post them on Instagram.

Liking someone’s Instagram posts may be embarrassing to you, here’s what happens after you accidentally like an Instagram post.

The post Why Are My Instagram Stories Blurry? [11 Ways To FIX!] appeared first on IPEEWorld.