There are many ways to see people's Instagram stories without your name ever appearing in their watch list. They have no idea you saw their story because you don't directly click on their story, so Instagram won't record it as a view. The methods used to achieve this are never recognized by Instagram as a view so there is nothing to worry about.

If you've accidentally seen someone's story and you don't want them to know you've seen it, this can leave you in an awkward situation. Or maybe you're dying to see someone's story, but you don't want them to know.

When you view someone's story, your name will appear in a list of people who have viewed their story. To see a story without them knowing, you either have to remove yourself from the list or not get on the list in the first place.

The first way to look at someone's history without them knowing is to put your phone on airplane mode. When your phone is in airplane mode, your device won't be connected to the internet, so Instagram won't be able to register that you've seen someone's story.