It seems like we wrote a story about this a long time ago and here we are again. Snapchat’s controversial 2018 update made some drastic changes to Snapchat Stories. Longtime fans of the app remained confused and unhappy about the overhaul, going so far as to sign a petition asking Snapchat to roll back the update. While they haven’t completely reverted their changes, Snapchat has started to reverse some features. Unfortunately, this only confuses us more.
With all these changes, how do you know who viewed your Story? In fact, how can you find and view Stories yourself? The answers to these seemingly simple questions have been in flux over the past few months. To get to the heart of the matter, we had to dig into the Snapchat app and find out for ourselves. The following will guide you through finding and viewing Stories as well as seeing who’s watching you. But you better check back soon, because the next big update might be just around the corner.
Stories What’s New in 2018
First, let’s talk about the things you can’t find anymore. The 2018 update made the Stories page disappear. You can no longer go to your one-stop Story store, but if you’re a Snapchat user, you already knew that.
Instead, Snapchat separated Friend content from sponsored content. By going to your Friend page, you can see all Friend content gathered together, including snapshots, messages, and Stories. You can see everything else by going to the sponsored content.
Snapchat has also created more of a “home page” for your profile, making it easy to see some information directly from there without having to search the app.
Now here is the problem. Too many users were confused about where to go to see their best friend’s Story of the Day. Snapchat responded by making these Stories visible from a variety of locations, including the sponsored content page. In short, you can’t miss Stories now if you tried it. But that doesn’t change the fact that the app is still hopelessly messy.
How to Find and View Stories
As explained above, there are two main ways to find Stories. Get started on the launch page. This is the camera screen. Now do one of the following:
- swipe right – This brings you to your Friends page. You can see any snaps, messages or Stories that may be available, along with a friends list. Tap a Story to view it.
- drag left – This page is for sponsored accounts and professional content creators. However, you will see a small section at the top for your friends’ Stories. You can’t miss him. Tap the Story to view it again.
Who’s Watching Your Stories?
Now you know how to find your friend’s Stories, but how can you tell if they’ve found yours? In the past, you went to your Story on the Stories page and took a quick look. Now everything is easily accessible from one central hub.
Starting with the Snapchat camera, tap the icon in the upper left corner. This will bring you to your “homepage” mentioned above. Here you can see your instant score, add new friends, change your settings and manage your Story.
If you tap the circle on the left, you can see how others can see your Story. If you tap the center, you’ll see a drop-down menu with each snapshot in your Story. Each snap will show how long the Snap has been used and how many times it has been viewed. If you don’t see any views listed, sorry no one has seen your snap. If you see an eye icon with a number next to it, tap the icon to reveal the names of people who have seen your Story.
Manage Story Settings
See a name you don’t like? You can manage who can and cannot view your Story by clicking the three vertical dots to the right of your Story on your homepage. Doing so will reveal three options.
- Everyone can see – Literally anyone who chooses to follow you can view your Story.
- Only my friends can see – Only people you follow and follow back can see your story.
- Tradition – Choose to block some of your friends from seeing your Story and allow others to browse.
Note that if you change these settings after adding an attachment to your story, the changes will apply to any snapshots you add in the future. Older snapshots will follow the old rules.
It is worth noting that even as we write this article, it is worth noting that the information published there about a month ago is no longer valid. As we continue to perfect the Snapchat app, more changes are likely on the horizon. Stay tuned for more updates and feel free to comment below if you notice anything new.
