Stories have become a social media staple as every other app has this feature. They are like your very own personal channels for sharing your intimate “in the moment” experiences. Have you ever wondered how your favorite celebrity spends their morning? Or wanted to see the natural time reaction of your sister when she was being proposed? Or wanted to view your own stories you posted to check who viewed them? The last ones for personal reasons, of course!. These are a few of the many reasons you might want to know how to view stories on Snapchat. Well, speaking from experience, it can be a little annoying when you are uncertain if the only person who you want to see your stories has seen it or not.
Whatever your reasons might be for viewing stories on Snapchat, it’s not a difficult task. The stories you post have a 24-hour life, and then they’ll disappear forever. However, you cannot retrieve a story once posted if you didn’t save it to your memories. So don’t forget to keep them.
Different Types Of Stories On Snapchat
If you are new to Snapchat, it could be somewhat confusing to figure out how this platform works. Tasks as simple as viewing Snapchat stories can be very puzzling. But, if you’ve been wondering how viewing stories work, you’re in the right place. Snapchat story settings have three options for your account, friends, everyone, and custom.
Here are the types of Snapchat stories:
My Story
These are very easy to create. ‘My Story’ is the default story you make using the ‘Add To Story’ button. People on your friend’s list view these stories. No one outside your friend’s list can view this Story. You can film every move of your dog and post here shamelessly. We’re all obsessed with our pets, aren’t we? What’s better than showing them off to friends and family?
Public Story
Public Stories are designed to enable Snapchat users to select a location on the snap map and view the Story posted in the specific area. For example, if you plan to go to a new restaurant or a club, check their website or photos. First, you can tell if they’re good or not. Then, you can check real-time stories from real people from that location. If you’re lucky, you might find your crush’s Story from fifteen minutes ago. Everyone can view this Story. This option is available under “everyone” in the story setting.
Private Story
This story setting is available under ‘custom.’ You can manually select people who can view your personal stories. Imagine the movie you’ve waited for so long just released, and you got the first show tickets, but it falls on a workday. So, the next best thing you do is call in sick for work. You decide to post a story because why not? You can make a group with all your friends and family excluding your colleagues and boss. However, you choose to use this setting, be careful you wouldn’t want the wrong people viewing your stories, right?
How Do I View Stories On Snapchat?
I think we’re all caught up on things to know before viewing stories on Snapchat. So let’s jump into this how-to guide.
Step 1. Open Snapchat On Your Phone
Open the Snapchat app on your phone. This app has a white ghost on a yellow background.
You’ll need to tap onto the “Log in” option and enter your email or your username and password before getting any further. I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot of times, often reminding yourself, please remember your passwords!
Step 2. Find The Story Icon
Tap on the story icon. It’s in the shape of a circle in the top left corner. You can also find your profile info and your bitmoji. Tapping on the story icon opens your Snapchat profile.
Step 3. Tap On ‘My Story’ Heading On Your Profile
Taping on this icon brings about a drop-down menu that allows you to see all your story entries from the last 24 hours.
Step 3. Select The Story You Want To View
You can find all your Story entries under ‘My Story.’
Tap onto the Story you want to view. You might have to scroll down to find the account you wish to view.
If you want to view your Story in chronological order, you can just tap onto the circle on the left of the “My Story” heading.
There you go, now you’re able to view your own Story. You can also check how many people viewed your Story or took a screenshot of your Story. For that, you have to open the Story you want to view and scroll upwards. There you can find people who viewed your Story and the people who took a screenshot of your Story.
How Do I View Other People’s Story On Snapchat?
Step 1. Open Snapchat On Your Phone
First, open the Snapchat app on your phone. This app has a white ghost on a yellow background.
You’ll need to tap onto the “Log in” option and enter your email or your username and password before getting any further.
Step 2. Find The “Chats” Tab
Second, tapping on this icon helps you access the list of your Snapchat friends. You can find this tab on the bottom-left corner of the screen. The icon resembles a speech bubble shape.
Another way of accessing your chats is by simply swiping from left to right across your screen.
Step 3. Find The User Whose Story You Want To View
Then, access your chats and scroll down to find the friend whose Story you want to view.
Alternatively, you can simply search for their name on the search tab located on the top left, next to your bitmoji icon.
Step 4. Check For New Stories
Next, any Snapchat user who has posted their Story within the last 24 hours will appear close to the top of the “chats” page.
Please search for a blue circle on the left of their name. Then, instead of their usual bitmoji, you’ll find the preview of their Story.
Step 5. Tap On The “Stories” Tab
Then, check for this tab on the bottom right corner, right next to the camera icon. It’s the icon that looks like two people.
Alternatively, you can access this tab by simply swiping right to the left across the screen.
Step 6. Look For ‘Friends’
Right below your bitmoji icon, there is the first heading of the page.
Below the heading, you’ll find a horizontal row of story circles with your friends’ names at the bottom of the circle.
Step 7. Exploring The Stories
Tap onto the first story circle, and it will automatically keep playing the following stories.
You can tap on the right to skip stories. You can tap on the left to rewind the previous stories. Before you can view the other Story, it shows a little preview. If you don’t want to watch a particular person’s Story, you can simply swipe right.
Step.8 Replaying The Stories
Finally, rewatch a user’s Snapchat story by finding the user on the chat page. First, tap onto their bitmoji to open their profile. Next, tap the story circle on the left of their name.
You can also rewatch stories from the “Stories” tab by tapping on the replay icon that appears on the story circle after you’ve finished viewing their Story.
You can only rewatch a story if the user posted the Story less than 24 hours ago.
Your friends will know if you viewed their Story and will be notified if you take a screenshot of any of their stories.
Pro tip: Skip stories of friends you’ve been trying to avoid. It might save you from drama.
How Do I View Public Stories On Snapchat?
This feature of Snapchat is very entertaining. You can view a celebrity’s Story, subscribe to different Snapchat channels, find stories through snap maps and discover. So let’s get into it!
Step 1. Open Snapchat On Your Phone
First, open the Snapchat app on your phone. This app has a white ghost on a yellow background.
You’ll need to tap into the “Log in” option and enter your email or your username and password before getting any further.
Step 2. Open The “Stories” Tab
You can find the “stories” tab on the bottom right corner of the screen next to the camera icon.
Step 3. Find ‘Discover’
Then, right below the heading, you can tap into any public story that catches your interest.
Tapping into the Story will begin playing the Story immediately.
Step 4. Look For ‘Subscriptions’
Next, while viewing public stories, you can subscribe to the channels that created the Story.
The subscribed channels come under subscription for you to quickly access them and get notified when they post new stories.
Step 5. Tap The ‘Spotlight’ Tab
You’ll find this tab on the bottom right corner of the screen. It resembles a play button.
Here you’ll find an algorithm of random public stories from different people. You can simply scroll upward to keep viewing the most viral stories on Snapchat. So stay updated on the new trends, people!
Step 6. Tap On The ‘Snap Map’ Icon
Snap Map icon on the bottom left corner of the screen. The icon resembles an inverted drop shape icon.
Tap onto the “snap map” icon to view stories of people located at different places. You can also select a location of a place to view reports of that place.
You have to enable your location for it to show your stories on the snap map.
Step 7. Explore The Stories
When you tap on a Story, it starts playing immediately. Tap onto the left to rewind stories. Tap onto the right to skip levels.
After you finish viewing one Story, you’ll automatically skip to the next Story that’s available at the moment. You might get a few advertisements while viewing the stories. You can skip them by tapping on the right.
We have covered all the steps required to view different types of stories on Snapchat. If you do not wish to view stories, you can also mute stories on Snapchat.
Also Read: How To Delete Stories On TikTok [2022]
Conclusion
Viewing stories on Snapchat is hands down my favorite thing about Snapchat. You can keep up with trends by viewing the most-watched stories on Snapchat from the spotlight tab. Subscribing to different channels will keep you updated about the things of your interest. And yes! I can keep track of Kylie Jenner’s morning routine. Moreover, viewing Snapchat stories is very entertaining when you’re bored and need to pass the time. You can just navigate through the Stories.
However, keep in mind that Snapchat is a social media, people show the absolute best of themselves. So make sure you’re not inching towards the idea of the perfect world.
Hundreds of filters make people hide their flaws and don’t get fooled by the beauty filters. While browsing through these Stories, you have to keep track of the natural world without getting dragged by the power of social media. It can often be draining.
It’s rather fun to access beautiful moments of people’s lives through Snapchat stories. And once you get used to it, it’s effortless to view Stories on Snapchat.
Keep snapping!
