No matter whether you’re convinced there’s some motive behind it or not, it’s not a good idea to publish an Instagram account without looking to see who’s viewed it at least every 30 minutes. How does Instagram rate story-viewers?
It’s literally impossible to let the 24 hours and let your story go unnoticed without systematically reopening the app to see if that man you’re currently texting the one you don’t like and trying to impress has viewed your latest upload.
But is it just you, or does your closest acquaintance, your brother or even the person you’re texting appear in your top five most watched people? My top five are the following: a man I haven’t spoken to since ages, my ex-boyfriend two girls I knew at uni and one girl to whom I’ve spoken five words to during my lifetime. Like, how is that even possible? ?
Instagram is full of mysteries, including how to obtain a blue tick, what it takes to read someone’s story without the person seeing it, or how to get followers, but the viewer position on your story is one of the most elusive. So we tried to find the exact method by which Instagram ranks the number of people who view your story using different Insta stories theories and also what the most popular person in your order really means.
How does Instagram rank its users? The theories: The stalking theory
There are various theories circulated on the web. After conducting an experiment, a Reddit user posted on this thread that the most popular people are those who are following your Instagram the most. The stalkers don’t even have to engage with your posts through likes and comments If they visit your account frequently enough, they’ll be the first to see your content.
The top 50 theory
Some people believe that the order is sequential for viewers who are the initial 50. So your viewer’s order will indicate who was able to view the first. However, once it reaches 50 viewers the algorithm shifts…
…followed by a different stalking theory
After the first 50 people have viewed your story, your page is then determined by the person who interacts with your profile the most via comments, page views stories views, likes, DMs etc.
In this model it is also believed that page views are prioritised in this algorithm, so if you’re wondering why your ex-partner who isn’t interested in the photos you post on Instagram no longer appears on top, it’s cos he’s following you.
Well it looks like these three have been stalking me for 14 days.
The three signals
Insta’s Paige Thelen, who works in the Insta’s tech communications department she told Social Media Week there are three aspects to consider when deciding which posts rank where, including the timing of the post, the relationship with you and how much they think they’ll be interested in your story. Paige said: “Similar to the feed stories are arranged by the time of day you’re most interested in.
“The ordering of the content is based on a number of factors, such as: 1.) the probability that you’ll be interested in the posts and) the timeframe of the posts; and three) your relationships with the person who’s posting. The technology is powered by machine-learning, which adapts to your preferences and changes as time passes.
“Profile visits are considered, as well as likes and comments.”
So basically, whoever is within your top five is following your account all the time even if they do not like your posts or even contact you anymore. This means every time you publish a post, you can now get an ego boost from knowing the ex you adored so much still loves you or that your “best friend’ is actually the best friend they claim to be.
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