Quirks on Instagram are as popular as the app itself. Some of the features or the inventive usage of them have made a space in pop culture of late. Half-swipe was never meant for users to subtly watch a story or DM without getting noticed.
Half-swiping is so popular that people these days talk about it all over the internet and use it as some sort of GenZ lingo. Though I am an old soul, thanks to me, my whole family now knows what it is and how it’s done.
So let me share with you how it’s done. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android, you can half swipe using the below method.
Half-Swiping Instagram Story
It is possible to see someone’s story without letting them know that you have “seen” it. Like messages, Instagram only considers a story “seen” if the full story appears on your screen. Here is how you can see someone’s story anonymously with the help of half-swipe.
Keep in mind that you can only see the oldest unseen story of the person; that is, if a person has posted 3 stories and you have not seen any, then you will only be able to see the first story out of the 3 through half swipe.
- Locate the story you want to see but don’t want to be on the “seen” list
- Tap and open the story before or after that
- Tap and hold the screen and gently swipe right (if you are on the next story) or left (if you are on the previous story)
- Once you have seen the story, you can also check the story ring to double-check that you haven’t “seen” the story
The transition animation between the stories will show you the next story with the swipe, but if you don’t release the swipe and don’t land on the story, then it won’t be considered as “seen”.
Note that if the story is a video, then you will only be able to see a frame of it, and the video won’t play on half-swipe.
Half-Swiping Instagram DM
If you open a new message from your DMs and scroll up before the new message appears, then the message won’t show as “seen” to the sender. You can use the half-swipe method for DMs if you want to read the message and don’t want the sender to realize it.
Here is how:
- Open your messages on Instagram
- Open a chat that has new messages
- Quickly scroll up to older messages before Instagram can load the latest unread message
- Now slowly scroll down, but only enough to be able to see a glimpse of the latest message at the bottom of your screen
Note that if you are late in scrolling up and if Instagram shows the new message before that, then the chat will show the new message to the sender as “seen”.
Also, you have to scroll very slowly and only halfway to the bottom of the screen. If you scroll a little more, the new message will appear on your screen fully, and it will be considered as “seen”.
Things To Consider While Half-Swiping
Half-swipe is a tricky act. If you are a fraction late, then the whole thing loses its meaning. You also have to be careful with your fingers for accidental taps.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Accidental taps: Instagram loads and refreshes feeds every few seconds. Be careful in tapping on the next or previous story when you half-swipe. The same is true for messages. New messages appear right at the top.
- Speed: You have to be quick for both messages and stories. From what we know, the story you open to half-swipe could be a 1-second video that gets over before you can hold, and the story you wanted to see in a half-swipe appears straight up. In the same way, you have to quickly scroll up a message before the chat can display the latest message.
- Practice: It is important to practice before you try this with real accounts. Ask your friends or someone from the family to send you a few messages which you can try half-swiping on. Similarly, practice half-swiping on a friend’s story before trying it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Instagram does not allow half-swiping on live videos. If you swipe toward a story that opens a live session, then there will be a dark screen till you completely swipe it through.
If you see someone’s story with a half swipe, then it does not include your name in the list of people who have “seen” the story.
Since group chats appear and behave exactly like individual chats, the half-swipe gesture is possible on group chats as well.
Wrap Up!
Half-swipe is not merely sneaking into someone’s message or story. It maintains your privacy and prevents the algorithm from understanding what you are watching and who you are interacting with more frequently.
Instagram may or may not be aware of how popular this feature is. They haven’t scrapped half-swipe motion after all.
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