How to See What Someone Likes on Instagram (2025 Methods)

Most people have been there before. They wonder what their friend, crush, or partner is liking on Instagram. Maybe they want to know if someone is checking out a specific account too often. Or perhaps they are just curious about what posts catch someone’s attention. The question of how to see what someone likes on Instagram brings millions of people to Google every month.

Here is the honest truth: Instagram made this much harder than it used to be. But there are still some ways to get this information in 2025. This guide covers everything that actually works today, what does not work anymore, and why the whole idea might be worth rethinking. For more technology guides on social media, this site has plenty of helpful resources.

The Truth About Instagram’s ‘Following’ Tab (And Why It’s Gone)

Back in 2019, Instagram had a feature that many people loved and others found creepy. The “Following” tab showed everything that friends and people one followed were doing on the app. Every like. Every comment. Every new follow. It was all right there in one place.

What the Following Activity Tab Used to Show

The old Following tab was basically a live feed of other people’s Instagram activity. Users could open it and see:

• Recent likes: Posts that friends had just double-tapped
• Comments: What people were saying on other posts
• New follows: Accounts that friends had just started following

It was a goldmine for anyone curious about what their friends were up to. But it was also a privacy nightmare for the people being watched.

Why Instagram Removed It in 2019

Instagram’s head of product at the time explained that many users had no idea this feature even existed. They were shocked to learn that their activity was being broadcast to everyone who followed them. The company decided the feature caused more harm than good.

The real story goes deeper, though. People discovered awkward things through this tab. Partners caught each other liking photos of attractive people. Friends saw comments on posts from people they did not know about. The drama that followed was real and messy.

The New 2025 Reels Friend Activity Feature

Instagram announced something interesting in January 2025. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, revealed that the platform is testing a new friend activity feature for Reels only. This lets users see what Reels their friends are watching and engaging with.

This feature is still in testing in select countries. It is not available everywhere yet. And unlike the old Following tab, it only shows Reels activity, not likes on regular posts or photos.

Can You Actually See What Someone Likes on Instagram in 2025?

The short answer is: kind of, but not easily. There is no single page or feed that shows everything someone has liked. That feature is gone for good. But there are still some things that remain visible.

What You CAN Still See

Instagram has not hidden everything. Users can still find certain information if they know where to look:

• Individual post likes: Tapping on the like count of any post shows who liked it
• Comments from specific users: These are still public on most posts
• Following lists: Accounts that someone follows are visible on their profile
• Tagged photos: Posts where someone is tagged still appear

What You CANNOT See Anymore

The big things that people want to track are now hidden:

• Complete like history: There is no list of all posts someone has liked
• Real-time activity: No notifications about what others are doing
• Story views from others: Only the story owner sees who viewed their story

Understanding Instagram’s Current Privacy Settings

Privacy on Instagram works differently depending on account types. For those wanting to learn more about understanding Instagram’s privacy settings, the difference between public and private accounts matters a lot here.

Public accounts make their likes visible to anyone viewing the same posts. Private accounts limit visibility to approved followers only. Even then, there is no feed showing all activity.

Method 1: Check Individual Posts Manually (Free and Official)

This method takes time but actually works. It is the only official way to see if someone liked a specific post.

Step-by-Step: How to View Post Likes

This works on any public post. For private accounts, the viewer must be an approved follower to see the likes list.

Searching for Specific Usernames in Likes Lists

The search feature inside the likes list is incredibly helpful. Instead of scrolling through thousands of usernames, just type the first few letters of the person being searched for. Their name pops up immediately if they liked that post.

One photographer recalled spending an hour manually checking likes on wedding photos. She wanted to see if certain family members had seen them. The search function would have saved her fifty-five minutes of scrolling.

Best Uses for This Method

This method works best when someone knows which posts to check. It is ideal for:

• Seeing if a specific person liked a particular post
• Checking engagement on content from mutual friends
• Confirming whether someone saw a tagged photo

Method 2: Monitor Your Notifications (For Your Own Posts)

This method only works for tracking likes on personal posts. But for that specific purpose, it is extremely effective.

Setting Up Like Notifications

Instagram sends push notifications whenever someone likes a post by default. These notifications show exactly who engaged with the content and when. To make sure this is turned on:

1. Go to Settings and Activity
2. Tap on Notifications
3. Select “Posts, Stories, and Comments”
4. Turn on notifications for Likes

Now the phone will ping every time someone taps that heart button on any personal posts.

Tracking Engagement From Specific People

Many people post content hoping certain individuals will see and engage with it. Maybe they shared a vacation photo wondering if their crush would like it. Or they posted an accomplishment hoping their family would notice.

Notifications provide real-time confirmation when those specific people interact. It feels good when that person finally appears in the notification feed.

Method 3: Check Accounts They Follow and Interact With

This is more detective work than a direct method. But it can reveal patterns about someone’s interests and online behavior.

Finding Their Most-Engaged Accounts

The accounts someone follows often reflect their interests. Looking through a person’s following list can show:

• Favorite celebrities or influencers
• Topics they care about
• Brands they like
• Communities they are part of

This does not show specific likes, but it paints a picture of what content someone probably enjoys.

Following Their Comment Trail

Comments are harder to hide than likes. If someone regularly comments on a particular account’s posts, those comments are visible to anyone viewing those posts. People often comment on content from accounts they frequently like.

Following the comment trail takes effort, but it reveals engagement patterns that likes alone would not show.

Third-Party Instagram Activity Trackers: What You Need to Know

A quick search brings up dozens of apps and websites claiming to track someone’s Instagram likes. Before going down that rabbit hole, there are some important things to understand.

How Third-Party Tools Claim to Work

Services like Snoopreport and similar tools promise to monitor Instagram activity and deliver reports. They claim to show:

• Posts that someone has liked
• Accounts they interact with most
• New follows and unfollows
• Patterns in their behavior

These tools work by scraping public data from Instagram. They can only track public accounts. Private accounts are invisible to them.

The Risks and Limitations

Here is where things get complicated. These third-party tools come with serious problems:

Why These Tools Are Not Worth It

After researching multiple tracking services, the conclusion was clear. The risks outweigh any potential benefits. Someone might spend money on a subscription only to get incomplete data. Or worse, they might lose access to their own Instagram account.

There is also an ethical question here. If someone wants their activity to be private, using tools to track them anyway feels like a violation of trust. The information gained rarely justifies the methods used to get it.

Privacy Considerations: Can People See What YOU Like?

This question works both ways. While wondering about someone else’s activity, it helps to understand what others can see about personal likes.

Who Can See Your Likes on Public Posts

When someone likes a public post, that like is visible to:

• The account owner who posted it
• Anyone else who views that post
• Anyone who taps on the like count

There is no option to make public likes private. The only way to hide a like is to unlike the post entirely.

Private Account Like Visibility

Likes on posts from private accounts work differently. Only approved followers of that private account can see who liked their posts. This offers some protection, but it is not complete privacy.

How to Be More Private With Your Instagram Activity

For those concerned about managing your social media privacy, here are some tips that actually help:

• Be selective about what to like on public posts
• Consider whether liking something could cause problems later
• Remember that screenshots exist forever
• Think before engaging with controversial content

Better Alternatives to Tracking Someone’s Instagram Likes

Here is something worth considering. Wanting to track someone’s Instagram activity usually signals a deeper issue. Maybe it is curiosity. Maybe it is insecurity. Maybe it is legitimate concern about a relationship.

Direct Communication

The simplest solution is often the hardest one: just ask. If someone wants to know what a friend is interested in, they could ask them directly. Understanding authentic communication strategies helps build stronger connections than surveillance ever could.

Questions like “What accounts have you been into lately?” or “Seen anything good on Instagram?” open conversations naturally. These discussions reveal interests better than any tracking tool.

Following Their Saved Collections (If Shared)

Some Instagram users share their saved collections publicly. These collections show content that someone intentionally bookmarked. They are more revealing than random likes because they represent things someone wanted to keep.

Look for the “Saved” option on someone’s profile. If they have shared collections visible, browsing through them shows exactly what they find valuable enough to save.

Engaging Authentically Instead of Monitoring

There is something ironic about spending time tracking what someone likes instead of actually connecting with them. That energy could go toward building a real relationship.

Understanding how younger generations use social media shows that healthy relationships thrive on open communication, not surveillance. Social media should bring people closer together, not create distance through secret monitoring.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Instagram Business Accounts See Who Likes Competitor Posts?

No. Business accounts have access to analytics about their own posts only. They cannot see engagement data from competitor accounts beyond what any regular user can see.

Will Instagram Bring Back the Following Activity Tab?

This seems unlikely. Instagram removed it specifically for privacy reasons. The new Reels friend activity feature suggests they might add limited activity sharing, but a full return to the old system is doubtful.

Can People See What I Like on Private Accounts?

Only approved followers of that private account can see the likes list. If someone is not a follower, they cannot see that you liked something there.

Do Third-Party Apps Actually Work for Seeing Likes?

Some claim to work on public accounts, but they violate Instagram’s Terms of Service. Using them risks account suspension and data security issues. The results are often inaccurate as well.

Final Thoughts

The question of how to see what someone likes on Instagram comes from a natural place of curiosity. People want to know what their friends, partners, and crushes find interesting online. That impulse is understandable.

But Instagram made this harder for good reasons. Privacy matters. The methods that still work in 2025 require either manual effort or come with significant risks. Third-party tracking tools create more problems than they solve.

Maybe the real answer is not finding better tracking methods. Maybe it is reconsidering why tracking feels necessary in the first place. Direct conversation, genuine connection, and trust build better relationships than monitoring ever could.

For more helpful guides on navigating social media and technology, check out the technology section for additional tips and insights.