Alex Ruben
How To Discover Which Instagram Reels Your Friends Have Liked
If you’ve ever wondered what Reels your friends are into, it’s kinda weird but surprisingly handy to see what they’ve liked. Instagram introduced features that let you peek into friends’ activity, so you can find content they enjoy or even discover new stuff through them. This isn’t some obscure setting, but sometimes it feels like you gotta dig through menus or update the app just right. So, here’s a mostly straightforward way to check out those Reels friends have liked, without a lot of fuss.
Prerequisites
Before diving in, make sure your Instagram app is current. Honestly, if it’s not, a lot of this stuff can be wonky or outright missing. So, check for updates in the App Store or Google Play. If you’re still on an old version, some features may not show up, or the app might behave weirdly. And on some setups, the views don’t load properly until you update or reinstall; it’s just how Instagram rolls sometimes.
How to Find Out Which Reels Your Friends Like
Make sure your Instagram is up-to-date
- Open the App Store or Google Play.
- Search for
Instagram. - If there’s an update available, tap Update. Otherwise, you might wanna uninstall and reinstall — because of course, Instagram has to make it a little harder than necessary.
Open Instagram and head towards Reels
Once you’re on the latest version, launch the app and tap the Reels icon, usually at the bottom center or right next to the home feed. Swiping through Reels is pretty standard, but that’s where the magic happens if you want to see what your friends have liked.
Check likes on individual Reels
- When a Reel is playing, look for the heart icon or the list of users who liked it — which often appears on the left side of the screen.
- On some phones or app versions, you might see a little profile picture circle along with a number — those are the liked-by folks.
It’s kinda hit or miss, but on many setups, the list pops up if you tap or swipe on the like count. That’ll pull up who liked the Reel.
Explore your friends’ activity more broadly
- Here’s where it gets slightly more hidden. Tap and hold on the list of friends’ profile pics at the top right of the Reels feed. Sometimes this is a tap on the profile circle, sometimes a long press.
- This sometimes opens a mini feed of Reels your friends have watched or liked. I’ve seen it work on some accounts, not so much on others — Instagram’s interface is kinda inconsistent depending on updates and region.
Another tip: if this doesn’t show up, try going directly to the Settings, then to Privacy, and look for options related to activity sharing or account activity — not always necessary but sometimes helps.
Extra Tips & Common Troubleshooting
Make sure your app stays updated; outdated versions often hide or disable these social features. If things seem broken, deleting the app completely and installing fresh can clear bugs. Also, don’t forget that if someone’s account is private or has activity restrictions, you might not see their likes at all. Facebook owns Instagram, and privacy settings can seriously block these views.
Wrap-up
This whole thing isn’t perfect and sometimes feels more like guessing than clear visibility. But if your goal is to get a rough idea of your friends’ taste in Reels, these steps should help. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t — Instagram seems to test features on random users and regions. Still, experimenting with the profile tricks and keeping the app fresh is worth a shot. Hope this saves a few hours of fumbling around.
Summary
- Update Instagram on your device.
- Navigate to the Reels section and look for like counts or profiles.
- Tap or hold on these to see who liked the Reel.
- Try exploring the activity feed by long-pressing or accessing privacy settings.
- Remember, privacy rules might block some info, so it’s not always a full view.
Fingers crossed this helps
Getting a peek at friends’ likes isn’t always smooth, but a little patience and updating usually do the trick. Maybe not perfect — but hey, it’s better than nothing, and sometimes it’s just enough to spark some conversation or find fresh content. Just keep the app updated and mess around a bit. Good luck!