How to View Your Instagram Reels Watch History

Are you looking for a way to rewatch Instagram Reels you enjoyed some time back? If yes, you’re in the right place. IG Reels allows you to create a video montage of your best moments and share them with your followers. However, watching other people’s Reels is the perfect way to introduce yourself to new ideas and appreciate their creativity.

Although Instagram has yet to develop a built-in tool to view your watch history, you can still pull your complete Reels history for those you liked, commented on, or saved.

Two Ways to View Your Instagram Reels Watch History

Everything on Instagram is documented right from when you sign in to when you sign out. Some information is available in the Settings, while others need to be downloaded.

There are two ways to view all the Reels you’ve liked, saved, or commented on, but you won’t see those you only watched.

Getting your hands on your Instagram Reels history includes the following two methods:

• Access Interactions within the Instagram app or website.
• Download your Instagram information.

Obtaining a report or viewing the history means you have links to all those past videos you liked, commented on, or saved.

View Past Reels You Interacted with on the Windows App or a Browser

Rather than download your entire Instagram history (more on that later), you can view all reels you liked, saved, or commented on by accessing them via the Windows app or a browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux. There is an “Interactions” section and a “Saved” one that includes past Reels. You may not be able to find all viewed Reels, but you can see the ones you responded to, which would be the most important videos.

1. Sign in to your Instagram account on any device’s browser or the Windows app. If you don’t have the Instagram desktop app, a browser like Chrome or Internet Explorer will work just fine.
   
2. Click on the “hamburger icon” (More Menu) in the bottom left section.
   
   
3. Select “Your Activity.”
   
   
   
4. Choose “Interactions” to view Reels you commented on, reacted to, or liked, or choose “Saved” to view the Reels you saved.
   
   
   
5. Click on any video with the “Reels icon” to view it. You may also find the “Multipage icon,” which can be sequential video clips or images.
   
   
   

View Past Reels by Downloading Your Data on the Windows App or a Browser

Downloading all your Instagram data is one surefire way to view past Reels. You must lodge an official request with Instagram to view your account report, which can be done in the Windows Instagram app or a browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

After downloading the data, you can find any Reels you liked, commented on, or saved. Once again, videos that were viewed only won’t appear. Here’s how to do it.

1. Sign in to your Instagram account on the Windows app or a Windows, Mac, or Linux browser. If you don’t have the Instagram desktop app, a browser like Chrome or Internet Explorer will work just fine.
   
2. Click on the “hamburger icon” (More Menu) in the bottom left section.
   
3. Choose “Your Activity” from the list.
   
   
   
4. Select “Download your information.”
   
   
   
5. Confirm your email address, choose “HTML” or “JSON” format, then click “Next.”
   
6. Type your password and click “Request Download.” Instagram will generate your account report and send you an email link. The process can take a few minutes to several days, depending on usage.
   
7. Once you’ve received an official email from Instagram, click “Download Information.”
   
8. You’ll be prompted to enter your account credentials to confirm your identity. Enter the details and then hit the “Log In” button.
   
9. You’ll now be redirected to a new page about your Instagram information. Click on “Download Information” when you’re ready to proceed.
   
10. Use File Explorer (Windows), Finder (Mac), Files/Nautilus (Linux), or another file manager to unzip the downloaded file and navigate to the “Comments,” “Likes,” and “Saved” folders. You will find the Reels you reacted to within them.¹
    

¹ When browsing downloaded Instagram history, Reels will be mixed with images, stickers, and other elements you liked, commented on, or saved when browsing the “Comments,” “Likes,” and “Saved” folders. Finding them can be time-consuming, and nothing is labeled as an image or Reel.

The only drawback to downloading your Instagram Activities and information is sorting through all other data to find the past Reels you want to watch. Remember that viewed-only Reels are not saved and won’t be viewable. Instagram cannot handle storing thousands of viewed videos for each and every user, so it preserves the history you interacted with instead.

View Past Reels by Downloading Your Data on the Android or iOS App

Since there is no official Instagram app on Mac or Linux, you can use the Windows app or a browser on any desktop/laptop to download your Instagram data.

1. Tap on your profile avatar in the bottom right corner of your screen.
   
2. Tap on the hamburger icon to open your content management section.
   
3. Tap on “Saved” to view the past Reels you saved. Any you commented on, reacted to, or liked are found in “Your activity” (steps found below).
   
4. Tap the “All Posts” thumbnail to expand the saved list.
   
   
   
5. Tap any saved thumbnails with the “Reels icon” to watch them. You can also select thumbnails with the “Multipage icon” to watch past content that contains several images and/or videos.
   
6. To view Reels you commented on, reacted to, or liked, exit the “Saved” category by tapping your “profile icon” in the bottom-right corner.
   
   
   
7. Tap the “hamburger icon” again and select “Your Activity.”
   
   
   
8. Tap “Likes” to view all posts and Reels you liked.
   
   
   
9. Select thumbnails with the “Reels icon” to watch past Reels. You can also select thumbnails with the “multipage icon” to watch past posts containing multiple images and/or videos.
   
   
   
10. Choose “Comments” to view the Reels you reacted to or commented on.¹
    
    
    
11. Select items (all are unmarked as Reels or posts) to view their contents to find past Reels you commented on or reacted to.

¹ When browsing “Your Activity -> Comments,” all listed items are not marked/labeled as Reels, posts, or images, so they include anything you reacted to or commented on in addition to Reels.

Even if you’re unsure whether you’ve saved the specific Reel you’re looking for, accessing your saved posts and Reels only takes a few moments, so it’s worth the effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to more of your questions about Instagram Reels.

Is there another way to get my Reels history?

Our methods above are the only surefire way to get your Reels watch history back, but they may seem too daunting and unreliable if you didn’t like the Reel you’re looking for. Fortunately, Reels aren’t removed like Stories are. Unless the original poster deleted them, they’re still available for viewing.

If our methods above didn’t help you, all hope isn’t lost.

1. If you remember which creator posted the Reel you can revisit their profile and tap on the Reel icon. Scroll through the Reels and tap on the one that interests you.

2. Another option you have is to check any messages between you and another user. Perhaps you’ve forwarded the Reel to another user. If that’s the case, you can easily recover the Reel in Instagram’s DMs.

3. Lastly, some users have had luck by asking Reddit. Head over to the social media site and post a Looking for post on r/Instagram.

Relive Your Best Moments

Instagram comes with a ton of great features, but there’s no official way to view your Reels watch history. Instead of relying on luck and hoping that those old gems will show up again, you can dig into your archives and look for them.

First, you could lodge an official account data request with the Instagram support team. This method works best if there’s a whole bunch of Reels that you’d like to watch but don’t have the time to look for them one at a time.

Alternatively, you could navigate to your settings section and view the Reels you’ve saved or liked. There’s a good chance you’ll find the video you’re looking for, especially if you’re into the habit of leaving behind a reaction or comment on the videos you fall in love with.

Have you tried accessing your Instagram Reels watch history using any of the methods discussed in this article? How did it go?

Let us know in the comments section below.