Automated programs designed to interact with Instagram accounts can be programmed to view stories. These programs simulate user activity, navigating to and watching publicly available stories. For example, a bot might be configured to view all stories posted by accounts that use a specific hashtag.
The practice of automated story viewing can be employed for various purposes, including market research, brand awareness campaigns, and potentially, unauthorized data collection. Historically, this type of automation evolved alongside the increased use of social media for marketing and data analysis, becoming more sophisticated as platforms implemented countermeasures.