Instagram has spear a watch history feature allowing users to rewatch reels they have previously watched, modeled after the YouTube equivalent. The tool appears in the app’s settings menu and supports filtering by date, range, or author on Android and iOS devices.
Access the feature by going to the Profile tab, tapping the three-line menu in the upper right corner, and selecting Settings > Your Activity > Watch History. It resides under the “How to Use Instagram” tab, providing structured options for locating past content. By default, the interface displays Reels viewed over the last 30 days. Users maintain control by selecting and deleting individual entries from the list.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, explained that the feature allows you to filter Reels based on a specific date or date range, as well as search for content shared by a particular account. This configuration addresses the challenge of rediscovering viewed videos among the platform’s vast volume of short-form content.
The interface includes three dedicated tabs for refined navigation. The first tab facilitates sorting options, arranging reels from oldest to newest or vice versa. This chronological order helps users systematically trace their viewing timeline.
The second tab extends date-based filtering capabilities. Options include All Dates as the default setting, Last Week for recent activity, Last Month to cover the initial default period, and a custom date range. Selecting a specific time period allows users to target reels watched exclusively during that time period, refining the results to match specific recall.
The third tab focuses on authorship, allowing searches on the original account that shared the reel. This author-specific search simplifies discovery when users remember the creator but not the exact time or other details.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, highlighted the practical value, saying: “So hopefully now you can find that thing that you were trying to find that you couldn’t find before.” The feature responds to requests from users for better content recovery tools.
