If a person posts a story, they implicitly accept that people will see it. By hiding your view, you are violating their reasonable expectation of transparency. Use these methods sparingly—for curiosity, not for harassment.

If you need to view stories from a public profile or a business page regularly, the cleanest long-term strategy is creating a secondary "burner" account. How to do it:

Use a generic name, profile picture, and cover photo that cannot be linked back to your real identity.

Several reliable, open-source, and well-regarded extensions are available, including:

This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later.

Use with extreme caution. Have a strong ad-blocker and antivirus software active. They usually rank top for effectiveness but bottom for safety.

When you block someone, Facebook removes your view from all their content retroactively. If you unblock them, you are not re-added to the list.

Swipe down to open your device's control center and turn on (ensuring Wi-Fi and mobile data are completely off).

Android users have more freedom here. iOS users are largely locked out due to Apple’s strict sandboxing. Apps like "Anonymous Story Viewer for FB" or "Fb Watch - Private Story" exist on the Google Play Store.

Once you are done viewing, completely (swipe it away from your recent/running apps menu). Turn Airplane Mode off to restore your internet connection.

For most users, the remains the safest and most reliable method for occasional anonymous viewing. It's completely free, doesn't require installing potentially dangerous software, and doesn't violate Facebook's terms of service in the same way third-party tools do. For those seeking more comprehensive solutions, carefully research any tool before use and never provide your login credentials to unverified third parties. Remember that true anonymity on social media is difficult to achieve, and privacy should always be balanced with ethical considerations and respect for others' content.

Let your feed and the Stories bar at the top load completely.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The methods described may violate Facebook’s Terms of Service. The author is not responsible for any account bans or legal issues arising from the use of these techniques.