Instagram Launches "Watch History" for Reels

Instagram has rolled out a new "Watch History" feature for its Reels short-form videos, enabling users to revisit all the videos they’ve previously watched. This update allows users to easily rewatch content without needing to like, save, or share it first. Previously, once a user scrolled past a Reel, there was no built-in way to find it again—leaving many frustrated when trying to locate a specific video they wanted to see once more. Meta confirmed that the feature is being gradually released worldwide and will become available to all users within the coming weeks.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri acknowledged that this update was driven by frequent user requests. In the official announcement, he noted that people often struggled to rediscover Reels they had watched earlier but hadn’t saved. He emphasized that the new feature was designed specifically to address this issue.

The new Watch History section resides within the "Your Activity" tab in a user's profile. To access it, users can open their profile, tap the three-line menu icon in the top-right corner, and select "Your Activity" from the dropdown. Inside this section, a new "Watch History" option displays a chronological list of all recently viewed Reels—even those that weren’t liked, saved, or shared—offering a comprehensive overview of a user’s recent viewing activity.

Importantly, Instagram has also introduced several tools to help users manage their watch history efficiently. Reels can be sorted by date—either from newest to oldest or vice versa—and filtered by specific time periods or individual creators. Users also have the option to manually remove any Reel from their history or clear the entire list at once, giving them full control over what appears in their viewing record.

The introduction of Watch History brings Instagram closer to its main rival, TikTok, which already offers a similar feature. However, Instagram’s implementation includes additional capabilities, such as more refined filtering by date range or creator. These subtle enhancements could make it significantly easier for users to locate specific videos they’ve watched before.