Instagram highlights are pinned story collections that stay on a profile permanently. Unlike stories, they don't expire — but most tools can't read them. Here's what actually works in 2026.
Yes — if the account is public. Highlights on public profiles are visible to anyone, with or without an Instagram account. The challenge is finding a tool that reliably retrieves them.
Instagram shows highlights on public profiles to all visitors, including logged-out users. But Instagram's mobile app prompts you to log in to interact with content. There are three ways around this.
Open the site on any browser — mobile or desktop. No download, no registration.
Type any public Instagram username in the search box and press Enter. You'll see their full profile: bio, posts, reels, stories, and highlights.
Switch to the Highlights section to see all highlight covers. Click any one to open the viewer and browse all stories inside that highlight collection.
Each highlight story has a download button. Save individual images or videos directly to your device. Your viewing is anonymous — the account owner does not see you in their viewer list.
✅ PeekIG is one of the few tools that reliably loads highlights because it uses a backend server rather than browser-side scraping. Most competitors fail at highlights because Instagram returns empty arrays to unauthenticated requests.
Instagram's mobile website (instagram.com) allows limited browsing without login:
instagram.com/username⚠️ Instagram increasingly blocks highlight playback for logged-out users. As of early 2026, tapping most highlights redirects to the login screen on mobile web.
On a desktop browser in incognito/private mode:
instagram.com/usernameThis works for some accounts and fails for others, depending on Instagram's current login enforcement. It's unreliable compared to Method 1.
Highlights require a separate API call from posts and stories. Specifically, retrieving highlights involves:
Instagram's unofficial API requires authentication headers for the second call. Tools that use only browser-side fetching (no backend server) get a 401 or empty response at step 2. This is why Picuki and other older tools show "No highlights" even for profiles with dozens of collections.
PeekIG handles both calls server-side with authenticated sessions, which is why highlights reliably appear.
ℹ️ Private accounts hide all content — posts, stories, and highlights — from non-followers. No tool can bypass this. If you see any tool claiming to reveal private Instagram content, it's a scam or credential harvester. Close the tab immediately.
The only legitimate way to see a private account's highlights is to follow them and be approved. PeekIG (and all legitimate viewers) only work with public accounts.
No account needed. Just enter any public Instagram username.
View Highlights Free →