Okay, let’s be honest, bestie to another bestie, how many times have you seen a Reel that blew your mind, got distracted by a message, and then spent twenty minutes scrolling trying to find it again? Yeah. Instagram finally heard us.

As of October 2025, Instagram officially rolled out its “Watch History” feature, and honestly, it’s about time. TikTok’s had this for years, and it’s been one of those “why don’t we have this yet?” features for Reels users.

What It Actually Does

Now, you can go back and see every Reel you’ve watched, all neatly listed under Profile – Settings – Your Activity – Watch History.

Lost a recipe, a makeup hack, or that hilarious dog video your friend mentioned? You can scroll through your history, sort by date, or even look at a specific date range. And if you don’t want that questionable meme living rent-free in your history? You can delete individual videos too.

Bonus points to Instagram for letting us sort in chronological or reverse order, or even by creator. That’s one tiny upgrade over TikTok, and I’ll give them credit for it.

Why This Matters

Before this update, users were doing the most just to find lost Reels, downloading their data, sifting through files, or praying the algorithm would randomly show the video again. This new feature saves that chaos.

But it’s also more than just convenience. It’s another way Instagram is polishing its short-form video experience to compete directly with TikTok. Every update lately, from Reels Series (linking multiple Reels together) to Picture-in-Picture mode, feels like Meta saying, “Okay fine, we’ll do it too.” (rolls eyes)

The Bigger Picture

Instagram’s been on this long journey from a photo app to a full-on entertainment hub. And features like Watch History are just the next step in making Reels feel complete, familiar, functional, and finally on par with TikTok.

It’s not revolutionary, but it’s definitely one of those “thank you, finally” moments. Now, when you’re trying to find that one Reel from last night that had the perfect caption or dance trend, you actually can.