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How to look at old story on instagram


How to View Old Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories have become one of the most popular features of the social media platform, Like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories only appear on your feed for 24 hours, or until the person who posted the Story deletes it.

However, unlike Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories don’t actually disappear completely after 24 hours. While Instagram Stories do disappear from your feed after 24 hours, they remain archived in the app. So, if you post a story but it expires before you get a chance to save the video, don’t worry, you can still recover it.

Like many users, you may not know that this feature exists, let alone how to access it. Let’s take a look at how you can view old Instagram Stories.

Accessing Your Expired Instagram Stories

As Instagram Stories increased in popularity, more and more users started asking Instagram for a way to access their stories outside of the regular 24 hour time limit.

In response to this, Instagram added the Highlights and Archive features back in 2017. Highlights allow you to group story elements and post them on your profile as a regular post. They’re labeled as Highlights but they behave the same as a regular Instagram post.

The other feature, Archive, saves your stories for future use. It’s important to note that your stories get archived for your use only. For other people, they will disappear after 24 hours like normal.

The archiving feature should be turned on by default, but if it isn’t, you can turn it on in your Settings. Find the Stories panel in your Privacy Settings and toggle on the option that says Save to Archive.

  1. To view your older Instagram Stories, navigate to your profile screen, and tap on the hamburger icon in the top-right corner.
  2. From that menu, you should tap on Archive to access your Stories Archive.

From there, you can re-share, highlight, and otherwise interact with your Stories. That’s the gist of accessing your old Stories but seeing other people’s old Stories is an entirely different matter.

Can You View Someone Else’s Expired Instagram Story?

By design, Stories are only viewable for 24 hours, and there’s not really any way around this. However, if you’re acquainted with the person who created the Story, you could request that they share it with you by saving it from their Archive.

In terms of seeing other users’ Stories that have already expired, that’s about as far as you can go. This feature was always intended to be ephemeral, just like Snapchat Stories.

However, if you frequently find yourself wanting to view other users’ expired stories, there are a few proactive steps you can take.

Saving Other Users’ Stories

The good thing about Stories is that they last a whole 24 hours. This gives you plenty of time to decide whether you want to save one.

Some websites are designed to save Instagram Stories. The most minimalist and approachable of these is Storiesig.

  1. All you need to do is enter someone’s username and the website will find all their active Stories.
  2. From there, just select the Story you want to save and click Download.

This isn’t the only option, as many other websites can do the same. However, this is the most hassle-free way to do it. Also, this won’t give you access to expired Stories, but if you catch them within the 24 hours since they were published, you’re good to go. This website also works on mobile devices, but there is another option for your phone.

Both Android and iOS have screen recorders for their newer versions. You can also get a screen recorder app and simply record the story. AZ Screen Recorder is a good option for both Android and iOS. All you have to do is start recording, view the Story, and then save the recording.

Again, these methods don’t give you access to past Stories, but they do allow you to retain active Stories on your device for future use.

Screen Recording Instagram Stories

If you’re looking to save someone else’s Instagram Story for future reference you can always screen record or screenshot the content during the 24-hour active period. You may wonder if Instagram will notify another user that you’ve captured the content.

There is a lot of debate about this, but as of right now you’re in the clear to take undetected screenshots of Instagram Stories. This won’t work with DMs, and Instagram has changed this several times through the years, so you’ll want to test it on another friend before taking a screenshot of someone who you’d rather your activities stay anonymous.

Once you’ve captured the story on your iPhone or Android, you can revisit the story in your camera roll as many times as you’d like.

Viewing Instagram Stories Saved as Highlights

Thanks to the highlights feature on Instagram, you may get lucky and revisit your favorite content as much as you’d like by visiting your friend’s profile. When a story is created, the account owner has the option of saving the story as a Highlight.

The story will remain on their profile until the user deletes it. It’s a permanent option for displaying the best content. To check if your favorite stories were saved as a highlight do this:

  1. Tap on the magnifying glass icon or tap on the following option from your profile to locate the account you’re interested in.
  2. Locate the story under the Following and Message icon – these highlights are round icons with an image
  3. Tap on the story

That’s all there is to it. If you don’t see any stories here they either weren’t saved as a highlight, you’re not an approved follower, or their account is set to private.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I watch a Story more than once?

Absolutely! As long as it’s within the 24-hour period you can watch the Story as many times as you’d like. Instagram does tell the creator that you watched their content, but it doesn’t tell them how many times you watched. Just beware, if you watch their Story over and over again, they’ll see the view count increase and you may be the only person who’s seen it. This is a sure-fire sign that you’ve been watching their Story, a lot.

Can I re-publish and old Instagram Story?

Yes.

1. If you have a favorite Story, you can re-post it by navigating to your Archive folder as described above, then tap on the Story you’d like to re-post.

2. In the lower left-hand corner tap on the three vertical dots to access the sub-menu.

3. Then, tap on Repost.

4. Follow the prompts and your Story will live on in the feeds of others for another 24 hours.

5. If you’d like to re-post another person’s Story you can do that too. All you need to do is tap on the paper airplane icon and share.

If you don’t see the option, it’s probably because the other user has a private account. A private account means you can’t share their content for anyone else to see.

Final Thoughts

That pretty much sums up the resources you have when it comes to viewing and saving Instagram Stories.

Your own stories are archived for future use, but the Stories posted by other people are a little trickier. You can’t really see them once they expire, but you can save them while they’re active. Use a website made for saving IG Stories or a screen recorder on your mobile device.

How often do you feel like saving a Story you see on Instagram? If you could easily view old Stories at will, do you think it would defeat the purpose of Stories altogether? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

How to View Old Instagram Stories

Why Does It Matter?

Source: pexels.com

Whether you have iOS or Android, you’ll be happy to hear that your Instagram Stories will automatically be archived after 24 hours. You can also create Story Highlights, which are collections of old stories that show across the top of your profile. These highlights could include anything, from your selfies to vacation pictures or family photos.

If you have a brand you’re trying to promote, you could use these collections to highlight different products and ad campaigns.

Usually, a brand will use Instagram Stories around ten times a month. This is equivalent to once every three days. While brands with over 200,000 followers had a 34 percent drop in retention rate in rate, mid-sized brands with up to 50,000 followers were able to get a steady reach rate in 2020 just by regularly posting on their Stories

According to Social Insider, Instagram brands could post five stories a day, and even that would give their brands a 70 percent retention rate if their users watch their stories. However, users that don’t generally watch their content tend to exit after the first two or three stories.

You might wonder why this matters so much, and we have three reasons this feature is helpful for your brand:

1. Save Your Work

Archives and Highlights can help you create fun stories because you typically won’t spend time decorating your stories if they’re just going to disappear the next day. This is primarily practical for people who don’t watch Instagram Stories every day, as it may make your stories more appealing to them.

Brands can also create Instagram story highlights to create campaigns or product collections.

2. Preserve Your Storage

Gone are the days when you had to worry about Instagram Stories taking up your phone’s storage. Instagram will make everything easier for you by saving your old stories in the cloud, where you can re-download them, publicly share, or view them later. This is also helpful for older phones which have limited space.

3. Better Express Your Identity

Previously, Instagram didn’t allow you to share content that wasn’t visible on the homepage to your followers. Essentially, you would feel like you’re spamming your followers if you ever wanted to share intimidating or niche content. However, story highlights let you showcase different parts of yourself as a creator by creating separate Highlights of your food, dog, or professional life.

Instead of showcasing your stories for only 24 hours, Instagram offers you the opportunity to appeal to more people with the archive feature. This is similar to YouTube and its new stories called “Reels,” which don’t disappear after a day.

Moreover, Instagram has confirmed that they’re working on a new feature called “Exclusive Stories”, which shows exclusive content for fan club members. This is similar to Twitter’s Super Follow subscription feature, where users pay to be club members.

How To View Old Instagram Stories

Source: pexels.com

The answer is yes. Thanks to the archive feature, you can view old Instagram Stories, automatically letting you archive expired Stories. The archived Stories are only visible to you, so your followers don’t have access to them unless you decide to share.

Accessing Your Old Instagram Stories

With Instagram Stories becoming more popular, more users have sought ways to access their Stories after the 24 hours are up. If you were one of these people, you’re lucky because Instagram added the Highlights and archive features in 2017.

The Highlights feature allows you to group your Stories and post them on your profile like a usual post. Although these are named “Highlights,” they act like regular Instagram posts.

The archive feature, on the other hand, lets you save your stories for future use. However, only you can access archived Stories. Your followers won’t get to see them after the 24-hour time limit. This feature is usually turned on by default. If it isn’t, you can turn it on manually in your Instagram account’s Settings by going to your Privacy Settings, then going to the Stories tab and pressing the Save to archive option.

On the other hand, to access previously archived Stories, you must:

  • Tap the menu icon from your profile
  • Go to your profile and press on the three lines icon in the top right corner
  • On that menu, tap on archive to access your Stories archive. From there, you can choose to highlight or re-share your older stories

If you’re looking to view someone else’s old Instagram Stories:

Unfortunately, you can’t view someone else’s old Instagram Stories unless you have access to them. If they save it as a Highlight, though, here’s how you can view them:

  • Go to the Instagram app
  • Go to the Instagram profile of whose person’s stories you want to see
  • Below their bio, see if they have Highlights
  • If they do, you can view their old stories

But can you view someone else’s old stories if they don’t save them as Highlights? Yes, you can tap into some hacks to try to see all their Stories.

To save and download the old Story, you can take a screenshot of it. This is the easiest way to copy your friend’s Story.

If it’s your own Story, you can click on the bottom left side of the main Story screen and use the Download option to save the Stories to your camera roll.

Saving your Favorite Stories for Future Use

If you don’t want to lose your Instagram Story after the 24-hour time limit and aren’t interested in creating a Highlight or archiving them, you can also download them straight to your phone.

You can do this by opening your Story, clicking on the bottom right of the photo or video on the More icon, and then tapping Save.

To make everything more accessible, you can also automatically save your Stories to your camera roll with a few simple steps:

  • Go to your Story
  • Find Story Settings
  • Tap on the Save Story to Camera Roll option

Now, every time you share a story, the images and videos will automatically be saved to your camera roll.

Additionally, if you want everyone to access your photos or videos permanently, you can add them to your profile grid. This is simple as it only takes three steps: open your Story, click on the bottom right of the image or video, and click on Share as Post. Shortly after, they will appear on your profile grid.

Remember that whoever has access to your profile will also be able to see these photos or videos. Now that it’s on your profile, you can’t put special restrictions like you could with your previous Stories.

Source: unsplash.com

Save Instagram Stories With Archive

Congratulations! You’ve learned how to see all old Stories on Instagram and create Instagram Highlights, so the challenging part is over. Whether you use Instagram for personal purposes or have a brand you want to promote, you can always seek more help from professionals such as Archive.

Archive is an app you can use to save your feed posts, reels, and Instagram Stories. This is mainly helpful if you have a brand because this app automatically detects when your brand gets tagged, so you don’t have to go through any fuss to find it. Additionally, Archive allows you to download your favorite images and videos directly within the app for easier access.

The Archive app makes it easier for you to view and save old Instagram Stories. See what it can do for you and your brand by downloading the app today!‍

FAQs on Viewing Old Instagram Stories

Can old Instagram Stories be reposted?

Yes, absolutely! If you have a story you want to repost, you can go to the archive folder and then click on the Story you’d wish to repost. Click on the lower left-hand corner, and three vertical dots will show up, giving you access to the sub-menu. From there, click on Repost.

If you want to repost someone else’s Story, you can tap on the paper airplane icon and share it. If you can’t see this option, the user has a private account, meaning you can’t share their stories.

Is it possible to watch a Story more than once?

Yes, you can watch a story multiple times as long as it’s within the 24-hour time limit. Although Instagram notifies the other person that you’ve watched their Story, it doesn’t tell them how many times you’ve watched it. So you’re good to go!

Can you see how many times a person has viewed your Story?

Similarly, while you can see who has viewed your Story, you can’t see the number of times they’ve viewed it. Some people may be relieved by this information because no one wants others to know they’ve watched the Story of a random user six times in a row, especially not if it’s your crush’s Story.

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How to view someone else's old Instagram stories

In some cases, you may remember another person's story that you are interested in watching again, either in order to download it or just to enjoy it again. However, this may lead to doubts about whether you have the opportunity to do this and whether it is possible to return to view the story, given that in the case of Instagram Stories we are dealing with ephemeral content that "expires". once. It's been 24 hours since posting. At that time, it is no longer available in the feed.

A lot of people want to know how to view someone else's old instagram stories but the answer is that it's impossible to do unless that person decides Save this story among your best moments .

In fact, Instagram stories have their essence in this format, where stories have a maximum lifespan of 24 hours, after which they completely disappear in front of other users, although the one who created them has a file in which you can view them, but they will no longer be visible to other users. In addition, each person has the opportunity to leave him for an indefinite period until the moment when he wants to eliminate him in his Featured stories that can be classified and divided into any number of sections so that they can be properly organized. They stay there until you decide to delete them.

For this reason, if you want to know how to view someone else's old stories on instagram You should know that if more than 24 hours have passed since you found this story, and if it has not been added as a Featured to the user's profile, you won't be able to see it. This time limit is one of the greatest tools of the social network, which uses it to create a strong need for users to connect to the platform.

Check featured stories

For this reason, if you want to know how to view other people's old stories on instagram If 24 hours have not passed since the publication date, you can very easily consult him, since you will only need to go to the profile of this a specific person, where you can once again look through all his stories, so that it will be very simple. you can consult with him.

If more than 24 hours have passed, your only option is to view the highlighted stories, but you will only be able to see this if you meet a person who has chosen to save their post so other people can consult whenever they want.

In this sense, you should know that the story categories are sorted from left to right by last update date , so the story category for which a more recent history was saved will appear in the first position. However, it has a downside: to get to that latest published story (or one of the latest), you'll have to go through all the saved stories in that category.

In case it's a storybook that doesn't have many stories, this won't be a big problem, but it can get a little tedious if there are dozens of stories in one collection. Either way, this is one way to re-see a story that was previously posted by someone else that you want to save.

Save a copy of someone else's Instagram story

If searching how to view someone else's old Instagram stories you find that it's available in their featured stories, you can see it again whenever you want, but you should keep in mind that any time that same person wishes, you can remove it so that it is no longer in this section, or it may simply make it impossible for you to see their stories. For this reason, if you want to save it, you can take a screenshot, but you must remember that the other person will know that you made them .

If it's your own story, just go to the icon at the bottom left of the screen, where you can find the option to download the story so that it becomes present in your gallery. If you want to save the history of another person, you will have to go to various web services or applications that offer this possibility, which we have already talked to you about from time to time.

However, you should be aware that in the vast majority of cases, these applications only allow you to get the stories of people whose profile is public, so you will find it impossible to do so in all cases where it is concerned. . a person who decides to make their profile private, which is most people today.

In addition, you must remember that due to the ethical values ​​of , it is not okay to steal or keep other people's photos , so in case you are interested in a specific story, it is recommended to always ask this person about it so that he can give give you permission to save it by taking a picture or recording a video screen using your terminal, or directly by whoever sends it to you.

This is the best way to upload content that interests you so that you don't break anything and the other person knows you might have the same story for you. If you really know this person, and also if you do not, it is recommended that send a private message to through the app, kindly asking him for a copy of his story, arguing the reasons for it. So it's possible that unless it's something very personal, he won't have a problem filming.

Instagram story archive and how to see your old stories, where

Stories are publications that have a limited broadcast period of only 24 hours in the feed, after which they are not deleted, but sent to the Instagram stories archive. In the article we will tell you how the service works, where to find and how to view the archive.

What is the archive of stories on Instagram, and where is

Publications in the stories feed have a limited broadcast period, after a day they do not disappear from view, but are moved to the archive list, provided that automatic saving of stories is activated.

The archive stores all the stories you published from the moment you registered on the social network. This important feature will prevent you from losing colorful content that is very dear to you. It will be very unpleasant if a high-quality and beautiful photo or video is deleted forever.

Keep in mind that the vault will contain only those publications that have been in the main feed for more than 24 hours. If you erased the content before the end of this period, then the history will not be saved.

Where is the archive list located? Backup files can be found at any time, they are in the public domain, but only for the owner of the page in the service. Unauthorized persons will not be able to view stories. To go to the archive you will need:

  1. Launch the mobile app on your device.
  2. Enter your login and password, log in to your account.
  3. Go to the personal page, to do this, click the icon in the form of a person on the bottom panel of the workspace.
  4. Find the button in the upper corner in the form of three parallel lines and click on it.
  5. A pop-up window will appear on the screen, in which you need to click on the icon in the form of a clock face with the corresponding caption.
  6. This will take you to the archive directory where all your publications are stored.

Please note that on different operating systems and smartphones, the location of the main elements may differ.

How to create an archive

Each story after the end of 24 hours and the end of the broadcast in the feed will be automatically saved to the storage.

As for all other publications, photos and videos that are not placed in the story feed, you will have to add them to storage yourself. After all, the automatic archiving function only applies to short recordings. Let's take a quick look at how to add history to the archive list:

  1. Log in to your account with your username and password. After that, you will find yourself in the main menu of the service with a news feed.
  2. Go to the personal page where your posts are posted.
  3. Select the desired photo or video.
  4. On the top panel, click on the button in the form of an ellipsis.
  5. In the new menu, click on the archiving item.
  6. The procedure will take only a few seconds, after which the record will be in the storage.

A similar algorithm must be performed with each publication that you want to save.

If you want to archive material on Instagram through a computer, you will have to face a number of difficulties. In the web version of the social network, there is no such function and it is impossible to access the vault. The official application for Windows solves the problem, starting from version 8 of the operating system, but in this case, only publications are displayed in the archive, but no stories. To add stories to the archive from a PC, you need:

  1. Log in to the social network.
  2. Go to the personal page.
  3. On the top panel you will see an indicator in the form of a dial for switching to archived lists.
  4. To add an image or video, select and open the desired content.
  5. Press the ellipsis button and the archiving item.
  6. Done.

Note. To have access to all the functionality on a PC, you can use the mobile version of Instagram by downloading an Android emulator or installing additional browser extensions.

How to delete archive stories

In the archive, you can set up the desired publication at any time, edit it and re-place it in the news feed. In this case, the entry will be displayed with a memory mark, which can be erased using standard social network tools. If you decide to delete Instagram stories from storage, then follow these steps:

  1. Go to your social network page.
  2. Locate the button in the form of three lines.
  3. Open the archive section.
  4. A list of all saved histories will be displayed on the screen. Select the one you don't want and click on it.
  5. In the new window, find the ellipsis button.
  6. Select the item to delete the publication.

The procedure is the same for the PC application. Thus, you can erase from the archive not only stories from the tape, but also all saved photos and videos. It should be remembered that after this it will no longer be possible to restore the content, so think carefully before proceeding with actions.

Set up automatic archiving

It's important to remember that your mobile device and app might not have the auto-save feature set to vault. In this case, you need to activate it:

  1. Go to your social network page.
  2. Click on the button in the form of three parallel lines on the top bar of the workspace.
  3. Locate the settings section, displayed as a gear.
  4. Click on the privacy tab.
  5. Open the stories item.

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