How to View Your Old Instagram Stories

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Swipe through older Instagram Stories at your convenience

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: May 18, 2025 Fact Checked

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Viewing Old Instagram Stories

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Unarchiving a Story

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FAQ

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Video

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Q&A

Did you know you can see your old Instagram Stories even after they disappear? When a Story expires after 24 hours, it's still available in your private archive. You can easily reshare old Stories, save them to your phone, and even highlight your best photos and videos at the top of your profile. This wikiHow article will show you where to find your old Instagram Stories on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.

Quick Steps

Open Instagram.
Tap your profile picture.
Tap the menu ☰.
Tap Archive (or Your activity > Archived)
Tap an old Story to watch it.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

How to View Your Old Instagram Stories

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1
Open Instagram. This app icon looks like a camera lens on an orange to purple gradient that you'll find on one of your Home screens, in the app drawer, or by searching.
- The archiving feature is enabled by default. If your Stories are not archiving, you can turn on this feature by going to your profile and tapping ☰ > Your activity > Archived > ⋮ (Android) or ••• (iOS) > Settings > Save story to archive.^{[1]
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- While you can toggle the Archive feature on and off from your web browser, you can't see or unarchive old Stories that way. So, you'll need to use the mobile app for Android, iPhone, or iPad instead.
It's in the row of icons at the bottom of your screen and will redirect you to your profile.^{[2]
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You'll see this icon in the top right corner of your screen.^{[3]
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Tap Archive. It's next to a clock icon.
- Your Stories archive will display.
- If you don't see Archive here, tap Your activity > Archived.
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Tap a Story to view it. It will start playing again.
- Some elements will be changed to allow for storage space. For example, if your Story has a Music sticker, that music will be muted. Sharing this Story will not share the change that was made.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Unarchiving a Story

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If you want to share an archived story with your followers again, you can unarchive the story. To get started, go to your profile and tap ☰ > Archive.
It will begin playing in a new window.
It's at the bottom of your screen next to "Highlight" and the "More" menu.
This will publish your old Story for your followers to see again.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

FAQ

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How can I see old stories after 24 hours if they aren't archived? You can only recover deleted Stories for up to 24 hours that aren't in your Stories Archive. To do this, go to your profile, and tap ☰ > Your activity > Recently deleted > The Story > ••• > Restore to Profile/Restore.^{[4]
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Can I see old Instagram stories from other people? You can only see old Stories for other accounts if they have it highlighted on their profile page.
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Why is my Archive empty? If you go to your archive and don't see anything, make sure you have the feature enabled. Go to your profile, and tap *☰ > Your activity > Archived >*** ⋮ (Android) or ••• (iOS) > Settings > Save story to archive.

Community Q&A

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Question

Why can't I view the likes on my old Instagram stories from my archive or highlights?

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Community Answer

You can only view who liked your Instagram story while the story is live and within the 24-hour window by swiping up on it. Story likes, which are indicated by a heart button rather than a direct message, were introduced in 2022.

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