Any Instagram story you create is only visible for 24 hours. Once it is gone from your profile, it is gone forever. Nevertheless, you certainly can if you want to delete an Instagram story before it expires. This setting allows you to move stories to your Stories Archive so you can revisit and share them again or permanently delete them.Here’s how you can delete an active, archived, or promoted Instagram story.
How To Delete Your Instagram Story
It is actually very simple to delete an Instagram Story, as with most other things in the app. Your Story will be deleted permanently with a couple of taps. Remember that when you delete the Story. Neither a draft mode nor an unpublish function is available. Once published, the document is gone forever. However, you still have a copy in your Story Archive if you need it. I’ll show you how to do it if you’re okay with it.
- Launch the app and open your Story.
- Click the three-dot menu icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Click Delete, and then click Delete again.
This will remove your Instagram Story from public view. They will no longer be able to view that Story in the app if they close it or move on. A copy, which was open when it was deleted, won’t be removed.
Delete An Instagram Story from Your Archive
You can also delete an Instagram Story from your Archive if you’re cleaning up or removing evidence. Your Story Archive contains a copy of every Story you post. Additionally, to delete your Story from living, you should also delete it from your Story Archive if you are housekeeping or removing evidence. Follow these steps:
- Visit your Instagram profile in the lower right corner of the app.
- The timer icon can be accessed by tapping the triple-lined menu icon in the upper right corner of your profile.
- Tap the Story you wish to remove.
- Tap the three dots menu button at the bottom right.
- Tap Delete once and delete again to confirm.
If you delete a Story from the live stream, it will remain here for a while, but it will be gone forever if you delete it from your Story Archive. Instagram will no longer store copies.
Delete an Instagram Story from Highlights
Instagram Highlights let you extend the life of a Story beyond 24 hours. Your profile contains a permanent list of Stories that you can access. It’s also another place you should delete a Story if you are cleaning your house. It may also be necessary to delete it from your Highlights and your Story Archive and live. To do so, follow these steps:
- Go to your profile and select Story Highlights.
- Long press the Story you wish to delete.
- Then, select Delete Highlight.
You can also access the delete command by selecting the Highlight icon and using the three-dot menu icon.
Delete Your Instagram Post or Video
Since we’re in a cleaning mood, I might as well show you how to delete a post or a video. The process is the same as for Stories.
- Click on the post or video you wish to delete.
- Click on the three-dot menu.
- Select Delete and then Delete again to confirm the deletion.
It’s important to note that posts have an unpublish option that Stories do not have. Instagram posts can be archived, which removes them from live view so nobody can view them, but they remain in your app so you can still access them. Stories could benefit from this feature, as it is a private archive rather than a publicly accessible one. Archived posts are only visible to you and cannot be accessed by anyone else, including friends.