Instagram Help Center

Your story is a way of sharing photos and videos with your followers that disappear after 24 hours. To share a photo or video to your story:

1. Tap in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed.
2. Tap at the bottom of the screen to take a photo, or tap and hold to record a video. You can also:
   • Tap Boomerang at the bottom of the screen, then tap the circle to take a burst of photos that loops forward and backward.
   • Swipe left then tap Hands-Free at the bottom of the screen to take a video without having to tap and hold.
3. Tap , or to draw, add text or a sticker to your photo or video. Tap Undo to remove a drawing effect or Done to save it. To remove text or a sticker, drag and drop it on at the bottom of the screen.
4. You can tap Cancel to discard your photo or video, or Save to save it to your phone. When you're done, tap Your Story to share to your story.

Learn more about who can see your story.

When you post a photo or video to your story, it appears in the following places:

• On your profile: A colorful ring will appear around your profile picture, and people can tap it to see your story. Photos and videos from your story don't appear on your profile grid.
• At the top of Feed: Your profile picture will appear in a row at the top of your followers' Feeds, and they can tap it to see your story.
• In Feed next to posts you share: When you share a post, a colorful ring will appear around your profile picture in Feed. People can tap it to see your story.

Stories shared by public accounts may appear in Search & Explore. If you've added a hashtag, location or location-based sticker to your story, it may also appear on hashtag or location pages.

Learn more about who can see your story.

To look at who's seen your story, open your story and swipe up on the screen. You'll see the number as well as the names of the people who have seen each photo or video in your story.

Only you are able to look at who's seen your story.

Photos and videos you share to your story disappear from Feed and your profile after 24 hours.

Keep in mind that you can also save photos and videos from your story or share them to Feed.

To delete a photo or video from your story:

1. Open your story
2. Tap in the bottom right of the photo or video you'd like to delete
3. Tap Delete then tap to confirm

You can share a photo or video from your story as a post in Feed:

1. Open your story
2. Tap in the bottom right of the photo or video you'd like to share
3. Tap Share as Post...
4. Crop your photo, then choose to add effects, filters, captions and your location, then tap Share

Photos and videos you share from your story to Feed appear on your profile grid and have the same visibility as the other posts you share.

When sharing a photo or video to your story, you can mention someone:

1. Tap in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed
2. Take a photo or video, then tap
3. Type @ followed immediately by their username, then select the person you'd like to mention

People you mention will get a push notification telling them that you've mentioned them in your story. They'll also get a direct message from you that includes a preview of your story. This preview disappears from the message thread after 24 hours.

You can mention up to 10 people in each photo or video you share to your story. If you mention multiple people, they'll each get a message from you individually.

Before you share a photo or video to your story, you can tap Save at the bottom of the screen to save it to your phone. You can also save a photo or video you've already shared:

1. Open your story
2. Tap in the bottom right of the photo or video you'd like to save
3. Tap Save
4. Select Save Photo/Video to save the individual photo or video, or select Save Story to save everything from your story as a single video

Adding links to your story is a feature that's currently being tested. Right now, only verified accounts are able to add links to their story.

When you add a link to your story, people will see See More at the bottom of the screen, and can tap to view the link inside the app.

When you share a photo or video to your story, you can use creative tools to help capture and edit them.

Taking photos and videos

• On iPhone, you'll automatically see when your phone detects darkness. Tap it to take better photos and videos in the dark.
• To take a photo or video with a face filter, tap then select a filter at the bottom of the screen. When using the front or back-facing camera, the filter you choose will automatically appear on the closest person’s face. Face filters also work while using Boomerang, Hands-Free and Rewind, and some filters work with two faces at once. Keep in mind that face filters aren't supported on some older devices.
• To zoom while recording a video, tap and hold with one finger to start recording, then slide up or down using that same finger.
• Tap Boomerang at the bottom of the screen, then tap the circle at the bottom to take a burst of photos that loops forward and backward.
• To take a video without having to tap and hold, swipe left at the bottom of the screen and tap Hands-Free. From there you can tap to start recording a video, or tap and hold to see a timer that counts down before recording.
• To record a video that plays in reverse, first tap Rewind at the bottom of the screen. From there, tap and hold to take a video, or tap once to record hands-free.
• On iPhone, you can switch between front and rear-facing cameras while recording a video. Tap and hold to start recording, then tap .

You can also upload a recent photo or video you've taken. Swipe up from the bottom of the camera screen then select from your phone's library.

Editing photos and videos

To add a filter to your photo or video, swipe left or right after taking it.

You can also tap the following creative tools at the top of the screen:

Tap to add stickers. From there, you can:

• Rotate and resize a sticker by using two fingers to pinch and zoom.
• Add a sticker with your location by searching for or selecting nearby options. When people see your story, they'll be able to tap the sticker and view the page for that location.
• Add a sticker with a hashtag. When people see your story, they'll be able to tap the sticker and view the page for the hashtag you enter.
• Add an interactive poll sticker to write out your own question and customize the answers. When people see your story, they'll be able to respond by tapping one of the two options you've provided. Once you publish your poll to your story, your followers can vote and see realtime results. When you view your own story and swipe up to see the list of viewers, you'll be able to see how many votes each option received and how each person voted. Keep in mind that since polls are part of stories, the content will disappear after 24 hours.
• Add custom stickers that appear automatically based on your current location. Currently, these stickers are only available in certain cities. When people see your story, they'll be able to tap the sticker and view the page for that location. Some stickers have been designed by artists in the creative community. You can tap these stickers to see who designed them.
• Add a sticker with things like the current time or weather conditions. These stickers are based on information from your device and your current location.
• Add a sticker with a selfie by tapping the sticker with your profile picture and taking a photo. You can tap the sticker for more options.
• Pin stickers to a fixed spot in your video. After taking a video, add a sticker, then tap it and hold. Use the slider bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the video to find where you want to pin the sticker. Move the sticker and tap Pin.
• Find your recently used stickers by swiping right.
• Delete a sticker by dragging and dropping it on at the bottom of the screen.

Tap to add text. From there, you can:

• Add emoji.
• Adjust text size up or down by tapping and using the slider.
• Center text or align left or right by tapping .
• Rotate and resize the text by using two fingers to pinch and zoom.
• Choose a text color by tapping the colors at the at the bottom of the screen. Swipe to see more colors, or tap and hold a circle to choose a custom color.
• Add a color background to text by tapping at the top of the screen and selecting a color.
• Pin text to a fixed spot in your video. After taking a video, add text, then tap it and hold. Use the slider bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the video to find where you want to pin the text. Move the text and tap Pin.
• Tap again to add another section of text.
• Type @ then enter someone's username to mention them.
• Enter a hashtag (example: #flower). People can tap it to view the page for that hashtag.

Tap to draw on your photo or video. From there, you can:

• Choose between marker, chisel-tip, neon and eraser brushes from the options at the top of the screen.
• Adjust the line thickness by tapping in the bottom left and using the slider.
• Choose a color to draw with by tapping the colors at the bottom of the screen. Swipe left to see more colors, or tap and hold a circle for more color options. You can also tap and drag and drop it to select a color from your photo or video.

To share a story in a direct message:

1. Tap on a story to view it
2. Tap in the bottom right of the photo or video you'd like to share
3. Select people you'd like to share it with and tap Send

Stories you share in a direct message have the same visibility settings as other posts you share. For example, if you have a private account, only your followers can see your story in Direct. You can choose who can view and share your story by adjusting your story settings.

When someone shares a story with you, you will see it in your Direct inbox. When the original story disappears from the app, it will no longer be available in your message thread.

Learn more about Instagram stories.

To share your story to Facebook:

1. Start creating a story, then tap Next
2. Tap Your Facebook Story
3. Tap Share

You can also adjust your settings to allow all future stories to be shared to Facebook automatically:

1. Go to your profile and tap (iOS) or (Android) in the top-right corner
2. Tap Story Settings
3. Next to Share Your Story to Facebook, tap to allow sharing

Note: When you share your Instagram story to Facebook, it will appear as a story at the top of News Feed. Keep in mind that anything you share to Facebook, including your Instagram story, works with your existing Facebook privacy settings.

You can share a live video to connect with your followers in real time. Once a live video has ended, it's no longer visible in the app, unless you share a replay of it to your story.

To start a live video:

1. Tap in the top left of the screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed.
2. Tap Live at the bottom of the screen, then tap Start Live Video.
3. The number of viewers appears at the top of the screen and comments appear at the bottom. Tap Comment to add a comment, and tap and hold a comment to pin it to the top so that viewers can see it more easily.
4. To turn comments off, tap then select Turn Off Commenting. Keep in mind that any keyword filters you've turned on will also apply to comments on your live video.
5. When you're done, tap End in the top right then tap to confirm. From there, you can tap Save in the top right to save it to your camera roll, or share it to your story.

After you've ended a live video on Instagram, you can tap Save in the top right to save the video to your phone's camera roll. Keep in mind that only the video is saved, and not things like comments, likes and viewers.

You're only able to save a live video right after you've ended it. Only you will see the option to save your live video.

Note: It may take a minute for a live video to save to your phone, especially for longer videos.

Once your live video ends, you can share a replay of it. Like other photos and videos you share to stories, live video replays disappear from the app after 24 hours.

To share a replay of your live video, tap Share at the bottom of the screen after you've ended your live video. To discard your live video, tap then select Discard. You can also tap Save in the top right to save it to your camera roll.

Live video replays include all the likes and comments from your original live video. The number of viewers for your live video includes everyone who watched the live video and the replay.

Learn more about where your story appears and who can see it.

When someone you follow shares a live video, their profile picture will appear at the top of Feed with a colorful ring around it and the word Live. Tap their profile picture to view their live video.

While viewing someone's live video, you can tap Comment at the bottom of the screen to leave a comment, and to like their video. Anyone who's viewing the video can see when you like or comment. You can also tap the screen to hide comments and likes.

Keep in mind that when you start viewing a live video, the person sharing and anyone else who's viewing may be able to see that you've joined.

If someone has shared a live video replay to their story, you'll see it at the top of feed with a play button and colorful ring around it. While viewing someone's live video replay, you can tap the right or left side of the screen to skip forwards or backwards. If someone has shared multiple live video replays, you can tap the arrows at the top of the screen to skip between them.

While you can't comment on a live video replay, you can respond to someone's replay by sending a message in Direct.

You can see stories of people you follow using the Instagram app or on the web at Instagram.com. If someone has shared a story you haven't seen yet, you'll see a colorful ring around their profile picture.

Stories appear in a row at the top of Feed. To see someone's story, tap their profile picture at the top of Feed, on their profile or next to a post they've shared in Feed.

When you view stories from the top of your Feed, they automatically scroll from one person's to the next. You can tap the screen to skip to the next photo or video, or swipe right or left to skip between people's stories. Swipe down on the screen or tap x in the top right to exit someone's story and return to Feed.

Stories appear at the top of Feed on mobile web, and to the right of Feed on desktop web. Tap or click on any story to view it, or use the arrows to get to the next screen or story. Select x in the top right to exit someone's story and return to Feed.

Keep in mind that when you see someone's story, they'll be able to tell that you've seen it.

When you see someone's story, you can reply to it by sending them a message:

1. Open the story you'd like to reply to.
2. Tap Send Message at the bottom of the screen, or tap to send a disappearing photo or video. You can also draw on the thumbnail image of the message you're replying to. After someone opens a disappearing photo or video, it’s no longer visible in their inbox.
3. Type your message or take a photo or video, then tap Send.

Keep in mind that stories disappear after 24 hours. Replies with a photo or video include a thumbnail image of the original story, which is visible to the story creator when they view the reply, even if the story itself has already disappeared.

When you watch someone's story, you can skip forwards, backwards and pause:

• Tap on the left of the screen to go back to the previous photo or video, or on the right to skip to the next one
• Swipe right or left to skip between people's stories
• Tap and hold the screen to pause on a photo or video

Keep in mind that when you watch someone's story, they'll be able to tell that you've watched it.

If you don't want someone's story to appear in the bar at the top of Feed, you can mute their story:

1. At the top of Feed, tap and hold the profile picture of the person whose story you'd like to mute
2. Select Mute [username]

To unmute a story you've muted, repeat these steps and select Unmute [username].

Stories you've muted will appear at the end of the bar at the top of Feed, and won't have a colorful ring around them when they're updated. Muted stories won't automatically play when you watch stories.

Muting someone's story is different from unfollowing them, and you'll still see their posts in Feed.

If you see someone's story and think it goes against Instagram's Community Guidelines, you can report it:

1. Open the story
2. Tap in the bottom right of the photo or video you'd like to report
3. Tap Report then follow the on-screen instructions

No. When you see someone's story, they'll be able to tell that you've seen it.

The visibility of your story depends on your account's privacy setting:

• For private accounts: Only your approved followers can see your story
• For public accounts: Anyone on Instagram can see your story

Learn more about where your story appears and how to hide your story from people you don't want to see it.

If you don't want someone to see your story, you can hide your story from them and prevent them from seeing anything you post to your story in the future. To hide your story from someone:

1. Go to your profile by tapping .
2. Tap (iOS) or (Android) in the top right.
3. Tap Story Settings below Account.
4. Tap Hide Story From.
5. Select the people you'd like to hide your story from, then tap Done. To unhide your story from someone, tap to unselect them.

You can also choose people to hide your story from as you're looking at who's seen your story. Tap x to the right of their name and select Hide Story From [Username].

If your story is appearing on a location or hashtag page, you'll see it at the top of the list of people who have seen your story. You can tap x to the right of a location or hashtag page to hide your story from it.

Keep in mind that hiding your story from someone is different than blocking them, and doesn't prevent them from seeing your profile and posts.

Your account's privacy setting also affects who can see your story. If your account is set to private, only your approved followers can see your story. If your account is set to public, your followers can see your story from Feed and anyone can see it from your profile.

By default, anyone who can see your story can reply to it directly with a message. When you prevent someone from replying, they won't see that option from within your story. To control who's able to reply to your story:

1. Go to your profile and tap (iOS) or (Android) in the top right
2. Tap Story Settings below Account
3. Select an option below Allow Message Replies

Keep in mind that stories disappear after 24 hours. After that, photos and videos from a person's story will no longer be visible in conversations. Any text that was included with a message will still be visible after the photo or video disappears.

You can also hide your story from people.

When someone mentions you in their story, your username is visible in their story, and anyone who can see it can tap your username to go to your profile. If your account is set to private, only your approved followers can see your posts.

Stories you're mentioned in don't appear on your profile or in your tagged photos. Keep in mind that photos and videos shared to someone's story disappear after 24 hours.

If someone you follow mentions you in their story, you'll get a direct message from them that includes a preview of their story. If someone you don't follow mentions you, it'll appear in your inbox as a message request.

There isn't a way to remove your username from someone's story or prevent them from mentioning you, but you can report someone's story.