As you know, an archive collects historic items and Instagram provides you with an archive for your posts, stories, and live broadcasts. This allows you to hold onto posts you no longer want to display, stories that disappear, and live broadcasts that have ended.
The nice thing about the Instagram archive is that you can still relive those moments, reshare them, or get rid of them for good. The archive is under your control for the most part, with a few exceptions.
Here, we’ll show you how to use the Instagram archive. We’ll cover how to archive items, access your archive, reshare posts, stories, or live broadcasts that you find there, and any limitations you need to know.
How to use the Instagram archive
View your archive
Your archive contains posts, stories, and live broadcasts. And since we’ll be discussing this spot for each item below, you should know how to easily access the archive. Open the Instagram app on iPhone and do the following.
1) Go to your profile and tap the Menu icon on the top right.
2) Select Archive.
3) When you arrive on the archive screen, tap the arrow at the top and pick Posts, Stories, or Live. For Stories, you can use the tabs at the top to view all stories, by date, and by location.
Your archive for posts
If you decide you no longer want to show a post on Instagram, you can simply archive it. This way, you can pull it from the archive later if you decide to share it again. To archive a post you’ve shared, follow these steps.
1) Go to your profile and select the post.
2) Tap the three dots on the top right.
3) Choose Archive.
When you archive a post, it retains all likes and comments it received.
Maybe you want to reshare a post you’ve tucked away in the archive. To do so,
1) Access your Posts Archive as described in View Your Archive.
2) Select the post and tap the three dots at the top.
3) Choose Show on Profile.
When you share a post from your archive, it’ll return to its original place on your profile.
Delete an archived post
If you’d like to permanently remove a post in the archive, do the following.
1) Access your Posts Archive as described above.
2) Select the post and tap the three dots at the top.
3) Choose Delete and then confirm by tapping Delete again.
Your archive for stories
For stories, you don’t have to manually move them to your archive. With a simple setting, your stories will automatically move to the archive once they disappear from your profile. To enable the setting, do the following.
1) Go to your profile and tap the Menu icon on the top right and choose Settings.
2) Select Privacy and choose Story.
3) Enable the toggle for Save Story to Archive.
Important note: If you delete a story before it disappears, it will not be saved to your archive, even with this setting enabled.
You can share an archived story via Direct Message or Your Story by following these steps.
1) Access your Stories Archive as described above.
2) Select the story and tap Share at the bottom.
3) Choose the people you want to share with in a message or choose Your Story. Follow the subsequent prompts.
Delete an archived story
If you prefer to permanently delete a story in the archive, do the following.
1) Access your Stories Archive as described above.
2) Select the story and tap the More at the bottom.
3) Choose Delete and then confirm by tapping Delete again.
Important note: When you delete an archived story, this deletes it from any place else you’ve shared it on Instagram including Highlights.
Your archive for live broadcasts
Similar to stories, you can move your live broadcasts to the archive automatically as well. Follow these steps to enable the setting.
1) Go to your profile and tap the Menu icon on the top right and choose Settings.
2) Select Privacy and choose Story.
3) Enable the toggle for Save Live to Archive.
Important Notes: You cannot see a live broadcast in the archive until after it ends. And live broadcasts are only available in the archive for 30 days.
You can share an archived broadcast to IGTV by following these steps.
1) Access your Live Archive as described earlier.
2) Select the broadcast and tap Share at the bottom.
3) Follow the subsequent prompts to share the live broadcast.
Delete an archived broadcast
If you’d like to permanently delete a live broadcast in the archive, do the following.
1) Access your Live Archive as described above.
2) Select the broadcast and tap Delete at the bottom.
3) Confirm by tapping Delete again.
Wrapping it up
The Instagram archive is a handy spot to hold onto your older stories and live broadcasts as well as posts you no longer want to share. And since you can access the archive for posts, stories, and live broadcasts easily, you can reshare them or remove them completely in just a few taps.
Are you new to the archive for your Instagram account and if so, do you plan to visit it now?
For more, take a look at how to restore deleted Instagram posts and stories or how to manage your Instagram notifications.
