How to Restore Deleted Instagram Stories and Photos

ByJacob Ibrahim

Users can now restore deleted stories and other content from the Recently Deleted section of the Instagram app. When you accidentally delete a post or story on Instagram, how do you get it back? There was no way to do it a few months ago. There is now a Recently Deleted section in Instagram’s app. The Recent Deleted Section now allows you to restore deleted stories, photos, videos, reels, or IGTV videos.

In addition to influencing our lifestyle, Instagram has also changed how we perceive the world around us. Among the most addictive social networking sites, Instagram offers us a couple of goals, holiday destination ideas, and viral reels. A $1 billion acquisition by Facebook in 2012 was the result of the platform’s popularity with Millennials and Gen Z.

As a result of Instagram, anyone with a smartphone can now take a photo and apply filters to make it more visually appealing. Content creators can now easily engage with their target audience on Instagram because smartphones now come with compelling cameras. 

Instagram’s Story feature received backlash in 2016 when it was introduced because it resembled Snapchat’s My Story feature. Using Instagram stories, users are able to post photos and videos along with captions. If you don’t convert your Instagram stories into highlights, they generally last for 24 hours. Previously saved stories can be viewed in the highlights section.

Instagram stories can be customized and designed with emoticons, music, and GIFs. You can use this feature when you do not want to create many posts but still want to keep your followers updated quickly. The question is: what if you deleted an Instagram story and later regretted it? Do you know what happens when you accidentally remove your Instagram story? Is it possible to recover it? You can find the answer to your question by carefully reading the following section of our blog.

Can you retrieve deleted Stories on Instagram?

Instagrammers who enjoy sharing photos, reels, and stories on the platform must be curious whether they can retrieve their deleted stories. I have good news to share with you. The Recently Deleted feature on Instagram allows you to recover deleted posts and stories.

The feature was introduced in February 2021 and ensured the protection of your posts and stories. By using the Recently Deleted feature, you can restore posts and stories deleted by a hacker from your Instagram account. This technique, however, works only after your account has been recovered.

The Recently Deleted feature allows Instagram users to maintain control over their accounts. The Recently Deleted folder is automatically created when you delete your Instagram photos, videos, reels, and stories. You can restore unarchived stories only within 24 hours of deletion if they have not been archived. Within 30 days of deleting a story, you can recover it. This only applies to archived stories.

How to retrieve deleted Instagram Stories

Let us now try to understand how the Recently Deleted feature can be used to restore deleted WhatsApp stories now that we have some understanding of its functionality. Below you will find a step-by-step guide that will help you understand how everything works.

Step 1: Open Instagram app, and tap on your profile picture, which appears in the lower right corner. In addition to the notification option, which is indicated by a heart, you can see your profile picture.

Step 2: Select Three horizontal lines from your account’s opening screen. This icon can be found on your mobile device in the upper right corner.

Step 3: On the screen of your smartphone, a menu appears. The Your Activity option can be found right below Archive. The Your Activity option can be found by tapping it.

Step 4: The Your Activity screen offers a wide variety of options. Just above the Download Your Information option, scroll down and click on Recently Deleted. 

Step 5: Select the Instagram story that you want to restore from the Recently Deleted screen. 

Step 6: There are two options: Delete and Restore when you click the three dots icon in the top right corner. You can restore your data by tapping Restore.

Step 7: You can restore a particular Instagram story by going to the Archive folder for stories. You will see your Instagram story on your account if it has been shared within the last 24 hours.  You can therefore restore your deleted Instagram stories by following all the steps above.

2nd method to retrieve deleted Instagram Story

To recover deleted Instagram Stories:

  1. At the bottom right of Instagram, click on your profile icon.
  2. Select Your activity by tapping on the three lines at the top right corner.
  3. Click on Recently deleted at the bottom of the page.
  4. Recover Recently Deleted Instagram Stories by finding and selecting them.
  5. Select Restore by tapping the More button on the bottom right.

Instagram Stories that have been deleted recently are saved for 30 days, meaning you have about a month to restore them. Once those 30 days have expired, they will be permanently deleted and are no longer retrievable. Following the steps outlined above, select Delete rather than Restore if you want your recently deleted stories gone for good. 

Here’s how you can recover deleted Instagram Stories within the app. The good news is that you now know how to recover a Story if you accidentally deleted it or if you decided to change your mind about it.

How to access Instagram’s Recently Deleted folder

Follow the steps below to access Instagram’s Recently Deleted folder:  

  1. Install the Instagram app on your device
  2. Click on the Profile icon in the right corner of the screen
  3. In the right corner, tap the three lines 
  4. Choose Your Activity from the menu
  5. Deleted items can be found by scrolling down and selecting them

How to restore content you’ve deleted from Instagram

  1. Go to your profile by tapping the Profile icon on the right
  2. The three lines on the right need to be tapped
  3. Click on Your Activities
  4. Deleted recently can be found by scrolling down and selecting it
  5. If you want to restore or permanently delete a photo, video, or story, tap it
    • Depending on the type of content you want to restore or permanently delete, you may be able to filter it
  6. The three-dot icon is located on the right side of the post.
  7. Choose Restore from the menu 

When permanently deleting or restoring content from Recently Deleted, Instagram will ask for verification via email or text. 

Which deleted posts can you recover on Instagram?

If you deleted your Instagram content within the last 30 days, you can recover the following:

  • Videos and photos from your profile
  • Videos and photos from your Instagram story
  • Highlights and archives of your Instagram stories
  • The reels
  • Messages from direct sources

Note: In the Recently Deleted folder, deleted stories will remain for up to 24 hours. After 30 days, everything else will be automatically deleted.

FAQs

How do I permanently delete an Instagram Story?

Go to your profile, click the three lines on the top right, select ‘Your activity,’ select Recently deleted, and tap the Delete button to permanently delete your Instagram Story.

How do I restore an Instagram Story?

The three lines at the top right of your profile can be tapped to restore an Instagram Story you previously deleted. Locate the Story you want to restore under ‘Your Activity’. The Story can be recovered by selecting the Restore button.

Read:

Jacob Ibrahim is a technology enthusiast. Since he has a degree in computer engineering, he has always been willing to help others who are having difficulty understanding technology. He started writing about technology over six years ago. He has focused on how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS, Windows, social media, and web apps. Each day, he writes articles that assist users in solving their technology-related problems.

Similar Posts