How to Archive an Instagram Post, One or Many
Here’s how to archive an Instagram post: open it from your profile, tap Options in the top right and select Archive. The post disappears from your profile for your followers and everyone else, but it keeps all its likes and comments, and you can show it again later in its original spot. Reels use a slightly different menu.
You can archive one post at a time from the post itself, or clear many at once from Your activity. This page covers the iPhone, Android and instagram.com routes, where your three archives live, and what changes if you delete instead. New to managing a profile? How to use Instagram covers the basics first.
Table of Contents
- What does archive mean on Instagram?
- How to archive an Instagram post or reel
- Can you mass archive Instagram posts?
- Where to find your archived posts
- How to unarchive a post
- Archive vs delete: what’s the difference?
- How to restore a post you deleted
- Archiving Instagram posts: FAQ
What does archive mean on Instagram?
Archiving takes a post off your profile without deleting it. Your followers and everyone else stop seeing it, while you can still open it in your Posts archive. Instagram says an archived post “keeps all its likes and comments”. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive a post you've shared on Instagram When you show it on your profile again, it returns to its original spot on your profile. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Show an archived post again in your Instagram profile
Your archive actually holds three kinds of content, each in its own section:
- Posts archive: the posts you archived yourself.
- Stories archive: your stories, saved there automatically after 24 hours unless you’ve turned the setting off. Instagram says archived stories can’t be seen unless you choose to share them. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive Instagram Stories or turn off Stories Archive
- Live archive: Instagram’s creators site says Live videos you share are saved to your Archive automatically, where you can access them for up to 30 days. Checked against Instagram for Creators: Connect with Instagram Live
How to archive an Instagram post or reel
For a post, open it from your profile, tap Options, then Archive. For a reel, open it, tap Options in the bottom right, then Manage, then Archive. Instagram’s single-post steps are word for word the same on iPhone and Android, so this list works on both:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap the post you'd like to archive.
- Tap Options in the top right.
- Select Archive.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive a post you've shared on Instagram.
For a reel, Archive sits inside Manage, next to Edit, Hide likes and Pin to your reels. Again, iPhone and Android share the steps:
On iPhone:
- Open your reel.
- Tap Options in the bottom right of the reel.
- Tap Manage. From here you can tap Edit, Turn off commenting, Hide likes, Add to profile grid, Pin to your reels, or Archive.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Manage reels on Instagram.
On a computer, Instagram’s single-post article gives no steps. The route Instagram documents on instagram.com is the bulk one in the next section.
Can you mass archive Instagram posts?
Yes. Instagram lets you archive multiple posts at once from Your activity, in the app or on instagram.com: open Posts, tap Select, pick the posts and tap Archive. Before selecting, you can sort from newest to oldest or filter by date, which helps when you want to archive Instagram posts in bulk from one stretch of time.
On iPhone or Android (the lists are identical):
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity.
- Below Content you shared, tap Posts.
- Tap Select in the top right, then tap Select on the posts you'd like to archive. To filter first, tap Newest to oldest or All dates.
- Tap Archive at the bottom, then tap Archive to confirm.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive multiple posts at once that you've shared on Instagram.
On instagram.com:
On the web:
- Click Menu in the bottom left, then click Your Activity.
- Click Photos and videos on the left, then click Posts at the top.
- Click Select in the top right, then click Select on the posts you'd like to archive. To filter first, click Sort & filter at the top, choose your filter preferences and click Apply.
- Click Archive at the bottom, then click Archive to confirm.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive multiple posts at once that you've shared on Instagram.
Clearing old posts before a rebrand? Archived posts can be shown on your profile again, so nothing is lost if you change your mind. Our guide to creating a cohesive Instagram aesthetic covers planning the grid that replaces them.
Where to find your archived posts
Go to your profile, tap Menu, then Your activity, then Archived. The menu at the top opens on Stories archive; switch it to Posts archive or Live archive. The steps match on iPhone and Android:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity.
- Below Removed and archived content, tap Archived.
- Tap Stories archive at the top, then select Stories archive, Posts archive or Live archive.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Where to see content you've archived on Instagram.
Instagram’s own unarchive article uses a shorter path, with Archive listed directly below How you use Instagram, so your menu may show either route. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Show an archived post again in your Instagram profile Neither article gives steps for viewing the archive on a computer.
Stories archive
Stories you share go to your private Stories archive after 24 hours, or straight away if you tap Options on the story and choose Archive. Instagram says that if you turn the archive off, stories you share from then on are deleted after 24 hours. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive Instagram Stories or turn off Stories Archive
To keep a story on your profile past 24 hours, add it to a highlight; our guide to Instagram highlights has the steps.
How to unarchive a post
Open your Posts archive, tap the post, tap Options and choose Show on profile. Instagram says it returns to its original spot on your profile. Android asks you to confirm with one more tap:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Archive.
- Tap Stories archive at the top, then tap Posts archive.
- Tap the post you'd like to show on your profile.
- Tap Options in the top right, then select Show on profile.
On Android:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Archive.
- Tap Stories archive at the top, then tap Posts archive.
- Tap the post you'd like to show on your profile.
- Tap Options in the top right, then select Show on Profile.
- Tap Show on profile to confirm.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Show an archived post again in your Instagram profile.
Instagram’s unarchive article has no computer steps, so the app route above is the only one it documents.
Archive vs delete: what’s the difference?
Archive hides; delete starts a 30-day clock. An archived post comes back with its likes and comments, while a deleted one waits in Recently deleted for 30 days and is then deleted automatically. Two other post controls get mixed up with archiving, so the table puts all four side by side.
| Who can see the post | Likes and comments | How to undo it | Limits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archive | No one else; you see it in your Posts archive | Kept | Show on profile; it returns to its original spot | — |
| Delete | No one else while it sits in Recently deleted | — | Restore from Recently deleted, in the iPhone or Android app | 30 days in Recently deleted (up to 24 hours for stories not in your archive); full deletion can take up to 90 days |
| Hide like count to others | Anyone who could see it before, without the like count | The like count is hidden from others | Unhide like count to others, in the same Options menu | — |
| Pin to main grid | Anyone who could see it before, at the top of your profile | — | Unpin from main grid; it returns to its original spot | Up to 3 pinned posts |
A dash means the Instagram articles cited on this page don’t cover it. Sources: archive Checked against Instagram Help Center: Archive a post you've shared on Instagram; delete Checked against Instagram Help Center: How to recover deleted Instagram photos, videos, reels, and stories and Checked against Instagram Help Center: What happens to content you delete on Instagram; like counts Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide or unhide like counts on Instagram posts and reels; pinning Checked against Instagram Help Center: Pin a post to the top of your profile on Instagram.
Pick archive when there’s any chance you’ll want the post back, and delete only when you’re sure: Recently deleted gives you 30 days, in the iPhone or Android app. If the problem is the number under a post rather than the post itself, hiding likes on Instagram keeps it up and takes the count out of view.
Posts you never shared aren’t archived at all; unfinished ones are drafts, which work differently, as explained in how to save an Instagram post as a draft.
How to restore a post you deleted
Deleted photos, videos, reels and stories go to Recently deleted in the iPhone and Android app, where you can restore them for 30 days. Stories that weren’t in your stories archive stay only up to 24 hours, and Instagram says deleted messages can’t be restored. The steps are the same on both phones:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity.
- Below Removed and archived content, tap Recently deleted. You may not see these options if you haven't deleted any content recently.
- At the top, tap the type of content you'd like to restore or permanently delete: Posts, Reels and videos, or Stories.
- Tap the photo, video, reel or story you'd like to restore or permanently delete.
- Tap Options.
- To restore content, tap Restore, then tap Restore again. To delete content, tap Delete, then tap Delete again.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: How to recover deleted Instagram photos, videos, reels, and stories.
If Recently deleted doesn’t appear, Instagram says to make sure you’re on the latest version of the app; its article gives no computer steps. Instagram also says the deletion process can take up to 90 days after it begins, that copies may stay longer in disaster-recovery backups, and that content in Recently deleted isn’t accessible to other people during its 30 days there. Checked against Instagram Help Center: What happens to content you delete on Instagram
A question we get about our own tool: can Outfeed AI archive or restore posts for you?
Plan your next Instagram feed post in Outfeed AI
Archiving Instagram posts: FAQ
What happens when you archive a post on Instagram?
The post is hidden from your profile, from your followers and from everyone else, but it isn’t deleted. Instagram says it keeps all its likes and comments. It moves to your Posts archive, and if you choose Show on profile later, it returns to its original spot on your profile.
Can you archive multiple Instagram posts at once?
Yes. In the app, go to your profile, tap Menu, then Your activity, then Posts below Content you shared. Tap Select, choose the posts, tap Archive and confirm. On instagram.com the route is Menu, Your Activity, Photos and videos, Posts, then Select. You can sort or filter by date before selecting.
How do I see my archived posts on Instagram?
Go to your profile, tap Menu, then Your activity, then Archived below Removed and archived content. The menu at the top opens on Stories archive; switch it to Posts archive. Live archive is in the same menu. Instagram’s archive articles give no steps for viewing the archive on a computer.
Do archived posts keep their likes and comments?
Yes. Instagram’s Help Center says that when you archive a post, it keeps all its likes and comments. When you show the post on your profile again, Instagram says it returns to its original spot on your profile.
Can you archive Instagram posts on a computer?
Yes, through Instagram’s archive-multiple-posts route on instagram.com: click Menu, then Your Activity, then Photos and videos, then Posts. Click Select, choose the posts, then click Archive and confirm. Instagram’s articles on archiving one post and on unarchiving give steps for the app only.