You’ll see Instagram stories at the top of your feed. They can be viewed as often as you want within 24 hours. The short slideshow plays content that has been posted for everyone or just friends to enjoy, depending on the profile’s privacy settings. Stories disappear when they reach the 24-hour expiration limit.
Let’s say a friend told you about a must-see story, but the story has already expired. Is there a way to view an Instagram Story after it has expired?
The short answer is no. You can’t view someone’s old Instagram Stories unless they save them as Highlights.
How to View Someone’s Old Instagram Stories
1. View Latest Instagram Stories
All Instagram Stories, whether made by you or someone else, have a 24-hour lifespan. Temporary stories are automatically deleted after these 24 hours. Although you can add multiple videos to your Instagram story, you and the other user cannot control how long this Story will be available.
The only exception here is if a Story is saved as a story. Emphasize. Instagram Highlights is a story that stays forever on a user’s profile page. It does not expire and only the user who posted it can remove it.
If the account owner has not saved the Story as a highlight, there is no way to undo it. There are various theories about ephemeral stories and content on social media platforms. Many believe that developers are using it to make you check your news feeds more often.
Using the fear of missing out mindset to keep you busy is one of the many ways social media companies gain traffic. If a story is available for the user, you will see a multicolored ring around their profile picture.
To view someone’s Story:
- Go to the top of your homepage.
- Scroll through the round icons at the top; they are on the side Your Story with Plus signature.
- Tap on the friend’s Story you want to see.
Alternatively, if you’re not following that person on Instagram, here’s what to do:
- Tap search option Type the username of the person whose story you want to see in the lower left corner.
- press their key profile icon to go directly to their latest active Stories.
2. Check Instagram Featured Stories
You can check your friend’s profile to see if they’ve added the story as Highlights and if the story is still there. If it’s as good as you say, they may have thought of the same and added it as a Highlight so it stays around longer.
- Open instagram on your phone and go to that friend’s profile.
- Check your bottom now Story section to see Highlights.
- Go to: Highlights and see if they add that Story.
If the story still exists on the profile, you can save a copy. If you enjoy the content or want to share it with another friend who can’t see it, copying the story is an option.
3. Save a Copy of the Instagram Story
If the Story you’re looking for is in Highlights, you should be able to revisit it at any time. You can keep a copy if you don’t want to risk losing it.
The easiest way to do this is to take a screenshot, and luckily Instagram doesn’t alert the person you’re taking the screenshot with. They are notified that you are only watching their Stories.
There are several more ways to copy an Instagram Story.
For Your Own Story, seen by The icon at the bottom left of the main Story screen. one must see download Option where you can save the story to your camera roll. This method also works for downloading your old Instagram stories.
If you want to record someone else’s Story you need to be more creative. Use a website that allows you to view and download other people’s Stories. But prepare user reviews first as you will need to allow these sites to access your Instagram account. This is a great alternative because it allows you to download and share their Stories from anywhere. Some also have the feature to let you watch stories anonymously.
Can You Rewatch Someone’s Instagram Stories?
Not all Instagram Stories are one-time wonders; some are worth seeing again. You can see a Story as often as possible if it’s within the 24-hour limit. Choose the story as you normally would and you can repeat it as many times as you want.
The time limit still applies unless that person has added the Story as Highlights. Unless you save yourself a copy, you’ll need to get the most out of it while you’re there.
Ask Them For A Copy Of The Story
You can’t turn a reshared Story into Highlights, and while there are workarounds, Instagram has no official way to save copies of someone else’s work. If these two download sites don’t work for you, you have other options. Ask the person who posted the story to send you a copy.
You can then download it according to your need. Once the story is saved, you can do whatever you want. Send this via DM, email or otherwise. Whether you know the person or not, a short message politely asking for a copy of his awesome Story because you like it so much will surely stroke his ego enough to share it with you.
View and Save Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are an excellent part of the app. Like Snapchat, the integration of the time limit adds a lot to the experience, from tickling our FOMO to daring to share more than we would if it were a permanent record.
Saving your stories as Instagram Highlights? Let us know in the comments section below. If you find this article helpful, consider checking out our guide on how to upload Instagram stories with images longer than 5 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. Fortunately, there is a way to view your own IG Stories. Assuming you haven’t turned off the archive settings, your previously published stories will remain in the archive folder.
To access this folder, all you have to do is tap the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner of your profile page. Tap on it Archive (it should be the first option) and tap the Story you want to view.
A. Highlights have no expiration date. If you enjoy someone’s Story and they highlight it, you can watch it as many times as you want. Or at least until you decide to delete it.
A. You can check your friend’s profile to see if they have added the story as Featured and if the story is still there. They may have added it as Featured so it stays around longer.
Open instagram > go to that friend’s profile > check Highlights under Story section > go to: Highlights and see if they add that Story.
A. You can view a Story as many times as you want as long as you stay within the 24-hour limit. Choose the story as you normally would and you can repeat it as many times as you want.
