How long does an Instagram story last? - Quick answer

Instagram stories remain a fairly recent feature on Instagram and continue to evolve.

Their aim is simple, to share daily content more easily with your audience. In particular, it's a great way to boost your Instagram engagement.

You'll generally spend less time curating your photos and videos on story than on your feed. And that's normal, because these won't stick over time.

But then how long is an Instagram story? Can you exceed this duration? And how long will your story remain visible?

We answer all these questions in this article.

Reminder: what is an Instagram story?

Instagram stories are photos and videos that users of Instagram publish that can be seen by their followers for up to 24 hours. After which they are archived and no longer visible to your followers.

How long is an Instagram Story?

Until a while ago, there was a 15-second limit per individual Instagram Story.

But Instagram has decided to change that to the delight of its users so today an Instagram story can now last 60 seconds.

Why is this a good thing? Simply because when Insta stories were just 15 seconds long, they were chopped up.

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If you wanted to save your story before publishing it, you therefore had to keep several different pieces of stories.

Also, it certainly encourages your followers to view your content longer, which is a good thing for your engagement rate.

Here's what the Instagram team has to say:

"The ability to create longer Stories posts comes from'a very strong request from our community. We're thrilled to be testing 60-second Stories so people can create and view Stories with fewer interruptions."

And if you ever still want to split your video stories, you can use apps like CutStory, or Instasize.

Note: Although the social network has recently changed the duration of stories, all other features remain unchanged.

You can still:

• Use stickers
• Share content from other accounts found on your News Feed
• Use the link sticker
• Tap on your image to put text
• And swipe to add an effect.

Can we make a story longer than 60 seconds?

In the event that when you film your story, you exceed 60 seconds, your story will be automatically ended.

You will then be redirected to the story editing page to upload your story to the social network.

So you can't exceed the maximum duration of an Instagram story, which is 60 seconds.

How long does an Instagram story stay active?

If you're wondering how long your story stays active, the answer is simple.

All Instagram stories are visible for 24 h. No more, no less.

Once posted, your followers will be able to view and react to it for 1 day. After that, your photo content, video or polls, will no longer be accessible to them.

Only you, the account manager, will be able to access it again from your archives.

Discover here where to see your old Insta stories.

If, however, you want to leave your story accessible to your audience, there is a solution.

How to make a story visible indefinitely

You want your Instagram story to be visible for more than 24 h, nothing could be simpler, just add it to your featured story.

Once this is done, your content will be visible indefinitely from your profile and by all your followers.

To add a story to the front page, here are the steps to follow:

1. Create and publish your story
2. View it and at the bottom of the screen click on the "To the front page"
3. Select the front page story to which you'd like to add your photo or video and that's it.

Your subscribers can now find it under your bio.

Discover here how to put a story on the front page without making it a story.

In particular, this way you can organize your content to:

1. Answer frequently asked questions
2. Present a trip
3. Gather all your tips
4. Etc.

How to Get More Views on Your Instagram Stories in 2025

Knowing how long a story lasts is one thing — but what really matters is how many people actually see it.

With increasing competition on Instagram, many creators are struggling to get their stories seen, even with great content. The solution? A smarter strategy that includes consistent posting, optimized timing, and targeting the right audience.

That’s exactly where Boostfluence comes in.

This Instagram automation platform helps you grow your audience organically by interacting with real users who are likely to engage with your stories. It also gives you insights on when your audience is most active, so you can publish your content — including stories — at the perfect time.

The more people see and engage with your stories, the more Instagram will push them forward in your followers’ feeds — leading to higher visibility, stronger engagement, and better growth.

Start your free trial with Boostfluence and boost your stories’ reach effortlessly.