How do I view and download old Instagram stories?

The Instagram Stories have become one of the social network's most popular features, like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories only appear on your feed for 24 hours, or until the person who posted the Story deletes it.

But is it possible to see your old Instagram Stories? And if so, how do you go about finding them? We explain it all in this article.

By the end of it, you'll know where to see your old Instagram stories, how to re-share them, and even download them. Now nothing can stop you from using stories to grow your Instagram account.

How to see old Instagram Stories through archives

Unlike Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories don't disappear completely after 24 hours.

While Instagram Stories do disappear from your feed after 24 hours, they remain archived in the app. So if you publish a story, but it expires before you've had a chance to save the video, don't worry, you can still get it back.

Like many users, you may not know this feature exists, let alone how to access it. Let's take a look at how you can consult old Instagram Stories.

Access your expired Instagram Stories

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As Instagram Stories gained popularity, more and more users began asking Instagram for a way to access their stories outside the usual 24-hour time limit.

In response, Instagram added the Highlights and Archive features in 2017.

Highlights allow you to group together story elements and publish them on your profile like a regular post. They're labeled "Highlights" (or headline story), but they behave in the same way as'a regular Instagram post.

The other feature, Archive, lets you save your stories for later use. It's important to note that your stories are archived for your use only. For other people, they will disappear after 24 hours as usual.

The archiving feature should be enabled by default, but if it isn't, you can enable it in your settings. Find the "Story" panel in your privacy settings and enable the "Save to archive" option.

To view your old Instagram Stories, access your profile, then tap the hamburger icon in the top right corner.

From this menu, you need to tap on Archives to access your Stories archive.

From here, you can re-share, headline and otherwise interact with your old Stories.

That's it, you know where to find your old Instagram Stories. Now let's see how you can share or download it.

Can I republish an old Instagram Story?

If you've followed all the previous steps correctly, you now have easy access to all your previously published stories. These have automatically been archived by Instagram for you to reuse.

So now you can easily re-share them, either by private message, by re-publishing them, or by adding them to your featured stories.

To do this, you can simply click on the share icon (bottom right) and re-publish your story as if it were the first time you shared it. Nothing could be simpler.

In general, it's common to see "souvenir" stories from Instagram users. The concept is to re-share a story made last year or several years ago on the same day. Feel free to do the same.

Here's a rundown of the steps you need to take to repost an old Instagram story:

1. Browsing your Archives folder as described above, tap on the Story you'd like to repost.
2. In the bottom right-hand corner, tap "share"
3. Follow the instructions and your Story will be republished in other people's feeds for 24 hours.
4. If you want to republish someone else's Story, you can do that too. Just click on the paper airplane icon and share.

If you don't see this option, it's probably because the other user has a private account. A private account means you can't share its content with others.

In particular, this can impact users' ability to re-share your story.

How to upload an old Instagram story

Note also that without actually re-sharing it, you can also upload your old Instagram stories.

To do this, simply click on the plus button at the very bottom right of the archived story you wish to download.

Once you've done this, simply click on "save video" and it will save to your smartphone.

It's no more complicated than that, you can now reuse it on all your other social networks if you wish.

View other Instagram users' stories and save them

Can I watch a story more than once?

Absolutely! As long as the 24-hour period is respected, you can watch the Story as many times as you like. Instagram indicates to the creator that you've watched their content, but doesn't tell them how many times you've watched it.

Know that you can even automate reaction to Instagram stories. Reacting to Instagram stories is a great way to create interaction with other accounts.

In particular, it helps boost your visibility and ultimately your follower count. If you want to get the word out about your Instagram account, don't hesitate to start automating your account for free.

Can you see someone else's expired Instagram Story?

By design, Stories are only viewable for 24 hours, and there's no real way around this. However, if you know the person who created the Story, you can ask them to share it with you by saving it from their Archives.

As for seeing stories from other users that have already expired, that's about all you can do. This feature was always intended to be ephemeral, just like Snapchat Stories.

However, if you frequently find yourself wanting to see other users'expired Stories, there are a few proactive steps you can take. Like saving other users'Stories for example.

How do I save other users'Stories?

The great thing about Stories is that they last for 24 hours. That gives you plenty of time to decide whether you want to save one.

1- Use a website to download active Stories

Some websites are designed to save Instagram Stories. The most minimalist and accessible of these is Storiesig.

1. You simply enter a person's username and the website will find all their active Stories.
2. From there, simply select the Story you want to save and click Download.

This isn't the only option, as many other websites can do the same thing. However, it's the easiest way to do it. It won't give you access to expired Stories, but you can at least download active ones.

This website also works on mobile devices, but there's another option for your phone.

2- Take a video screenshot

Android and iOS both have screen recorders for their most recent versions. You can also get a screen recorder app and simply record the story.

AZ Screen Recorder is a good option for Android and iOS. Simply launch the recording, view the publication, then save the recording.

Again, these methods don't give you access to past Stories, but they do allow you to retain active Stories on your device for future use.

Last thoughts

That pretty much sums up the resources you have when it comes to viewing and saving old Instagram Stories.

Your own Stories are archived for future use, but Stories posted by other people are a little trickier. You can't really see them once they've expired, but you can save them as long as they're active.

To do this, use a website designed to save IG Stories or a screen recorder on your mobile device.