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Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

Dec 5, 2017 10:54 PM
Aug 22, 2019 11:29 PM
Image of a smartphone displaying a photo gallery with options to edit and cancel.

Instagram stories are a great way to share your day-to-day experiences with your followers. However, it can be disappointing to see them go after 24 hours, especially if you shared something really special. Now, Instagram has a way for you and your followers to relive those great stories you've created with a new feature called Story Highlights.

With Story Highlights, you can group together your favorite Instagram stories, as well as individual parts from each story, from all the content in your stories archive. You can make as many highlights as you'd like, and can even name each one something unique.

These highlights live underneath your profile picture on your profile page, where your normal story can be accessed. Here, you (and everyone else) will see all the story highlights you have made. They will stay there as long as you want and can be deleted at any time.

Note that in the instructions below, we're using the iPhone version of Instagram for screenshots, but the process is virtually identical on Android.

Creating a Highlight from the Stories Archive

To create a highlight from your story archives, simply open your Archive section from your profile. Next, tap the ellipsis (...) icon in the top-right corner of the display, then select "Create Highlight" from the popup.

Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Mobile app interface displaying various media options and settings.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Mobile app interface displaying various media options and settings.

Next, you can select between individual images and videos that were a part of one of your stories and/or a full story itself (which is indicated by a date in the top left of the thumbnail). Select as many photos, videos, and stories from your archive as you'd like. When finished, tap "Next," and you will be taken to the Title page.

Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

From here, tap "Edit Cover" to choose a new cover photo. Tap "Highlights" to add your own title to your highlight. When finished, simply tap "Add," and your highlight will be published to your profile page on Instagram for your followers to see.

Cup with date "OCT 18 2017" displayed.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Cup with date "OCT 18 2017" displayed.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

Adding Your Current Story to a Highlight

You can also add your current story to one of your highlights, as well as use it to create a new highlight altogether. Look at your story by tapping on your profile picture, either in the story row on the feed tab or on your profile picture itself. Then, tap "Highlight" in the bottom-right corner.

You have the choice here to create a new highlight by tapping "New" or to add to an existing highlight. If you select "New," you won't be able to add any other photos or videos to that highlight in this session, meaning the highlight will be published with the photo or video you are currently working with. If that is what you want, simply name your new highlight, then tap "Add."

Christmas wreath adorned with ribbons and ornaments, hanging on a door.
Wreath adorned with red ribbons and dried orange slices on a dark door.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Christmas wreath adorned with ribbons and ornaments, hanging on a door.
Wreath adorned with red ribbons and dried orange slices on a dark door.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

Deleting Story Highlights

If you want to remove one of these highlights from your profile page, simply long-press on the individual highlight on your profile, tap "Delete Highlight," then tap "Delete" on the popup to confirm.

Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

Editing Story Highlights

To add or subtract media from your highlight, long-press on it to bring up the options, then tap "Edit Highlight." From here, you can eliminate photos and videos by tapping on each one. If you tap on every photo or video in your highlight, an option to delete your highlight will appear in the middle of the display. If you'd like to delete it, tap that option, then tap "Delete" on the popup.

Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Delete Highlight confirmation dialog on a mobile device.
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Delete Highlight confirmation dialog on a mobile device.

To add more items to your highlight, just tap "Archive" to fall back to your stories archive. Select or remove photos and videos just as you did when creating the highlight originally. When finished, tap "Done."

Just as in the beginning, you can also edit your cover photo by tapping "Edit Cover," and you can change the name of your highlight by tapping on "Name," or directly on the name of your highlight.

Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Starbucks cup with date overlay reading "OCT 18 2017"
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever
Starbucks cup with date overlay reading "OCT 18 2017"
Add Your Instagram Stories to Profile Highlights to Keep Them Public Forever

Cover image and screenshots by Jake Peterson/Gadget Hacks (unless noted otherwise)

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.

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