How To See Old Stories on Instagram: Is It Possible?

Over the years, Instagram Stories has become a crowd-favorite feature on the app. Customizations like adding music to your Stories or showing multiple photos in one post allow for greater self-expression. Many Instagram users even wonder, curious, ‘Can someone see if you view their Instagram story?‘ But since you’re here, you’re probably wondering how to see old Stories on Instagram after they expire.

The only downside to Stories is that it’s difficult to re-access them when they expire after 24 hours. Luckily, there are a few simple ways to do it. Let’s talk about how to see old Stories on Instagram, whether yours or someone else’s.

How To See Old Stories on Instagram: Your Own Stories

Can you see old stories on instagram, when they are your own? When you have active Stories up, click your profile icon with the magenta circle around it to view them. But after 24 hours, they expire. You can’t just click on your profile and see them.

No one can see your Stories on your profile after expiration. Instagram takes it upon itself to save them in case you need to recover them in the future. They do this by automatically storing and keeping your Stories safe on the Stories archive. Learn how to view story archive.

Want to learn how to see old Stories on Instagram through the archive? Check out the steps below to do it. Plus, we’ve got a few extra tips to help you rewatch your Stories easily after accessing the Instagram archive.

How To View Instagram Stories After 24 Hours

It’s easy to access your Stories archive on the Instagram app. As soon as the 24-hour period is up for your current Stories, you can see them in the archive.

Here’s how to view instagram stories after 24 hours:

1. Open the Instagram app on your device.
2. Click on your profile icon on the lower-right portion of the screen.
3. Click on the hamburger menu on the upper-right and click “Archive.” It should have a clock icon next to it.
4. On this page, you’ll see your old Stories from years back. Download it to your phone or repost it for people to see again!

If you’re wondering how to see old Stories on Instagram but can’t find your Stories archive, don’t worry. You probably have the feature turned off. Instagram keeps the feature on by default. 

In your settings, make sure you’ve switched on the toggle for the “Save story to archive” button. That way, when your active Stories expire, they go to the archive instantly.

How To See Old Instagram Stories Highlights

A Story Highlight is a series of Stories that are “pinned” on your profile. It allows you and others to rewatch these old Stories even if they’re past the 24-hour. If you’re looking for how to see old Stories on Instagram without going to the archive, Highlights are an alternative.

Here’s a quick guide to creating a Story Highlight using the Stories archive.

1. Go to your Instagram profile.
2. Under the “Edit profile” button, you should see the space where your Story Highlights go. Click on the circle with a plus sign to add a new Highlight.
3. This leads you to the Stories archive. From here, select the old Instagram Stories you want to include in this specific Highlight.
4. Click “Next” and create a name for your Highlight.
5. Select the cover of your Story Highlight. 
6. Click “Add” to publish your Highlight on your profile. Your new Highlight should appear right under the “Edit profile” button on your page.

How To See Old Instagram Stories by Downloading Them

Maybe you’re looking for how to see old Stories on Instagram without creating a Story Highlight. And maybe you don’t like the hassle of visiting the archive whenever you want to rewatch an old Story. Luckily for you, there’s one last resort—downloading your Stories.

Downloading your old Stories is a smart way to safe-keep your memories if you lose access to your account. You can do that using an Instagram story downloader. Learn how to see memories on Instagram by exploring your archived posts and stories. If you’re wondering how to relive your favorite moments, check out this guide on How To See Memories on Instagram.

Here’s how to download your old Stories from the archive:

1. Click the hamburger menu on your profile and go to the Stories archive.
2. Select the Story you want to download and open it.
3. Click the three dots with the label “More” on the bottom-right side of the Story.
4. Click “Save photo” or “Save video.” This will automatically save the post to your camera roll for you to watch whenever you want.

How To See Someone’s Old Stories on Instagram After 24 Hours

Watching your own Stories is easy because of Instagram’s archive feature. However, you don’t get public access to another profile’s archive. Trying to see old Instagram Stories then becomes more difficult.

There are only two ways to see old Stories on Instagram after a person’s posts expire. One is by chance, and the other is by sheer cleverness. Check them out and see which one you’d rather do.

The first is by watching it through their Story Highlights. When Instagram takes down their Stories after 24 hours, people can add their Stories to a Highlight. You’ll see their Story Highlights on their profile under their bio and the “Follow” button.

Of course, this is always a game of chance since not everyone posts Highlights. All you can do is cross your fingers to be able to see Insta Stories from the past again.

Do you want to know how to see old Stories on Instagram by watching someone’s Highlights? Follow these easy steps:

1. Go to the profile of the person whose old stories you want to see.
2. Check if they have Story Highlights available for viewing. Highlights should sit right below the “Follow” button.
3. Click on the Highlight you want to view to watch their old Stories again.

Your second option requires you to be more forward-thinking. If you see someone else’s active Stories and know you’ll want to rewatch them later, take a screenshot. You can also safely take a screen recording of Story videos. This gives you a copy of that Story that you can look at repeatedly in your camera roll.

How To See Old Instagram Stories Without Them Knowing

It can be embarrassing to have someone find out that you’re lurking in their Instagram profile and Stories. So, you may be trying to find out how to see old Instagram Stories without them knowing.

Lucky for you, the two methods we mentioned above will leave zero notifications about you watching their old Stories. If you’re looking for how to see old Stories on Instagram without notifying them, it’s a piece of cake.

When you open someone else’s Story Highlight, they won’t be able to see that you watched their posts. This is because Instagram deletes the list of viewers after a Story has been up for 24 hours. Why not check out the Instagram story viewer that allows users to view stories anonymously without notifying the account owner?

Instagram also doesn’t send notifications when you screenshot or screen-record active Stories. 

That only happens when you screenshot photos and videos in direct messages. So, you’re free to save someone else’s Story on your phone without worrying about them ever finding out.

How to See Old Instagram Stories: Enticing People To Watch Yours

Now you know how to see old Stories on Instagram, why not work on enticing others to watch yours? It’s important to create content that keeps followers returning for more. 

Here are tips for posting Story Highlights to make them more enticing to rewatch:

• Organize your Highlights into clear, specific categories. Name your Highlight something that will give your viewers an idea of what to expect when they click on it. Some examples are “Food,” “Selfies,” “OOTDs,” and more. If you have travel Stories, organize them per location. “Eurotrip” or “Beach trips” are awesome examples!

• Create cute, attractive covers for your Story Highlights. It’s aesthetically pleasing to create cute, uniform icons for every Highlight on your profile. Make sure they have the same color palette and icon style. You can even experiment and make your highlights spell out your name!

• Repost your old Stories. When people think of how to see old Stories on Instagram, they immediately think of accessing their archive or Highlights. But an alternative that will put your old Stories back in people’s timelines is by reposting them. Reshare your old Stories in the archive with your active Story as a “throwback.” You can even leave a caption inviting viewers to watch other old Stories in your Highlights. Instagram archive 101 helps you understand how to save and manage your Instagram posts and stories for future reference.

And That’s How to See Old Instagram Stories!

Although active Stories aren’t designed to last forever, you’ll always have access to your archived Stories. To learn how to view story archive on Instagram, go to your profile and tap on the menu. Even if they’re not visible for others to see, you can still look back on them.

Now that you know how to see old Stories on Instagram, why not work even harder on your social media presence? At Path Social, we have a platform of Instagram influencers and proprietary AI to help you grow your organic reach. Build an Instagram community with followers that will love and engage with your content today!

FAQs

Now you know how to see old stories on Instagram, perhaps you have a few more questions. Check out our frequently asked questions to learn more.