How to see your old Instagram stories

The short answer

1. Check the app’s Archive. If Story Archive was on, your stories are there.
2. For everything Instagram kept, request your data: Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information. Choose Content (or all available information), format JSON, and include media.
3. Drop the ZIP, unopened, on Your posts & stories.

Option 1: the Archive in the app

Open your profile, tap the menu and choose Archive. Stories you shared while Story Archive was turned on are saved there, and you can reshare or save them. It’s fine for recent ones, but it’s slow to scroll through years of stories.

Option 2: your data download

The download includes the stories Instagram kept for your account, even ones that disappeared years ago, together with your posts and reels. In Unwrapped you can:

• browse everything as a gallery by year, with captions and dates,
• filter by type (stories, posts, reels),
• open any item full-size and save the original file.

Step-by-step request instructions are in How to download your Instagram data.

Missing photos or videos?

Media is only included if you ask for it. If you see captions but no pictures, request the download again with media and a higher quality setting.

What about deleted posts?

Recently deleted posts can be restored in the app for 30 days. After that, your download only contains what Instagram still keeps, often archived items but not permanently deleted ones.

Everything is shown from the ZIP inside your browser, so your photos are never uploaded. Browsing and saving, one by one, is free.

FAQ