Are you trying to find out How to View your Old Instagram Stories? Did you realize you may still see your old Stories on Instagram, even after they’ve vanished? Stories are still accessible in your private archive even if they expire after 24 hours.

Old Stories can be easily shared again, stored on your phone, and even showcased at the top of your profile with your best photographs and videos.

You can find your previous Instagram Stories on your Android, iPhone, or iPad by following this guide.

Plus, we’ve got a few pointers to help you effortlessly rewatch your Stories after visiting the Instagram archive. Follow the steps below to complete it.

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How to See Old Stories on Instagram After 24 Hours

Your Stories archive is easily accessible using the Instagram app. Once their 24-hour term has expired, you can view your current Stories in the archive. The archive is a cloud that stores all of your expired Stories so that you can always keep track of them.

Here’s how to locate the archive:

Launch the Instagram application on your device.
Locate your profile symbol in the lower right corner of the screen.
Click the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner and select “Archive.” There should be a clock icon next to it.
On this page, you will find your old Stories from years ago. Download them to your phone or repost them so others may see them again!

You can go through every story in your archive one by one.

A Calendar option allows you to navigate to a certain date and view your Stories for that day. If you put a location sticker on your Stories, you may view them under the Location Map tab.

It is important to note that you are the only person who has access to your Story archive. Nobody else has access to it. Other individuals can only see these old Stories if you reshare them on your active Stories as a “throwback” post.

Can’t Find Your Instagram Archive?

If you’re wondering how to view old Instagram Stories but can’t find your archive, don’t worry.

You probably have the feature turned off. Instagram maintains the feature enabled by default, although some users disable it to save space on their devices.

Check your settings to ensure that the “Save story to archive” button is enabled. This ensures that when your active Stories expire, they are automatically archived.

How To See Old Stories On Instagram by downloading them

Highlights are an excellent method to keep previous Stories available for yourself and others. You will not waste your time designing your Stories because you will still let others see and appreciate them.

However, they are not always practical, especially if you do not want others to repeatedly replay your Stories.

Maybe you want to know how to access previous Instagram Stories without generating a Story Highlight. Perhaps you dislike having to go to the archive every time you want to rewatch an old Story. Fortunately for you, there is one last resort: download your Stories.

If you’re not a frequent Instagram user, having a Highlight up or browsing the Stories archive every day is impractical. A wonderful alternative is to go through the archive once and download your previous stories directly to your phone.

Downloading your old Stories is a good way to save your memories even if you lose access to your account.

You can accomplish this by using an Instagram story downloader.

Exploring your old Instagram photos and stories will teach you how to see memories there. That way, you’ll always have your favorite Stories to look back on, right from the camera roll.

Here’s how you can get your old stories from the archive:

Navigate to the Stories archive by clicking on the hamburger menu in your profile.
Choose the Story you wish to download and open it.
In the bottom-right corner of the Story, click the three dots labeled “More“.
Select “Save Photo” or “Save Video.” This will immediately store the post on your camera roll so you can watch it whenever you want.

How to See Old Stories on Instagram Highlights

Accessing your old Stories through the archive is simple, but it still involves several steps.

Creating a Story Highlight for your old Stories is a quicker approach to get them on display. You’ll be able to quickly replay these stories, and your followers will view them too.

A Story Highlight is a collection of stories that are “pinned” to your profile. It allows you and others to rewatch old Stories even after they have passed the 24-hour mark.

That way, they become a permanent fixture on your profile until you decide to remove them. If you want to see old Instagram Stories without going to the archive, Highlights are an excellent option.

Here’s a simple approach to creating a Story Highlight from the Stories archive.

Visit your Instagram profile.
Under the “Edit profile” option, you should notice a space for your Story Highlights. To add a new Highlight, click on the circle with the plus sign.
This will take you to the Stories archive. From here, choose whatever past Instagram Stories you wish to include in this Highlight.
Click “Next” and name your Highlight.
Select the cover for your Story Highlight. Select one of the Stories you chose or a photo from your camera roll.
Click “Add” to display your Highlight on your profile. Your new Highlight should display directly beneath the “Edit profile” button on your page.

The amazing thing about creating a Story Highlight is that you may include any Story you choose. You may make a Highlight for your OOTDs, food, selfies, and other photos. If you’re a business, Highlights can display FAQs, How to Order, sizing tips, and other information.

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

Now comes the tough part: how to view someone else’s past Instagram Stories. Instagram’s archive function allows you to easily watch your own Stories. However, you are not granted public access to another profile’s archive. Seeing their previous Instagram Stories gets increasingly challenging.

There are only two ways to read previous Stories on Instagram once a user’s postings have expired. One is by coincidence, while the other is from sheer cleverness. Check them out and decide which one you’d rather do.

The First Option:

The first option is to watch it through their Story Highlights. When Instagram removes their Stories after 24 hours, users can add them to a Highlight. You can find their Story Highlights on their profile, just below their bio and the “Follow” button.

Of course, it’s always a game of luck because not everyone posts Highlights. All you can do is cross your fingers that you will be able to see the old stories again.

Do you want to know how to view past Instagram Stories by watching someone’s Highlights? Follow these few actions.

Navigate to the profile of the individual whose past stories you wish to view.
Determine whether they have Story Highlights available for viewing. Highlights should appear just below the “Follow” button.
To rewatch their old Stories, click on the Highlight you want to view.

The Second Option:

The second option demands you to be more forward-thinking. If you notice someone else’s active Stories and know you want to watch them again later, take a screenshot. You can also safely record the screen of Story videos.

This saves a copy of the Story to your camera roll, where you can revisit it.

How to See Old Instagram Stories Without Anyone Knowing

It can be uncomfortable for someone to discover that you are lurking in their Instagram profile and Stories. So, you may be looking for a way to see previous Instagram Stories without them knowing.

Fortunately for you, the two approaches we outlined above will generate no notifications about you watching their previous Stories. It’s simple to access old Instagram Stories without telling the creator.

When you open someone else’s Story Highlight, they will be unable to see that you have viewed their postings. This is because Instagram removes the list of watchers once a Story has been live for 24 hours.

Even if you watch their Highlights repeatedly, they will have no idea. Waiting for someone to publish a Story to a Highlight can allow you to remain anonymous while seeing their Stories.

Instagram also does not deliver notifications when you screenshot or record an active Story. That only occurs when you screenshot images and videos in direct conversations. So you may save someone else’s Story on your phone without fearing that they will find out.

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How to See Old Stories on Instagram: Getting People to Watch Yours

Now that you know how to see previous Instagram Stories, why not focus on getting others to watch yours? People returning to your profile and rewatching your old Stories indicate that they are interested in what you post. So, it’s critical to generate content that keeps them coming back for more.

You might be interested in Instagram Story Viewer, which allows users to see tales anonymously without telling the account’s owner.

Of course, you’ll need to give others access to your old Instagram Stories so they can see them. Put your favorite Stories as Highlights for your followers to view whenever they wish.

Tips To Make Your Highlights Appealing:

Classify your Highlights into clear categories. Name something that will help your viewers understand what to expect when they click on your highlight. Examples include “Food,” “Selfies,” “OOTDs,” and more. If you have travel stories, group them by location. “Eurotrip” and “Beach trips” are great examples!
Create visually appealing covers for your Story Highlights. It’s visually appealing to design adorable, matching icons for each Highlight on your profile. Make sure they use the same color scheme and icon design. You may even experiment with having your highlights spell out your name!
Cute Story Highlight icons that spell out your name, current month, and season. Repost your old stories. When people think about how to view previous Instagram Stories, they immediately think of their archive or Highlights. However, reposting your old Stories can bring them back into people’s timelines. Reshare your archived Stories with your current Story as a “throwback.”
You may even include a caption that encourages visitors to watch other previous Stories in your Highlights.

Conclusion

And this is how you can see old Instagram stories!

Although current Stories are not meant to stay forever, you may always browse your archived Stories. To understand how to browse Instagram’s story archive, go to your profile and tap on the relevant menu. That way, even if they are not accessible to others, you may easily access them with the push of a button.

Unfortunately, you can’t simply retrieve someone’s old Instagram stories when they expire. But if you’re lucky, they might post them as Story Highlights, allowing you to watch them indefinitely.

If you’re a forward-thinking individual, you may also grab screenshots of their Stories before they disappear. That way, you’ll always have a duplicate of their previous stories, and you’ll always be able to access their stories without having to learn how to see old stories on Instagram.

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FAQs:

Q. Is there a way to see old Instagram stories?

Step 1: On Instagram, navigate to your menu bar. Step 2: Click on Archive. Step 3: Select your tale. Step 4 Swipe up on the story to see your insights.

Q. Can you view someone’s Instagram story twice?

How can I replay someone’s story? To watch someone’s Story more than once, simply swipe back or tap their profile image after leaving the Story view. After 24 hours, you will only be able to see a Story again if the person has made it a profile highlight.

Q. Can I hide that I viewed an Instagram story?

Whether the narrative contains basic updates, videos, or intricately crafted content, it may all be seen anonymously. This allows you to keep up with content from any Instagram account without disclosing your name or informing the user that you’ve viewed their story.