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Can You View Someone’s Old Instagram Stories?

Can You View Someone’s Old Instagram Stories?

You see Instagram stories at the top of your feed. They are available for viewing as often as you’d like within 24 hours. The short slideshow plays published content for anyone, or friends only, depending on the profile’s privacy settings, to enjoy. Once they reach the 24-hour expiration limit, the stories disappear.

Let’s say a friend told you about a story you must see, but it has already expired. Is there a way to view an Instagram Story after it expires?

The short answer is no. You cannot view someone’s old Instagram Stories unless they saved it as a Highlight.

How to View Someone’s Old Instagram Stories

1. View Their Recent Instagram Stories

All Instagram Stories have a 24-hour lifespan whether you made them or someone else did. The temporary stories get automatically deleted after these 24 hours. While you can add multiple videos to your Instagram story, you and the other user cannot control how long this Story is available.

Instagram story

The only exception here is if a Story is saved as a Highlight. An Instagram Highlight is a story that lasts forever on the user’s profile page. It will not expire, and only the user who posted it can remove it. 

If the account owner didn’t save the Story as a highlight, there isn’t any way to retrieve it. There are several theories regarding temporary stories and content on social media platforms. Many believe the developers use it to get you to check your news feeds more often. 

Using the fear of missing out mentality to keep you engaged is one of the many ways social media companies earn traffic. If a story is available for the user, you will notice a multi-colored ring around their profile picture.

To view someone’s Story:

  1. Navigate to the top of your home page.
  2. Scroll through the round icons at the top – these are next to Your Story with a plus sign.
  3. Tap on the Story of the friend you want to see.
    Instagram stories

Alternatively, if you don’t follow that person on Instagram, this is what you need to do:

  1. Tap the search option in the lower left-hand corner and type the username of the person whose Story you want to see. 
  2. Press their profile icon to go directly to their most recent active Story.
    Instagram search option

2. Check Story Highlights on Instagram

You can check your friend’s profile to see if they added the Story as a Highlight and if it is still there. If it is as good as you say, they may have thought the same and added it as a Highlight so it sticks around for longer.

  1. Open Instagram on your phone and navigate to that friend’s profile.
  2. Check just underneath the Story section to see Highlights.
  3. Go to the Highlights and see if they added that Story.
    Instagram profile

You can save a copy if the Story is still available on the profile. Whether you enjoy the content or want to share it with another friend who can’t see it, copying a story is an option.

3. Save a Copy of the Instagram Story

If the Story you’re looking for is in Highlights, you should be able to revisit it whenever you like. You can keep a copy of it if you don’t want to risk it disappearing.

The easiest way to do this is to take a screenshot, and thankfully, Instagram does not alert that person that you have taken a screenshot. They are only notified that you’ve watched their Story.

There are a couple of other ways to copy an Instagram Story.

For your own Story, select the Seen By icon at the bottom left of the main Story screen. You should see a Download option where you can save the Story to your camera roll. This method also works to download your old Instagram stories

If you want to save someone else’s Story, you need to be more creative. Use a website that lets you see other people’s Stories and download them. But ready user reviews first, as you’ll have to permit these sites to access your Instagram account. This is a great alternative because it lets you download and share their Story anywhere. Some of them also have the ability to let you watch stories anonymously. 

Can You Rewatch Someone’s Instagram Stories?

Not all Instagram Stories are one-hit wonders; some are worth viewing again. You can see a Story as often as possible if it is within the 24-hour limit. Just select the Story as you normally would, and you can repeat as many times as you like.

The time limit still applies unless that person adds the Story as a Highlight. You will need to make the most of it while it’s there unless you save a copy for yourself.

Ask Them for a Copy of the Story

You cannot turn a reposted Story into a Highlight, and Instagram has no official way to save copies of someone else’s work, even though there are workarounds. You have other options if these two download websites don’t cut it. Just ask the person who posted the Story to send you a copy.

You can then download it as you need. You can do what you like once the Story is saved. Send it in a DM, email, or something else. If you know the person or not, a quick message asking nicely for a copy of their awesome Story because you liked it so much is sure to stroke their ego enough to share it with you.

See and Save Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is an excellent part of the app. Like Snapchat, the integration of the time limit adds so much to the experience, from tickling our FOMO to daring us to share more than we would if it were a permanent record. 

Do you save your stories as a Highlight on Instagram? Let us know in the comments section below. If you find this article helpful, consider checking out our guide about how to upload Instagram stories with pictures longer than 5 seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I view my old Stories?

A. Fortunately, there is a way to view your own IG Stories. Assuming you haven’t turned the archive settings off, your previously posted stories will stay in the archive folder.
All you need to do to access this folder is tap on three horizontal lines in the upper right-hand corner of your profile page. Tap on Archive (it should be the first option) and tap on the Story you want to view.

2. How long do highlights last?

A. Highlights have no expiration date. If you’re enjoying someone’s Story and they turned it into a highlight, you can watch for as long as you’d like. Or, at least, until they decide to delete it.

3. How can you see someone’s old Story on Instagram?

A. You can check your friend’s profile to see if they added the Story as a Highlight and if it is still there. They may have added it as a Highlight, so it sticks around for longer.

Open Instagram > navigate to that friend’s profile > check Highlights under the Story section > go to the Highlights and see if they added that Story.

4. How do you see already viewed stories on Instagram?

A. You can see a Story as many times as you like as long as you remain within the 24-hour limit. Just select the Story as you normally would, and you can repeat as many times as you like.

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4 thoughts on “Can You View Someone’s Old Instagram Stories?”

T says:
Try “Story archive” app
darkd says:
great work
amitalon48 says:
can i see old stories?

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Ronil Thakkar

Aug 28, 2023

Ronil is a Computer Engineer graduate who has a knack for writing about consumer technology. He has been covering news and guides about consumer electronics for around three years. His work has appeared on esteemed publications such as MakeUseOf, 91Mobiles, FossBytes, and Greenbot.

89 Articles Published

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