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How to Add Highlights on Instagram

Keep your stories viewable for longer than 24 hours

By Elise Moreau Elise Moreau Freelance Contributor University of Ontario George Brown College Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 26, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

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Expand Jump to a Section About Highlights Why Use Them Step-by-Step: Post Highlight From Your Profile Posting a Highlight From Your Stories Extra: Editing or Removing a Highlight Instagram stories are short photo and video posts that appear in a full-screen, slideshow format for up to 24 hours in the stories feed. If you want to keep a story visible for longer than that 24-period, add it as Instagram story Highlights to your profile until you decide to remove it.

What Are Highlights on Instagram

Highlights are stories you pin to the top of your Instagram profile for an indefinite period of time. Any story you post appears in your followers' feeds for 24 hours, then automatically disappears. However, if you add a story to your Highlights, anyone who visits your profile sees it as a circular icon above your main feed, even after it disappears from their main stories feed. Highlights don't have to contain only one story and can be a collection of stories. You can add up to 100 photo or video stories to a single Highlight. There's also no limit to the number of Highlights you can add to your profile. Until you manually remove a Highlight from your profile, it remains there indefinitely. Just like regular stories, you can see who viewed your Highlights. Any users you allowed to view your stories can also view your Highlights. So, if your Instagram profile isn't private, anyone can see your stories and Highlights. To customize your story privacy settings, go to your profile, tap the menu icon in the right, tap Settings > Privacy > Story, then tap Hide Story From to select followers you don't want to see your stories.

Why Use Instagram Highlights

Highlights are ideal for content you want to keep around longer than 24 hours but doesn't fit the constraints of standard photo and video posts (such as the need to crop them). They're also ideal for casual content situations where you're not looking to attract likes and comments. Stories that capture memorable moments or mean something to you are perfect Highlights for your profile. Anyone who visits your profile sees your Highlights and can tap them to catch a glimpse of your favorite stories. There are two main ways you can create a Highlight: From your profile by accessing your story archive.From your existing live stories (within 24 hours of it being posted). The following instructions show you how to post Highlights using the Instagram app for iOS and Android. Screenshots are provided for the iOS version, but Android users can follow along with a near-identical app.

How to Post an Instagram Highlight From Your Profile

You can post a Highlight from your Instagram profile. Once posted, the Highlight appears on your profile. On the Instagram app, tap the profile icon in the bottom menu. Tap the Story Highlights label above your grid of posts. Tap the plus sign (+) labeled as New. A grid of your recently archived stories appears (along with the dates when they were posted). Tap the circle at the bottom of one or multiple stories to add a checkmark to those you want to include in a single Highlight. If you don't see your previously posted stories, enable story archiving. To do this, tap the menu icon in the upper-right corner of your profile, then tap Settings > Privacy > Story. Under Saving, make sure Save to Archive is turned on, so it appears blue. Tap Next after selecting the stories you want to add to a single Highlight. Optionally, to customize your cover image, tap Edit Cover and name your Highlight by typing something into the field below the cover. If you don't rename it, its name appears as "Highlights" by default. Tap Add in the upper-right corner. It appears on your profile.

How to Post an Instagram Highlight From Your Stories

You can add a story to your Highlights as you post a new story. This takes the extra step out of Highlighting the story after it's been posted. To compose a new story, tap Your Story in the stories feed on the home tab, tap your profile photo on your profile, or swipe right from the home tab. Tap the white button at the bottom to capture your story or the photo/video preview thumbnail in the lower-left corner to upload an existing photo or video. On the preview of your story, tap the Highlight button in the lower-right corner. Enter an optional name for your Highlight, then tap Add. Tap View on Profile to see it on your profile, or tap Done.

How to Edit or Remove an Instagram Highlight

Editing your story allows you to change the cover photo to a custom one and add more stories as needed. Since Highlights remain on your profile indefinitely, remove them when they're no longer relevant. To edit an existing Highlight on your profile, tap the Highlight to view it, then tap the three dots labeled More in the lower-right corner. Tap Edit Highlight. Tap Edit Cover to select a new image from your device as a cover image, rename the Highlight in the Name field, and tap Archive to add more stories from your archive. Tap Done to update your Highlight. When you're ready to remove the Highlight from your profile, tap the Highlight to view it, then tap the three dots labeled More in the lower-right corner. Tap Remove from Highlight. Tap Remove again to confirm it. How to Pin Comments on Instagram Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to See Old Stories on Instagram What Does It Mean to Archive a Post on Instagram? How to Repost a Video on Instagram How to Repost an Instagram Story How to Unarchive an Instagram Post Get Started with Reposting on Instagram How to Add Captions to Instagram Stories What Is Instagram, and Why Should You Be Using It? How Long Can Instagram Videos Be? How to Share a Facebook Post to Instagram How to Hide Your Story on Instagram How to Make a Private Story on Snapchat How to Post a Story on Instagram Who Viewed My Instagram Stories? How to Unblock Someone on Instagram Does Instagram Notify When You Take Screenshots? Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies