Methods to Save and Download Instagram Stories

The main appeal of Instagram stories is that they are non-committal. After all, they do disappear after 24 hours, making it a more casual way to post and update your profile.

However, there may be times when you want to have a more permanent copy of these stories, whether to keep for yourself or to use somewhere else.

Below, we've gathered five ways you could Save Instagram stories for whatever purpose.

Archive Stories in Your Instagram App

The Instagram Stories archive was launched in 2017 alongside the Instagram Highlights feature. It auto-saves your Instagram stories to an online archive you can access via the app when turned on.

You can freely download and repost any stories saved in your Instagram archive. This makes it a handy storage option, especially if you don’t have a lot of physical storage to work with. Here’s how you turn on your Instagram stories archive (if you haven’t yet).

1. Tap on the three lines on the top right of your screen, then go to “Settings.”
2. Tap "Privacy,” then go to "Story."
3. Scroll down until you see "Save Story to archive" and toggle the switch beside it until it turns blue.

Note that only the stories you posted after turning on this feature will be archived. Any previous stories you may have posted are sadly lost forever. Also, if you manually delete a story before it reaches the 24-hour mark, it will not be saved on your archive.

How to Save Instagram Stories on iPhone

You can also directly download your stories onto your camera roll if you have an iPhone. This can be especially helpful if you used the in-app camera but want a copy of the story on your phone.

You can then treat these saved stories as regular photos and videos you can use for other platforms and social media accounts. Here's how you do it.

1. Tap on your active IG stories or select a previous story saved on your Instagram archive.
2. Upon viewing the story, tap the three dots on the bottom right of your screen.
3. A menu will pop up. Tap "Save."
4. Select "Save Photo/Video" if you want to save each story individually. If you prefer to keep the entire story for that day as a video slide show, tap "Save Story."

Each story you download will be saved as a vertical photo or video. This method is simple and effective. However, it could be time-consuming if you need to save several stories at a time.

A quicker method would be to take a screenshot or screen recording of your desired story, even those created by other users. However, this will include the watermarks and usernames accompanying each posted story.

Save Stories in ‘Highlights’

Instagram Highlights is a feature that accompanied the launch of the Instagram stories archive. It's a more public way of saving memorable or important stories that you want to showcase to your account's audience for longer than the usual 24-hour lifespan of regular Instagram stories.

Creating an Instagram highlight allows you to carefully curate selections of stories and post them publicly on your profile. You could group stories revolving around certain dates or themes which showcase your interests and the things you care about.

Follow these steps to create Instagram highlights:

1. Tap the plus (+) sign or "Story Highlight" under your profile bio. This will pull up the stories from your archive.
2. Tap on each story you want to include in your highlight, then tap "Next."
3. Type in a name and choose a cover photo for your highlight. This could be one of the stories you included, or you could upload a custom thumbnail.
4. Tap "Add" (for iOS) or "Done" (for Android). Your highlight is now on your profile.
5. You could add more stories or change the title and cover photo by tapping and holding the highlight and selecting "Edit Highlight."

Share and Save Story as a Post

This method allows you to share a story as an Instagram video or photo post on your profile feed. Here's how you can do it:

1. View your current story or select one from your stories archive.
2. Tap the three dots you can find on the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Tap on "Share as Post."

Save Stories in a Web-Based App

If you're looking for a more efficient way to save stories, you can also enlist the help of apps like Archive, which will automatically save Instagram stories for you. You need only install the app and connect your Instagram account to it.

Pro Tip: “In addition to showcasing your product or service, highlights can let visitors know who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Put together Stories that act as Highlights with a visual cover to make your Instagram account look like a brochure!”

Using Instagram Stories for Your Business

Businesses can benefit significantly from posting Instagram stories. The app had over 1.21 billion active users per month in 2021, making it an excellent platform for brand promotion.

Insta stories allow you to reach people more casually, showing your brand's personality. Here are some tips on how your brand could maximize this feature.

Promote Brand News/Updates

Instagram stories are the perfect place for sharing timely, bite-sized information. It makes perfect sense to use this feature when posting any announcements or updates regarding your brand.

Use Hashtags

Many people use hashtags on Instagram to find content that is relevant to them. Brands can leverage this by using relevant hashtags on stories and posts, allowing users to find your content easily.

Play With Interactive Stickers

There is a good selection of interactive stickers you can use on your Instagram stories. These include question stickers, polls, quizzes, tags, and links. These are a great way to interact with your audience and gauge their interests.

Interact With User-Generated Content

When your brand starts doing well, audiences will likely create their own content featuring your products or services. These are called user-generated content or UGC. You can take advantage of these interactions to create better customer relationships and expand your reach.

Utilize Instagram Stories Ads

Brands can organize their own Instagram story ad campaigns via the Facebook Ads Manager. These campaigns will show your brand content to targeted audiences, helping you reach broader markets.

Leverage Your Instagram Marketing with Archive App Today!

Instagram stories are excellent for personal and business accounts to build a significant following and interact with their audiences.

Knowing how to save and download these stories will help you build a content library your brand can use for future campaigns and marketing plans.

Among all the apps available on the market, Archive helps make this process easier. It allows you to automatically save stories and posts from your fan base, helping you build better customer relationships and strengthen brand trust.

There are many hidden ways to take your Instagram marketing to the next level. Check out Archive app today!

FAQs on Saving Instagram Stories Automatically

Where can I access the saved stories?

This all depends on the method you utilize to save stories. If you use an app like Archive, you can find it on your app dashboard. If you download stories to your device, you can find them on your camera roll. If you have the stories archive enabled on your Instagram app, you can find all your previous stories on that archive.

How long do Instagram stories stay in Archive?

Once saved and detected by Archive, relevant Instagram stories and posts will stay on longer than the usual 24 hours.

Can I know if somebody saves my own story?

At the moment, there is no way to tell if another user has managed to save your story unless they tell you themselves.

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