Why Does It Matter?

If you use social media constantly, you probably need to clean up your Instagram profile quite frequently. Posts that are no longer of value need to come down to keep your Instagram feed lean and mean. These may be posts for a past event or about something no longer relevant to you.

Alternatively, you might plan to use your Instagram account for business. That’s a good idea as 90% of Instagram users follow a business.  In that case, you want to hide any personal posts. Deleting them is the easy solution.

However, deleting posts is irreversible. Once they’re gone, they stay gone. You might be reluctant to do that as some posts might have sentimental associations or prove to be useful later on. If you want to restore it to your feed, you can’t.

Deleting posts also takes with it any traction it had with your target audience. You want to avoid doing that if you have another option, which you do.

Archiving posts gives you the flexibility in account management that wasn't available before 2017. You can keep these posts for as long as you like. The same applies to the Instagram Stories archive. More to the point, unarchiving allows you to restore them to your feed, earned metrics and all, whenever you want.

So, let’s get to it.

How To Unarchive an Instagram Post

You can only use the archive feature on the Instagram app. Use it to hide posts from the public view of your account. Unarchiving archived photos or content restores it to your Instagram feed, good as new. Here’s what you need to do to unarchive Instagram posts.

1. Open your Instagram account

Launch the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android smartphone or mobile device, and log in to your account. Find the profile icon found at the bottom right corner of the app. Tap the profile picture to access your profile page.

2. Access the Archive

Find the hamburger menu (≡) at the top right corner of the Instagram app. Tap on it to access the menu panel with the Instagram archive feature. You will see “archive” at the top. Tap archive to open the settings.

3. Select posts to unarchive

With the archive settings open, you will see “Stories archive.” Tap on that to open the options. Choose “Posts archive” on an Android device. If you have an iPhone or iOS device, choose "Posts" from the top of the list. Choose the post your want to unarchive.

Sometimes you will see archived posts as soon as you open archive. In that case, tap on the archived post you want to unarchive to go to the original post.

4. Unarchive posts

You will see a three-dot menu (⋮ or ⋯) at the top right of the post. Tap on it, and two options appear: Show on Profile and Delete.  

To unarchive a post, choose "Show on Profile." Instagram will restore your post to where it was before you archived it, complete with all interactions, including likes. Voila!

5 Tips and Reminders for Unarchiving Instagram Posts

The Instagram archive feature is a helpful tool, specifically because of unarchiving. It isn't much use if you just keep archived posts around. You will just be transferring clutter from one space to another. However, be cautious with what you archive and unarchive.

An Instagram account for a business must evolve to keep up with changing styles, audiences, and goals. Consider the following tips to help you with that.

• Archive posts you want to keep private. Archived posts are in a separate section of your account and are only visible to you, not your Instagram followers.
• Always archive Instagram posts first. Deleting is irreversible, and you lose engagement metrics. Give yourself time to consider if you are likely to want those posts in the future.
• Keep archived posts only if you think you are likely to need them again. Delete the rest. Only unarchive posts that align with current messaging and trends and those that will likely boost engagement rates.
• Unarchiving a post restores it to the same point as your profile feed's timeline before you archived it.
• Review your Instagram feed regularly and use analytics to qualify existing posts. Archive or delete posts that are not getting any traction with your audience. Periodic maintenance makes the clean-up go easier and faster. It also keeps your trending Instagram feed relevant and fresh.

Keep Your Instagram Community Vibrant With Archive

An Instagram account for your business is an excellent way to engage your target audience. The archive and unarchive feature for Instagram posts can keep your social media feed vibrant and relevant. Hopefully, this guide will help you properly unarchive posts on your iPhone or Android device.

Archive is chockfull of valuable resources about Instagram, community marketing, Tiktok, and many more for your business. See what other things we can teach you by checking out our blog!

If you have a Shopify store and want to find brand mentions and user-generated content, you can use Archive App. It automatically saves Instagram Posts and Stories tagging your brand to your account. You get fantastic UGCs you can use for your business without doing anything manually. Archive App saves you time and money.

Archive makes it easier to build and maintain your Instagram community. Download and use our Archive app today, and see your Instagram post engagement soar!

FAQs on Unarchiving Instagram Posts

Will Instagram notify users of unarchived posts?

No, it won’t. Your followers will not get a notification when you unarchive a post. However, the archive feature lets you keep all the likes and comments it had before you put it in storage.

Is there a time limit to archiving posts?

No, you can archive Instagram posts any time you want and keep them in the archive for as long as you need. They will not revert to your feed unless you unarchive them.

Can you archive and unarchive live broadcasts?

Yes. In fact, Instagram archives live broadcasts automatically to your Live archive unless you turn it off in the Story settings. However, archived broadcasts only have a shelf life of 30 days, after which Instagram deletes them.

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