Successful content creation is supported by sound management of your social media accounts and profiles. Instagram is aware of this and caters accordingly, to its approximately 2 billion monthly active users. 

Net Influencer explores everything you must know about archiving on Instagram. We explain how it works with step-by-step instructions. Follow our quick guide to archiving on Instagram and control what your followers see. 

The Meaning and Usage of ‘Archiving’

Instagram’s archive allows users to remove posts from their profile, without deleting it. Once posts are archived, it becomes invisible on the profile. All comments and likes on the archived posts remain intact.

You can undo archiving a post whenever you choose. Archived posts never expire. They can only be removed from the app when you manually delete them.

How to Archive a post

1. Tap the  or your profile picture to go to your profile
2. Tap the post you would like to archive
3. Tap in the top right
4. Select Archive and your post will disappear from your profile

How to Archive a post on an Instagram story

1. Tap the   or your profile picture to go to your profile
2. Select Menu > Settings > Privacy > Story 
3. Save the story to archive

How to Automatically Archive Instagram Stories

1. Tap the  or your profile picture to go to your profile
2. Tap the three-line menu at the top
3. Tap Settings
4. Tap Privacy
5. Tap Story
6. Tap Save story to archive

How to un-archive a post

1. Tap the or your profile picture to go to your profile
2. Select Menu > Archive 

3. Tap Stories archive at the top to switch between archived stories and posts

4.   Tap the post/story you want to un-archive

5. Tap in the top right
6. Select ‘show on profile’ and view the post on your profile

Where Are My Archived Instagram Posts?

You can rest assured that your archived posts are safely saved. You can access and view these at any time. Here’s how:

1. Tap the   or your profile picture to go to your profile
2. Tap the three-line menu at the top
3. Tap Archive
4. Tap Stories archive at the top of the screen to switch between your archived stories and posts.

The Origin of ‘Archiving’

Instagram’s archive launched in 2017. Providing Instagram users with more control over what their followers see on the profile, the feature has real staying power. While manual archiving is possible for both posts and stories, automatic archiving is available for stories, after 24 hours of posting. 

How to Use ‘Archiving’ in Content Creation

Archiving allows Instagram’s content creators to curb impulsive posting, remove posts that have lost relevance or may have received less positive feedback (without deleting), or alter the landscape of their profiles by hiding posts in Instagram’s archive for future use. This temporary removal gives content creators control, especially when they need time to rethink their posting choices and brand identity. 

Look at our mini guide to archiving to your benefit, with 3 quick tips

Highlight your best Stories

This tip incorporates Instagram’s highlights feature to show off your best stories that already aired and have been automatically archived. Follow these easy steps:

1. Open Instagram and navigate to the menu from your profile
2. Tap Archive, choose Stories from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen
3. Select a post from your archived Stories you want to add to Highlights
4. Tap on the Story and choose Highlight
5. Choose the Highlight that you want to add it to, or tap + to create a new Highlight

Try out different Instagram themes on your account

Select a theme or style that suits your brand and attempt to create it using the content on your profile. You can achieve this by archiving any posts that do not fit the theme. This is safe to experiment with, as you can simply unarchive the posts if the theme is not worth maintaining. 

Reuse archived posts for variation

Unarchive posts for a new lease of life and run on your profile. These may be posts that enjoyed great engagement and lost relevance with time but deserve another try. It could be posts that did not fare well and may need a second chance. It may simply be one of your favorites that needs to be reintroduced. 

Conclusion

Archiving gives creators control, reducing the pressure that comes from impulsive posting or content that loses relevance along the way. The handy feature can also be used to leverage better outcomes on the platform. More importantly, Instagram’s archiving option allows the creator to change the narrative of their profile, as they grow and morph into newer, more updated, versions of themselves. It promotes relevance and flexibility, which permits effective content management.