Do you want to grab old Instagram Stories—maybe from your own account, maybe from someone else’s public profile? Let’s get real about what you can and can’t do. Instagram has rules, and most of the “secret hacks” floating around are basically clickbait. Here’s what actually works, what’s a dead end, and how not to get your account flagged along the way.
First thing, you need to check the Highlights. That’s literally the only way old Stories stick around for public viewing. If the person pinned it to their Highlights, you’re in luck. Otherwise, the Story is probably gone forever.
Tools like Dumpor let you peek at public Highlights without even logging in. You would need to go to its website, enter their profile name, and browse through whatever Highlights or recent Stories are up. If there’s a download button, you can download the respective content.
If you’re just trying to save your own old stories, go to your profile and tap that hamburger menu (☰) in the corner. You would need to select Archive and tap the Story you want, then tap More > Save Photo/Video.
The app (iOS or Android) is way better at showing you your archives. The desktop is somewhat limited.
If you are following a public account and they don’t have Highlights, those Stories are gone unless they repost them. Instagram does not keep an archive of other people’s expired Stories for you to access.
Stories were built to disappear after 24 hours. That’s the whole point! Instagram added Highlights and personal Archives so you could keep your own stuff. Access to this content is still limited. For example, you can’t see private archives. Only Highlights and live Stories are public. Expired Stories from other people are gone for you for good.
We are not going to keep it a secret that the app gives you the most power. First of all, it allows you to see Highlights, a function that is limited on PC. In addition, you are able to access the Archive. This feature is not added to the web version of Instagram. It is also possible to download your own stories via the app. If you would like to download someone else’s Stories or Highlights, you can turn to services such as Dumpor. The latter is web-based and can be used from any device.
If it’s not in Highlights, it’s gone. Instagram does not store expired Stories publicly.
You can try a different browser, or the Story is likely to be from a Private account.
You probably never turned on “Save to Archive” in settings. Make sure to turn it on if you want to have access to your old Stories later on.
You can use your app. Alternatively, turn to an Instagram downloading tool such as Dumpor.
Just because you can see or download someone’s public Story doesn’t mean you own it. Always ask before reposting or sharing. And seriously, don’t mess with private accounts or try shady download hacks. Instagram will come for you (well, they might).
Only if they’re active or saved as Highlights. Expired ones are gone, unless they are yours.
Check your Archive in the app and download anything you desire.
No, unless it’s not in Highlights.
Yes. Thanks to Dumpor, you can peek at and save Highlights from public accounts.
If it is for personal use, you should be fine. Copyright rules and platform terms do not allow you to use this content for reposting (without permission), impersonation, etc.
