The latest Instagram update for both Android and iOS has implemented a function that can archive stories. While you can still save stories to your phone, this is now optional since they will also be saved automatically to your Instagram account.
Many users wanted the ability to save stories which probably why Instagram came up with the archiving feature. However, if you’d rather not have all of them automatically archived this behavior can be undone.
How to stop Instagram Stories from being archived automatically (Android and iOS)
In fact, there are several ways you can use to stop Instagram Stories from being archived automatically (more on that below). Nevertheless, the stories that have been already archived will still be there and if you want to remove them you will have to do it manually.
After the app receives the latest update you will see a prompt called “Introducing Your Stories Archive”. On the screen, there is also an “Edit in Settings” option and if you tap it you can disable automated archiving from there.
If you simply dismissed the prompt, no worries, you can still stop Instagram Stories from being archived automatically.
Disable story archiving in the Stories Archive
The first method requires you to go to to your profile tab and tah the clock icon to open the archives.
If you get the “Add To Your Story” page instead, tap the “Change Archive Controls in Settings” link. On the Story Settings screen simply disable the “Save to Archive” option.
This works if you don’t have any archived stories yet. If you already have some stories saved to your IG, try one of the next methods.
Note: If this method didn’t work for you and you see a white screen with the message “No Archived Posts” or your saved non-story posts, tap “Archive if you’re an iOS user or “Posts Archive” if you’re on Android.
To continue, select “Stories” from the drop-down if you’re on iOS or “Stories Archive” if you’re an Android user. Then, you can try to change the settings.
Disable story archiving in Archive Settings
Go to your Profile tab and tap the clock icon to display the archives. Then, tap on the ellipsis icon in the upper-right corner and select “Settings” from the popup menu. On the following screen, disable the “Save to Archive” option.
Disable story archiving in Instagram’s options
Open your profile tab and select the cog icon if you’re on iOS or the ellipsis icon if you’re an Android user. This will open Instagram’s options. From the list, select “Story Settings”. Then, you’ll be able to toggle off the “Save to Archive” option from the Saving section.
Disable story archiving in the Story Camera
The fourth method doesn’t require you navigating through the archive or Instagram’s options. To start, simply start a new story by tapping your profile pic or swiping right on the feed. Next, tap the cog icon and, locate the Saving section and disable the “Save to Archive” option.
As you can see, all of these methods do the same thing. You can use any of them to stop Instagram Stories from being archived automatically and they work regardless if you’re on Android or iOS.
Even if you disabled story archiving, the stories that have already been saved won’t be removed. You can do that manually, although it might take you a while to delete them all, especially if you have a lot of stories. You can’t delete a whole story at once, so you’ll need to tap on each photo and video in the story, select the ellipsis and use the delete function. Once you delete all photos and videos in a story, the story itself will also be deleted.
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