Easy Ways to Get Deleted Instagram Pics Back

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Make old Instagram posts visible again with our in-depth guide

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: July 20, 2024 Fact Checked

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Checking the Recently Deleted Folder

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Checking the Instagram Archive

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Checking Your Phone Gallery on Android

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Checking Your Phone Gallery on iPhone and iPad

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Video

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Tips

Usually when you delete something, it's gone. Instagram, however, stores all your content for 30 days after you delete it. If it's been fewer than 30 days since you deleted a post, you may be able to recover it. This wikiHow article will show you how to recover deleted Instagram posts using several methods.

Qiuick Steps

Open Instagram and tap your profile picture.
Tap ☰.
Tap Your activity.
Tap Recently deleted.
Tap the content you want to restore.
Tap Restore/Restore to profile.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Checking the Recently Deleted Folder

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1
Tap your profile image or the silhouette icon. This is in the lower right corner of the Instagram app. Your profile page will open.
- This method will only work for posts that have been deleted for less than 30 days.
This three-line menu button is in the top right corner of your screen.

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It's under the "How you use Instagram" header.
You'll find it under the "Removed and archived content" header.
You'll see all your photos, Stories, reels, IGTV videos, and video posts here.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Checking the Instagram Archive

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1
Tap your profile image or the silhouette
. This is in the lower right of your screen. Your profile page will open.
- Since its introduction in 2017, the archive feature has been the default action for removing/hiding posts instead of deleting them. You might be able to find your old content here.
A menu will slide out.
A list of your archived Stories will appear.
A menu will drop down, and you can choose Stories Archive or Posts Archive.
This displays the posts in your archive.
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Tap a post to view it. You'll see a list of all the content you've archived, and tapping one will open it with more details and options.
- Your post and all its original comments will load.^{[2]
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You'll see this at the top of the post.
It will appear back in your Instagram timeline where it originally was.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Checking Your Phone Gallery on Android

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1
Open My Files. This app icon looks like a folder; you'll most likely find this on one of your Home screens, in the app drawer, or by searching.
- You'll only find an Instagram album if you enabled the feature in Instagram to save your posts locally.^{[3]
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- You'll only find the videos/photos you took with the Instagram app camera, not the entire post you created. You also will not find pictures you uploaded from your default camera roll into Instagram here. But this might be your best option if you're looking for posts older than 30 days.
You'll see this listed below "Recent files" and "Categories."
You might have to scroll down to see this.
You'll see all the pictures you took from the Instagram app.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Checking Your Phone Gallery on iPhone and iPad

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1
Open Photos. This app icon looks like a multicolored flower. You can find this app on your home screen or by searching.
- You'll only find an Instagram album if you enabled the feature in Instagram to save your posts locally.^{[4]
  X
  Research source}
- You'll only find the videos/photos you took with the Instagram app camera, not the entire post you created. You also will not find pictures you uploaded from your default camera roll into Instagram here. But if you're looking for pictures older than 30 days, this might be your best option.
It's usually the second from the right icon next to "Search."^{[5]
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You'll see all the pictures and videos you took from the Instagram app, but you won't find a copy of the entire post.

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Tips

You can also try viewing your Instagram profile using the Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web/. You'll need to enter your Instagram profile URL into the text box at the top of the page to continue to pick a date to view from the calendar. The Wayback Machine does not have the URL of every Instagram account archived, so you might not see your profile.

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