How to Post a Story on Instagram: Phone and Computer
How to post a story on Instagram from your phone, plus multiple photos, Close Friends, hiding a story, Meta Business Suite on a computer and the archive.
Published October 18, 2026
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To post a story on Instagram, tap Create, choose Story, take or pick a photo or video, and tap Your Story. Stories disappear after 24 hours unless you add them to a highlight. These steps are from the phone app; on a computer, Meta Business Suite is the documented route.
How to post a story on Instagram
Posting a story takes five taps in the app. These steps follow Instagram's help page for sharing a photo or video to your story.
- Tap Create at the top, or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
- Scroll to Story at the bottom.
- Tap Record to take a photo, tap and hold to record a video, or swipe up to choose one from your gallery.
- Tap Draw, Text or Sticker to add to it.
- Tap Your Story in the bottom left to share it.
To remove text or a sticker, drag it onto Delete at the bottom of the screen. Before you share, tap Save at the top to keep a copy on your phone, per Instagram's save-a-story page.
A video up to 60 seconds long appears as one clip, and a longer one is split into several clips. Instagram says the trimmer for the clips is currently only on iOS.
Who sees your story
Pick the audience with the button you tap in step 5, or change it afterwards. This table covers the options Instagram documents.
| Option | Who sees it | How |
|---|---|---|
| Your Story | Your followers, through the ring on your profile picture, the row at the top of Feed and Direct. On a public account it may also appear in Search and Explore | Tap Your Story |
| Close Friends | Only the people on your list, who know they are on it and see a green ring | Tap Close Friends instead of Your Story |
| Hidden from some people | Everyone except the people you hide it from | Menu, Story, live and location, then hide |
Where your story appears is set out by Instagram, which also says story photos and videos do not appear on your profile grid.
How to post a story to Close Friends only
Tap Create, tap Story, take or choose your photo or video, and tap Close Friends at the bottom instead of Your Story. Instagram's Close Friends page lists the steps.
People on your list know they are on it. No one can request to be added to your list.
How to hide your story from certain people
Hiding stops chosen people from seeing anything you add, and it is different from blocking them. Instagram's path: tap your profile picture, tap Menu, tap Story, live and location, tap Hide your story and live videos from specific people, select the people and tap Done.
You can also hide it while you look at who has seen it: tap Options next to their name, tap Hide your story, then Hide. Hidden people can still see your profile and posts, and your account's privacy setting still affects where the story appears. It works the other way too: anyone who watches a story shows up in its viewer list, which is why there is no official way to view Instagram Stories anonymously.
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How to post multiple photos or videos on an Instagram story
Each photo or video you share becomes its own frame, so post several by repeating the steps above. To put more than one photo in a single frame, use Layout: tap Create, tap Story, tap Layout on the left, take your photos, tap Approve and finish as usual, as Instagram describes.
Can you post an Instagram story from a computer?
Meta Business Suite can. Meta says you can create and manage stories there for Facebook and Instagram, if you have full control of, or content permission for, the account. Our guide to posting on Instagram from a desktop covers the rest of what a computer can do.
- Go to Meta Business Suite and click Create story.
- Under Post to, choose your Instagram profile, your Facebook Page, or both.
- Click Add photo/video and upload up to 10 photos or videos.
- Click Edit on a file to crop, trim, or add text, mentions, stickers or a link.
- Choose Share now or Schedule, then click Share or Schedule.
Business Suite can also schedule stories; our guide to scheduling Instagram stories compares the options.
Where stories go after 24 hours
Stories leave your profile, Feed and Direct inbox after 24 hours. Instagram saves them to your Stories Archive unless you turn that off, and Stories Archive is not available for all accounts.
To archive one early, tap Options on the story, then Archive. To open the archive, tap your profile picture, Menu, Your activity, then Archived. To keep a story visible on your profile, add it to a highlight: tap your profile picture, tap your story, tap More, tap Highlight and choose one.
Instagram notes that some archived stories are changed when saved, for example music is muted or a video freezes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a quiz to an Instagram story?
While creating a story, tap Stickers at the top and choose Quiz. Instagram lists Quiz alongside polls, questions and countdowns on its stickers page. It also says not all stickers are available to everyone, so update the app if a sticker is missing.
How do I share a post to my Instagram story?
Tap Share below the photo or video in Feed, tap Add to story, then Next, then Share. Instagram says this only works if the other account is public and allows resharing. Anyone who views your story can see who posted it originally and open that account.
How do I add a link to an Instagram story?
Tap Stickers at the top while creating your story and choose Link, which Instagram lists among its stickers. Not every account gets every sticker, so update the app if you do not see it. Meta Business Suite also has an Add link option when editing a story.
Can I save a story to my phone?
Yes. Before you share, tap Save at the top. After sharing, open your story, tap Options on the photo or video, tap Save, then choose Save Photo or Video for one item, or Save Story for everything as a single video, according to Instagram's page on saving stories.
Sources
- Instagram Help Center, Share a photo or video to your Instagram story
- Instagram Help Center, Share a story with your Close Friends list on Instagram
- Instagram Help Center, Hide your Instagram story from someone
- Instagram Help Center, Archive Instagram Stories or turn off Stories Archive
- Instagram Help Center, Using stickers on Instagram
- Meta Business Help Center, Create and manage stories in Meta Business Suite on desktop
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