How to Add Old Highlights on Instagram

Ever create an amazing Instagram Story, only to realize days or weeks later that it would be the perfect addition to a new Highlight? You go to create the Highlight, but the Story is nowhere to be found. This article will show you exactly how to find and add any of your old Stories to your Instagram Highlights, no matter how long ago you posted them. We'll cover everything from accessing your hidden Story archive to strategically organizing your Highlights to build your brand.

Why You Can't Find Old Stories (And Where They're Hiding)

First, let's clear up a common misconception. When your Instagram Story disappears after 24 hours, it isn't gone forever. By default, Instagram automatically saves all your Stories to a private section of your account called the Archive. The reason you can't add an old story directly is that you're likely looking in the wrong place. The standard "Add to Story" flow only shows your camera roll and current stories, not this secret treasure trove of past content.

This archive is your personal content library, a complete history of every Story you've ever posted. Having it enabled means you can repurpose valuable content, relive memories, and, most importantly for our purposes, build out your Highlights with your best material from any time period.

How to Check if Your Story Archive is Enabled

While this feature is usually on by default, doing a quick check can save you a lot of future frustration. It’s better to confirm it’s active now than to realize a month from now that your amazing content has been vanishing into thin air.

Here’s how to make sure your archive setting is turned on:

1. Go to your Instagram profile page.
2. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Archive" from the list. It often has a little clock icon next to it.
4. In your Archive, tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select "Settings."
5. Make sure the toggle for "Save story to archive" is switched on. If it's blue, you're good to go!

With that setting confirmed, you can be confident that every Story you post is being saved for you, ready to be added to a Highlight whenever you choose.

Step-by-Step: Adding an Old Story to a Brand New Highlight

Creating a new Highlight is the most common way brands and creators organize their content. You might want to create a Highlight for customer testimonials, a specific product line, a Q&A session, or a travelogue from a recent trip. Accessing your archive makes this incredibly easy.

Follow these steps to pull old content into a completely new Highlight:

• Step 1: Go to Your Profile. Navigate to your main profile page where your bio and grid are displayed.
• Step 2: Tap "New". Directly below your bio, you'll see your existing Highlights (if any) and a circle with a plus sign labeled "New". Tap it.
• Step 3: Access Your Story Archive. This action immediately opens your Story Archive. You’ll see a grid of all your past Stories, with the most recent ones at the top.
• Step 4: Find and Select Your Stories. Scroll down through your archive to find the images or videos you want to feature. You can select multiple Stories to include in the same Highlight. As you tap on each one, a small blue checkmark will appear in the corner of the thumbnail.
• Step 5: Name Your Highlight. Once you've selected all the Stories for this Highlight, tap "Next" in the top-right corner. Now you’ll be prompted to give your Highlight a name (e.g., "About Me," "FAQs," "Services"). Keep it short and descriptive, as only about 10-11 characters are visible on your profile.
• Step 6: Edit the Cover. Instagram will automatically use the first Story you selected as the cover image. To create a more professional look, tap "Edit Cover." Here, you can slide through the selected Stories to choose a different frame or tap the image icon to upload a custom cover photo directly from your camera roll.
• Step 7: Add to Your Profile. After you've chosen a name and a cover, tap "Add" (on iOS) or "Done" (on Android). Your new Highlight, full of your chosen older Stories, will now appear on your profile.

How to Add Old Stories to an Existing Highlight

Sometimes you don't need a whole new category, you just need to update an existing one. For example, you might want to add a new fantastic customer review to your "Testimonials" Highlight or add an important update to your "Events" Highlight.

The process is slightly different but still very straightforward:

• Step 1: Long-Press the Highlight. Go to your Instagram profile and press and hold on the Highlight you wish to update. Don't just tap it - that will play the Highlight. You need to hold it down for about a second.
• Step 2: Choose "Edit Highlight". A menu will pop up from the bottom of the screen. Select "Edit Highlight."
• Step 3: Switch to Your Archive. The editing screen will open. You'll first see the "Selected" tab, showing all the Stories currently in that Highlight. To add more, tap on the adjacent tab labeled "Stories." This takes you back to your full Story Archive.
• Step 4: Select More Stories. Scroll through your archive and select the old Stories you'd like to add. They will get the same blue checkmark as before.
• Step 5: Save Your Changes. Once you're done selecting, simply tap "Done" in the top-right corner. The newly added Story will now appear when people view that Highlight.

Beyond the Basics: Making Your Highlights Work for You

Simply knowing how to add old stories to Highlights is just the beginning. The real power comes from using them strategically to tell your brand's story, answer customer questions, and drive business goals. Think of them as a curated, permanent introduction to who you are and what you offer.

Think Like a Website Menu

Your Instagram Highlights serve the same function as the main navigation bar on a website. They should be the first things a new visitor clicks on to understand what you're all about. Structure them logically to guide users to the most important information.

Some essential Highlight categories for businesses and creators include:

• About Me/Us: Introduce yourself or your team.
• FAQs: Answer your most frequently asked questions to save time.
• Reviews/Results: Showcase positive feedback and social proof.
• Services/Products: Detail what you sell and how people can buy.
• Behind the Scenes (BTS): Build trust by showing your process.
• How-To's/Tips: Provide value and position yourself as an expert.

Create On-Brand Custom Covers

A cluttered profile can deter new followers. While you can use a frame from one of your Stories as a Highlight cover, creating custom, branded graphics provides a much cleaner and more professional aesthetic. This small detail makes your profile look intentional and visually cohesive.

You can easily design these using a free tool like Canva. Just create a simple design with a branded icon or text on your brand's background color. Save it to your phone, and when you're editing your Highlight, select "Edit Cover" and upload your custom graphic from your camera roll. Using a consistent set of covers instantly elevates the look of your entire profile.

Organize and Prioritize Your Highlights

Remember that only the first 4-5 Highlights are visible on your profile without having to scroll. These spots are your prime real estate. Make double-sure that your most important content - like "Shop Now," "Bookings," or "Start Here" - occupies those first few slots.

Currently, the only way to reorder your Highlights is by updating them. When you add a new Story to a Highlight, Instagram automatically moves it to the first position on the left. You can use this to your advantage. To move an older Highlight to the front of the line, just edit it, add any temporary Story from your archive, save it, and it will jump to the front. You can even go back in and remove the temporary Story immediately after - the new order will stick.

Tell a Cohesive Story Within Each Highlight

Finally, always remember the purpose of a Story - to tell a narrative. When building out a Highlight, don't just dump in a bunch of disconnected clips. Arrange them in a logical order that makes sense to a first-time viewer. For a project Highlight, show the 'before,' the 'during,' and the 'after.' For a tutorial Highlight, make sure the steps are in chronological order. This creates a much more engaging and valuable viewing experience for your audience.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to tap into your Story Archive fundamentally changes how you can use Instagram Highlights. It turns them from a fleeting, 24-hour feature into a powerful tool for curating an evergreen library of your best content, effectively creating a mini-website right on your profile. By adding old stories, you can strategically build out your profile's narrative and provide immense value to your audience, new and old.

Keeping a brand’s story consistent across daily Stories, planned Reels, and organized Highlights is no small task. We know that creating all this visual content takes serious effort, so planning and scheduling it should be the simple part. That’s why we built Postbase, a social media management tool made for the way people actually use social media today. With a visual calendar designed for a video-first world, we help you manage your entire creative workflow, letting you focus on building your brand, not wrestling with outdated software.