How to Add Old Stories to Highlights on Instagram

You created the perfect Instagram Story, but the whirlwind of your day took over, and you forgot to add it to your Highlights before the 24-hour mark. We’ve all been there - that sinking feeling that your best content is lost forever. The good news is that it’s not gone, and you can absolutely add old Stories to your Highlights days, weeks, or even months later. This guide will show you exactly where to find your archived Stories and how to put them back in the spotlight on your profile.

Why Instagram Highlights Are So Important

Before getting into the steps, it’s worth remembering why Highlights are such a powerful tool for your branding. Think of your Instagram Highlights as an easy navigation menu for your profile. While your feed showcases your polished, evergreen content, and your Stories provide real-time updates, your Highlights bridge that gap. They live right below your bio, making them some of the first content visitors see.

Highlights allow you to curate your best Story content into organized collections that stick around permanently. This is invaluable for:

• Showcasing Products or Services: Create dedicated Highlights for different product categories, service offerings, or new launches.
• Answering FAQs: Save time and serve your audience by creating a Highlight that answers your most frequently asked questions.
• Sharing Social Proof: A "Reviews" or "Testimonials" Highlight is one of the best ways to build trust by showing off user-generated content and positive feedback.
• Revealing Behind-the-Scenes Content: Connect with your audience on a personal level by saving Stories about your team, your process, or a day in the life of your business.

By saving key information in an accessible way, you transform your profile from just a grid of photos into a genuine resource for followers and potential customers.

The Key: Unlocking Your Instagram Story Archive

The "secret" to accessing old Stories lies within your Instagram Story Archive. By default, Instagram automatically saves your Stories to this private archive after they expire. From here, you can review, download, re-share, and, most importantly, add them to your Highlights.

However, this feature only works if it’s turned on. If you’ve never checked this setting before, it’s a good idea to confirm it’s active so all your future Stories are saved automatically. A lost Story is a lost opportunity.

How to Check if Your Story Archive is Enabled

Follow these quick steps to make sure your profile is set up to save everything:

1. Open your Instagram profile and tap the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
2. Tap on "Archive." This will take you to your content archive. If it opens to 'Posts archive,' simply tap the dropdown menu at the top and select 'Stories archive' instead.
3. Once you're in the Stories archive, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner.
4. Select "Settings."
5. Make sure the toggle for "Save story to archive" is turned on. If it's blue, you're all set. If it's gray, tap it to activate it.

Once this is enabled, every Story you post from this point forward will be safe and sound in your archive, ready for you to use in a Highlight whenever you want.

How to Add an Old Story to an Existing Highlight

If you already have a Highlight and want to add another past Story to the collection, the process is simple. Maybe you have a "Behind the Scenes" Highlight and want to add another clip from last month. Here’s how you do it.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Go to your profile and find the Highlight
2. Navigate to your main Instagram profile page where your bio and feed are visible. Tap and hold the Highlight you wish to add your old Story to.
3. Select "Edit Highlight"
4. A menu will pop up from the bottom of the screen. Tap on "Edit Highlight." This will take you to the editing screen for that specific collection.
5. Switch to the "Stories" tab
6. At the top of the editing screen, you’ll see two tabs: "Selected" and "Stories." The "Selected" tab shows what's currently in your Highlight. Tap on the "Stories" tab to access your archive.
7. Choose your old stories
8. You’ll now see your entire Story archive, with your newest Stories appearing at the top. Scroll through your archive and tap the circle in the corner of any Story you want to add. A blue checkmark will appear on each one you select.
9. Save your changes
10. Once you’ve selected all the additional Stories you want to include, tap "Done" in the top-right corner. Your Highlight will now be updated with the old content you just added.

How to Create a New Highlight with Old Stories

What if you posted a series of brilliant Stories at a product launch event two weeks ago and now want to create a brand new Highlight to memorialize it? You don’t need a live Story to get started. You can build a new Highlight entirely from your archive.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Navigate to your profile
2. Start on your main Instagram profile page. If you have existing Highlights, you'll see a "New" circle with a plus sign to the far left of your Highlights bar. If you’ve never created one before, you'll see a prominent prompt to add one beneath your bio.
3. Tap the "New" button
4. Tap the "New" (+) circle. This will immediately open your Instagram Story Archive.
5. Select the Stories for your Highlight
6. Scroll through your archive and select all the Stories you want to include in this new collection. Just like before, a blue checkmark will appear on each Story you select. You can add as many as you need to tell your story completely.
7. Edit your Highlight details
   • Name Your Highlight: Give it a short, descriptive title (e.g., "NYC Event," "Q&,A," "Our Gear"). Keep it under 15 characters so it doesn't get cut off on your profile.
   • Choose a Cover: Tap "Edit Cover." You can choose one of the Stories you selected as the cover image or upload a custom image from your camera roll. Using custom, branded covers gives your profile a polished and professional look.
8. Publish your new Highlight
9. Once you've given it a name and set a cover, tap "Add" (on iOS) or "Done" (on Android). The new Highlight will instantly appear on your profile for everyone to see.

Pro Tips for Managing Your Highlights Strategy

Now that you know how to add old Stories to Highlights, you can start thinking more strategically about them. Well-planned Highlights can significantly improve your profile's effectiveness.

Create Custom Branded Covers: Generic Story thumbnails can look messy. Use a simple tool like Canva to design custom Highlight cover icons that match your brand’s colors and fonts. This small detail creates a powerful, cohesive look on your profile.

Organize Highlights Like a Website: Think about your audience's journey. What information do they need first? Common categories that work for most businesses include:

• About Us / Our Story: Introduce who you are and what your brand stands for.
• Products / Services: Create separate Highlights for major offerings.
• Reviews / Love: Showcase your best testimonials and user-generated content right away.
• FAQ: Address common questions to reduce support inquiries and help customers make decisions.
• How-To / Tips: Provide educational value related to your niche.

Keep Them Fresh: While Highlights are permanent, they shouldn’t be stagnant. Regularly review your Highlights to remove outdated information, add new testimonials, or update product details. A Highlight for a promotion that ended six months ago signals that you aren't actively managing your profile.

Reorder for Relevance: When you add a new Story to a Highlight, Instagram automatically moves it to the first spot in your list. Use this to your advantage. If you want to bring attention to a particular Highlight - like one for a new launch - simply add any old Story to it and then immediately remove that Story after saving. This simple trick refreshes its position without altering the content.

Final Thoughts

Your Instagram Stories hold a lot of value, and their expiration after 24 hours doesn't mean they're gone for good. By leveraging your Story Archive, you can curate a powerful, long-lasting collection of content on your profile that serves your audience and reinforces your brand's identity long after the initial post has disappeared.

Thinking strategically about your content calendar makes planning for Highlights so much easier. Here at Postbase, we designed our visual content planner to give you a clear view of your entire social strategy. By mapping out your Stories, Reels, and feed posts in one organized calendar, you can intentionally create Story sequences destined for specific Highlights, ensuring you always have the right content pieces ready to save when inspiration strikes.