How to Cut a Video on Instagram Story

Got a video that’s a little too long or has a slow start, but you know it’s perfect for your Instagram Story? We’ll show you exactly how to trim it down and cut out the fluff so only the best parts make it to your audience. This guide covers everything from fast, simple trims inside the Instagram app to more precise edits using free external tools for a seamless multi-part Story.

What You Need to Know About Instagram Story Video Length

First, let’s clear up some confusion. For a long time, video clips on Instagram Stories were capped at 15 seconds. If you uploaded a longer video, Instagram would automatically chop it into 15-second segments. Now, a single video clip on your Story can be up to 60 seconds long.

If you upload a video longer than 60 seconds - say, three minutes - Instagram will automatically cut it into three 60-second clips for you. While convenient, this automatic splitting gives you zero control over where the video cuts. It might happen right in the middle of a sentence or at an awkward moment, creating a jarring experience for your viewers.

That’s why learning to cut your videos manually is so important. It lets you:

• Maintain viewer attention: You can trim away boring intros or dead air to get straight to the action. This is absolutely essential for keeping people from tapping past your Story.
• Control the narrative: By choosing exactly where to start and end each segment, you can create suspense, build a cohesive story, and make your content flow smoothly from one clip to the next.
• Post only the best content: Not every second of your video is gold. Trimming lets you isolate the most funny, informative, or visually stunning moments to share.

The Easiest Method: How to Trim a Video Directly in the Instagram App

For quick trims - like cutting off the beginning where you’re fumbling with the camera or the end where you walk away - Instagram's built-in editor is your best friend. It’s fast, simple, and you don’t need to download any extra apps.

Here’s how to do it, step-by-step:

1. Open the Instagram Story Editor. From your Instagram home screen, swipe right or tap the plus icon (+) in the top right corner and select "Story."
2. Select Your Video. Swipe up to access your phone’s camera roll and choose the video you want to post. Don't record a new one - this only works with pre-recorded videos. Once you select it, Instagram will load a preview.
3. Locate the Trim Tool. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a filmstrip timeline of your video. This is the trim tool. Drag the timeline viewer left or right to scrub through the video.
4. Trim the Beginning and End. The timeline is framed by two white handles, one on the left and one on the right.
   • To trim the start of the video, press and hold the left handle and drag it to the right.
   • To trim the end of the video, press and hold the right handle and drag it to the left.
   The highlighted section between the two handles is what will be posted to your Story. The total length of your selected clip will appear on the screen, and it cannot exceed 60 seconds.
5. Finalize and Post. Once you're happy with your trimmed clip, tap "Done." Now you can add stickers, text, or music as usual before sharing it to your Story.

This method is perfect for getting a short clip under 60 seconds. However, you can’t use it to cut a section out from the middle of a video. For that, you’ll need a little more help.

For More Control: Splitting a Long Video into Multiple Story Clips

What if you have a great two-minute video you want to share in its entirety? You’ll need to split it into multiple 60-second segments. While Instagram will do this automatically, doing it manually gives you clean, professional-looking transitions.

You have two main options here: a slightly tedious manual method using just Instagram, or a much easier method using a free video editing app.

Method 1: The Manual Instagram Way (Functional but Fussy)

If you don’t want to download another app, you can use the built-in trimmer to post a longer story. It just takes a few extra steps.

1. Post Your First Clip: Upload your long video to the Story editor. Use the trim tool to select the first 60 seconds (from 0:00 to 1:00). Post this segment.
2. Post Your Second Clip: Wait for the first clip to finish uploading. Then, go back to the Story editor and select the exact same video again from your camera roll. This time, slide the trim tool so it selects a new 60-second portion, starting where the last one left off (from 1:00 to 2:00). Post this second segment.
3. Repeat as Needed: Continue this process until you’ve posted the entire video in sequential 60-second parts.

The Downside: This method works, but it's not precise. It can be hard to get the start and end points of a clip to line up perfectly, which can result in a disjointed viewing experience. For seamless transitions, turn to a dedicated app.

Method 2: Using a Third-Party App (Recommended for a Clean Look)

Using a free mobile video editor like CapCut gives you pixel-perfect control over your cuts, ensuring a smooth transition between Story slides. Most other editors, like InShot or Splice, follow a very similar process.

Here’s how to split a long video in CapCut:

1. Start a New Project: Open CapCut and tap "New project." Select your long video from your camera roll and tap "Add."
2. Make Your First Split: The video will appear on the timeline at the bottom. Drag the white line (the playhead) to the one-minute mark (01:00).
3. Split the Clip: With the playhead at the one-minute mark, tap the video track to select it (it will become highlighted). Then, from the menu at the bottom, tap "Split." Your video is now in two separate pieces.
4. Continue Splitting: If your video is longer than two minutes, drag the playhead to the two-minute mark (02:00) and repeat the process. Continue splitting every 60 seconds until you’ve broken the entire video into segments.
5. Export Each Clip Individually: This is the most important step! Don't export the whole video. Delete all clips except for the first one, then export it. Tap the undo button to bring the other clips back, delete all except the second one, and export that. Repeat this until you have all segments saved separately on your camera roll.
6. Pro Tip: To make exporting easier, you can duplicate your project for each segment instead of deleting and undoing.
8. Upload to Instagram: Now you have a collection of perfectly cut, 60-second video clips. Open the Instagram Story editor, tap the "Select Multiple" icon, and upload them in the correct order for a flawless, multi-part story.

How to Cut Out the Middle of a Video

Sometimes you need to remove a mistake or a boring part from the middle of a clip - not the beginning or end. For example, if you flub a line, there’s no way to edit that out with Instagram's native trimmer. This is another area where a free tool like CapCut is a lifesaver.

The process is often called a "jump cut," and it’s very easy:

1. Import Your Video into CapCut: Add the video you want to edit to a new project.
2. Mark the Start of the Unwanted Section: Drag the playhead to the exact spot where the part you want to remove begins. Tap on the video track and hit "Split."
3. Mark the End of the Unwanted Section: Now, drag the playhead to the end of the section you want to get rid of, and hit "Split" again.
4. Delete the Middle Clip: You have now isolated the bad take into its own separate clip in the middle. Tap on that middle clip to select it, and then tap the "Delete" button. The two remaining ends will automatically join together.
5. Export and Share: Export your newly tightened-up video and upload it to your Story. No one will ever know the mistake was there.

Final Thoughts

Cutting your videos for Instagram Stories, whether you’re doing a quick trim in the app or a precise multi-part split with an external tool, gives you total control over your narrative. Taking a few extra minutes to make clean cuts shows a level of polish that helps keep your audience happy and engaged swipe after swipe.

Once you’ve mastered creating polished videos, posting consistently and planning ahead is the next piece of putting together a great social presence. We learned from experience that bouncing between different apps for editing and then juggling native schedulers became a major bottleneck in our workflow. So we built scheduling right into Postbase. Our visual calendar lets you plan all your content, including video-heavy formats like Reels and Stories, so your perfectly trimmed clips go live exactly when they should - no last-minute scrambles.