How to Find a Saved Draft on Instagram

You’ve spent the better part of an hour crafting the perfect Instagram post. The photo is edited just right, the caption is witty yet authentic, and you’ve even researched the perfect blend of hashtags. But just as you’re about to hit “Share,” life happens - a phone call, a notification, or you simply need to step away. You hit back and tap “Save Draft,” trusting it’ll be there when you return. This guide will show you exactly where to find those saved drafts for Feed Posts, Reels, and Stories, so your creative genius never goes to waste.

How Instagram Drafts Work (And Why They Sometimes Disappear)

Before we pinpoint where your drafts are hiding, it’s helpful to understand how they work. Think of an Instagram draft as a temporary file stored directly on your phone, not in the cloud or on Instagram's servers. This is the single most important thing to remember.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• Drafts are device-specific. A draft you save on your iPhone won’t be accessible on your iPad or a new Android phone. If you get a new phone, your drafts won't transfer over.
• They are tied to your account. You can log out and log back in (on the same device), and your drafts should still be there. However, drafts are not shared between different accounts on the same phone.
• Deleting and reinstalling the app will erase them. Because they are stored locally in the app’s data, clearing the cache or deleting the Instagram app will permanently delete all your saved drafts.

There are three main types of content you can save as a draft: a standard Feed Post (photos or videos), a Reel, and a Story. The process for finding each one is a little different, so let's break them down one by one.

How to Find Saved Drafts for Instagram Feed Posts

Finding a saved draft for a regular photo or video post is the most common scenario. Luckily, it’s also one of the easiest. Once you have a draft saved, a new "Drafts" section appears in your content creation flow.

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Open the Instagram app and tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom center of the navigation bar, just like you’re creating a new post.
2. This will open your phone’s photo gallery. Look at the top of the gallery view. You should see two tabs: "Recents" (or "Gallery") and "Drafts."
3. Tap on the "Drafts" tab. All of your saved Feed Post drafts will be displayed here, ready for you to select and continue editing.
4. Tap the draft you want to work on. You can now make further edits to the image or caption, or just go ahead and post it.

What If You Don't See a "Drafts" Tab?

If you tap the plus icon (+) and don't see the "Drafts" option, it usually means one of two things: you don't actually have any Feed Post drafts saved, or you tapped on a different content creation option like "Story" or "Reel."

Remember, the Post drafts only appear when you're in the Post creation workflow. If you followed the steps and it’s not there, it’s likely the draft wasn't saved correctly. This sometimes happens if the app quits unexpectedly or you navigate away without properly hitting the "back" button and confirming the "Save Draft" prompt.

How to Find Your Saved Reel Drafts

Reel drafts are saved in a completely separate location from your Feed Post drafts. This can be confusing, but once you know where to look, it’s straightforward. You actually have two easy ways to get to them.

Method 1: From Your Profile Page

This is arguably the quickest way to see all your saved Reels in one place.

1. Navigate to your Instagram Profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom right corner.
2. Below your bio and story highlights, tap on the Reels tab (the icon that looks like a clapperboard).
3. The very first item in your Reels grid will be a box labeled "Drafts." It will show a preview of your most recent draft and have a small overlay indicating how many others you have saved.
4. Tap on this "Drafts" box to view all your saved Reels. You can then select one to continue editing, add a caption, or post.

Method 2: From the Reels Creation Screen

You can also access your Reel drafts while in the process of making a new one.

1. Tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen.
2. Swipe at the bottom to select "REEL" as your content type.
3. Your camera view will open. In the bottom left corner, tap the small square that shows a preview of your camera roll (it might have a blue + sign).
4. This is where it looks similar to the Feed Post process. At the top of your camera roll view, you will see a "Drafts" tab. Tap it to see all your saved Reel projects.

Regardless of which method you use, this is where your unposted Reels live, separate from everything else.

So, What About Story Drafts?

For a long time, Instagram Story drafts were a temporary luxury. You might see a pop-up to restore a draft if you closed the app mid-edit, but they weren't saved reliably. Thankfully, that has changed, but with one important catch: Story drafts automatically delete after 7 days.

For this reason, they should be considered temporary holding spots, not a long-term content library. Here's where to find a saved Story draft:

1. Open the Instagram Story creator by either tapping the plus icon (+) and selecting "STORY" or by simply swiping right from your main Feed.
2. Your camera will open. Tap on the gallery icon in the bottom-left corner to open your camera roll.
3. At the top of the screen, just like with Posts and Reels, you'll see a "Drafts" tab. Tap on it.
4. Your saved Story drafts from the last week will be here. Select one to proceed with editing and posting.

Troubleshooting: Why Can't I Find My Instagram Draft?

Panicking because your draft is nowhere to be found? It happens, and it's almost always due to one of the following reasons. Before you assume the worst, run through this checklist.

1. You Switched Devices

This is the number one culprit. As mentioned earlier, drafts are saved locally to the device's storage. If you started a post on your phone and are now trying to find it on your tablet, it won't be there. The "sync" you expect from a cloud service doesn't exist for Instagram drafts. Always finish a draft on the same device where you started it.

2. You Updated or Reinstalled the Instagram App

Major app updates can sometimes clear out temporary data to make way for new features. More often, if you were experiencing a bug and decided to delete and reinstall Instagram, that action wiped all locally stored data - including your drafts. Think of it like clearing out a filing cabinet, everything inside, including your draft folder, gets tossed out.

3. You Never Actually Saved It

Sometimes we just think we saved a draft. To properly save a draft, you need to navigate backward out of the editor and tap the "Save Draft" option from the pop-up menu. If you just force-closed the app or let your phone die mid-edit, there's a strong chance Instagram never got the command to save it in the first place, and the content is gone for good.

4. It Was a Story Draft That Expired

If the draft you're looking for was an Instagram Story, the clock is always ticking. The 7-day expiration period for Story drafts is a firm deadline. If it's been more than a week, your draft has likely been automatically deleted by the app to conserve space and keep things tidy.

5. A Temporary App Glitch

Occasionally, apps just act strange. If you are positive the draft is saved, and you're on the right device, try a simple fix. Start by completely closing and reopening the Instagram app. If that doesn't work, restart your phone. This can often resolve minor glitches that cause elements of the user interface - like the Drafts tab - to not display correctly.

Final Thoughts

Knowing where to find your drafts - whether for your feed, a Reel, or a Story - makes creating content on Instagram much less stressful. To recap, remember that drafts are always found within the creation flow for that specific content type, and they are always tied to the device you used to create them.

While Instagram's built-in drafts are handy for capturing ideas on the fly, as social media managers and marketers, we needed a more reliable and centralized system that wasn't tied to a single phone. We were tired of losing work or not being able to pass a design over to a teammate. That's why we built Postbase with a visual calendar that acts as a central hub for all our planned content - not just for Instagram, but for every platform. It gives us a bird's-eye view of everything, allows for collaboration, and ensures our lovingly crafted posts are safely stored and ready to go, no matter which device we’re on.