How to Remove Sound from a Video on Instagram

Removing the original audio from your Instagram video isn't just a technical fix for bad sound - it's a creative choice that can completely transform your content. Whether you're swapping a noisy background for a trending track in a Reel, creating a clean edit for an aesthetic post, or simply ensuring your message resonates for silent viewers, knowing how to mute a clip is essential. This guide offers a complete walkthrough on how to remove sound from any type of Instagram video, including Reels, Stories, and standard feed posts, giving you full control over your final creation.

Why Would You Want to Remove Sound from an Instagram Video?

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." Muting your video's original audio is a strategic move that can significantly boost your content's performance and professionalism. You're not just deleting sound, you're making space for something better.

Common Reasons to Mute Original Video Audio:

• You Recorded in a Noisy Environment: Wind, distracting background chatter, car horns, or unexpected interruptions can ruin an otherwise perfect video clip. Muting the audio allows you to salvage the footage and replace the distracting noise with clean music or a clear voiceover.
• You Want to Use a Trending Sound: The Instagram algorithm, especially for Reels, heavily favors videos using popular or trending audio. Removing your original camera sound allows you to add a trending song or audio clip, making your content more discoverable and likely to be pushed to a wider audience.
• You're Adding a Voiceover: If you're creating a tutorial, a "day in the life" montage, or a storytelling video, you'll want to record a clear voiceover separately. The first step in this process is always to mute the original clip's audio so your voiceover can be heard without competition.
• You're Aiming for a Specific Mood or Vibe: Sometimes, the original audio just doesn't fit the feeling you want to convey. A beautiful cinematic shot might be better served by an emotional instrumental piece rather than the sound of your footsteps on the gravel. Removing the camera audio gives you a blank canvas.
• Most Users Watch Without Sound: Industry stats consistently show that the majority of users on social media watch videos with the sound off. If your original audio contains important information that isn't supplemented with on-screen text or captions, its message is lost. Muting the audio forces you to create a video that communicates its message visually, which is a stronger approach for silent viewers.

How to Remove Sound from an Instagram Reel

Instagram Reels are the platform's engine for growth, and audio plays a massive part in their success. Luckily, the Reels editor gives you powerful tools to control and mix audio. Muting your original clip is a simple and fundamental step in creating a polished Reel.

Step-by-Step Guide to Muting Your Original Reel Audio:

1. Open the Reels Editor: Tap the + icon at the bottom of the Instagram home screen and select "Reel." You can either record a new video directly in the editor or upload a pre-recorded clip from your phone's camera roll.
2. Add Your Video Clip(s): Select the video you want to use from your gallery and tap "Add." If you're using multiple clips, add them all now. Once you're ready, tap "Next."
3. Enter the Audio Mixer: This is where you gain full control. On the editing screen, look for the music note icon (labeled "Audio") on the left-hand menu. Tap it to open the audio settings for your Reel.
4. Adjust Your Camera Audio: Inside the audio menu, you find two primary sound sources. The top one is for adding new music or audio from Instagram’s library. The bottom one, labeled "Camera Audio," controls the sound from your original video clip. To remove it, simply drag the slider under "Camera Audio" all the way to the left until it hits 0.
5. (Optional but Recommended) Add New Audio: Now that your original sound is gone, you have a silent clip. You can now add a trending song, a voiceover, or sound effects to complete your video.
   • To add music: Tap "Music" and search for a song you like from Instagram's library. You can select which part of the song you want to play.
   • To add a voiceover: Tap the "Voiceover" button and record your narration directly over the video clips.
6. Finish and Share: Once your audio is ready, tap "Done." Proceed with adding captions, effects, and tags before sharing your Reel. Your video is now live with your new, intentional audio choice and no distracting background noise.

How to Remove Sound from an Instagram Story

Muting a video on your Instagram Story is even more straightforward. This quick, single-tap process is perfect for when you just want a silent clip or right before adding a music sticker.

Step-by-Step Guide to Muting Your Story Video:

1. Open the Story Creator: From the Instagram home screen, swipe right or tap your profile picture with the + icon in the top left corner to open the Story editor.
2. Select Your Video: Choose the video you want to post from your camera roll.
3. Tap the Speaker Icon: Once your video loads into the editor, look at the icons along the top of the screen. You'll see icons for text, stickers, effects, and one that looks like a speaker.
4. Mute the Video: Simply tap the speaker icon once. You'll see a small "X" or a line through it, confirming that the audio is now muted. That's it! The original sound is gone.
5. (Optional) Add a Music Sticker: With the original audio muted, this is the perfect time to add music. Tap the sticker icon (the smiley face in a square) and select the "Music" sticker. You can search for any song and customize how it appears on your Story.

How to Remove Sound from a Regular Instagram Feed Video Post

If you're uploading a standard video to your main feed (not as a Reel), you can also mute the original audio directly during the upload process. The icon is sometimes a little harder to spot, but the process is very simple.

Step-by-Step Guide to Muting a Feed Video:

1. Start a New Post: Tap the + icon from the bottom menu of the app and select "Post."
2. Choose Your Video: Select the video you wish to upload from your gallery and tap "Next."
3. Find the Speaker Icon: On the next screen where you can add filters and trim your video, look at the very top of the video preview. Right in the middle, you should see another small speaker icon.
4. Tap to Mute: Tap the speaker icon to mute the video. Just like with Stories, the icon will change to show that the audio is OFF. You've successfully removed the original sound.
5. Complete and Publish Your Post: Hit "Next" to continue to the caption screen and share your silent video post to your feed.

Important Note: Unlike Reels or Stories, you cannot add music or sounds from Instagram’s library to a standard in-feed video post. This method is best for when you want your video to be completely silent.

Advanced Tip: Mute Your Video *Before* Uploading with an External App

For content creators who want more control or need a completely separate muted video file, using a third-party video editing app is the best way to go. This professional approach involves cleanly removing audio before it ever touches Instagram, giving you more flexibility.

Popular video editing apps that make this simple include:

• CapCut: Excellent for all-around video editing, and especially popular for TikTok and Reels content creators.
• InShot: A user-friendly mobile editor with powerful audio controls.
• Your Phone's Native App: Both the iPhone Photos app and Google Photos on Android often have basic video editing tools that include a mute function.

General Steps for Muting with an External App (using CapCut as an example):

1. Start a New Project: Open the app and import the video file you want to edit.
2. Select the Video Clip: Tap on the video clip in the timeline at the bottom of the screen to select it. This will bring up a menu of editing options.
3. Find the Volume Control: Look for an option labeled "Volume." Tap it.
4. Mute the Audio: In the volume menu, you'll see a slider. Just like in the Reels editor, drag the slider all the way to the left to set it to 0. You can also tap the mute icon that's often on the clip in the timeline itself.
5. Export Your Muted Video: Once the sound is off, export the video and save it to your phone's camera roll. Now you have a perfectly silent video file ready to be uploaded anywhere, including any Instagram format.

Final Thoughts

Mastering a few simple taps in Instagram can give you complete audio control, enabling you to fix sound issues, jump on trends, and produce more polished, professional content for your audience. From Reels and Stories to standard posts, you now have all the tools needed to mute distracting audio and replace it with sound that actually serves your message.

Creating high-quality video is just one part of a strong social media presence. Once you’ve perfected your content, the next challenge is planning when and where it goes live. We built Postbase, a platform designed for modern, video-first social media. Instead of struggling with tools built a decade ago, you can use our visual calendar to plan and schedule your Reels, TikToks, and Shorts across all your platforms from one clean dashboard. It’s what we wished existed back when we were managing social in-house.