What Instagram Highlights are and why you'd use them
Instagram Highlights are collections of your Stories that stay on your profile permanently, even after the Stories disappear after 24 hours. They appear as circular icons below your bio, and anyone visiting your profile can tap them to watch the Stories inside without sending you a direct message or notification.
Most people use Highlights to organize Stories by topic — a coffee shop might have one called "Menu," another called "Customer Reviews," and a third called "Hours." A freelancer might have Highlights for "Portfolio," "Testimonials," and "Process." They're useful because they let visitors understand what you do or what you offer without scrolling through your feed or messaging you questions.
Highlights are visible to anyone who can see your profile, including people who don't follow you, unless your account is private. If your account is private, only your followers can see your Highlights.
Key Takeaways
- You create a Highlight by saving a Story to your profile, then naming it and choosing a cover image.
- Stories must be at least 24 hours old before you can add them to a Highlight, so you cannot save a Story to a Highlight the moment you post it.
- You can edit Highlight names, cover images, and which Stories belong in each one at any time after creation.
- Highlights appear below your bio in a row of circular icons, and you can rearrange their order by dragging them.
How to save a Story to a Highlight for the first time
Open Instagram and go to your own profile by tapping the profile icon at the bottom right. Scroll up to see your Stories at the top of your profile — these are the Stories you posted in the last 24 hours. Tap and hold on any Story you want to save. A menu will appear with the option "Save to Highlights." Tap that option.
A new screen will open asking you to name the Highlight. Type a name — keep it short and clear, like "Menu" or "Behind the Scenes." Then tap "Add" or "Create." Instagram will ask you to choose a cover image for the Highlight. You can use the default image (a still from the Story), or tap "Edit Cover" to choose a different image from that Story or upload a custom image. Once you're satisfied, tap "Done."
The Highlight now appears on your profile below your bio as a circular icon with the name underneath. Anyone who visits your profile can tap it to watch all the Stories you've added to that Highlight.
Adding more Stories to an existing Highlight
To add a Story to a Highlight you've already created, tap and hold on the Story from your profile, then tap "Add to Highlights." A list of your existing Highlights will appear. Tap the Highlight you want to add the Story to. The Story is now part of that Highlight.
You can add the same Story to multiple Highlights if it makes sense — for example, a photo of a new product could go in both a "New Arrivals" Highlight and a "Product Photos" Highlight. Stories stay in a Highlight even after they disappear from your main profile feed.
Editing Highlight names, covers, and contents
To change a Highlight's name or cover image, tap and hold on the Highlight icon below your bio. A menu will appear with the option "Edit Highlight." Tap it. You can now change the name by tapping the text field at the top, or change the cover image by tapping "Edit Cover" and selecting a new image.
To remove a Story from a Highlight, tap and hold on the Highlight, select "Edit Highlight," then tap and hold on the Story you want to remove. A trash icon will appear — tap it to delete the Story from that Highlight. The Story itself is not deleted from Instagram; it's only removed from that particular Highlight.
To delete an entire Highlight, tap and hold on it, then select "Delete Highlight." All Stories in that Highlight are removed from your profile, but the Stories themselves remain in your archive if you saved them there.
Rearranging the order of your Highlights
Your Highlights appear in the order you created them, but you can change that order. Tap and hold on any Highlight icon below your bio and drag it left or right to a new position. Release it when it's where you want it. The new order is saved immediately.
Most people put their most important or most-viewed Highlights first, since they're the most visible when someone visits the profile. If you have many Highlights, the ones furthest to the right may require scrolling to see.
Things to know about Highlight visibility and privacy
Highlights follow your account's privacy settings. If your account is public, anyone on Instagram can see your Highlights, even people who don't follow you. If your account is private, only your followers can see them. People you've blocked cannot see your Highlights.
Stories in Highlights do not send you a notification when someone views them, unlike regular Stories that show you a list of viewers. You can see how many times a Highlight has been viewed by tapping and holding on it and selecting "Highlight Insights," but this only works if you have a business or creator account.
If you delete a Story from your archive, it will also be removed from any Highlights it was part of. If you want to keep a Story in a Highlight permanently, make sure you don't delete it from your archive.
Using custom cover images for Highlights
The default cover image for a Highlight is a still from one of the Stories in it, but you can upload a custom image instead. This is useful if you want a consistent look across all your Highlights or if you want to use text or a logo.
To add a custom cover, tap and hold on the Highlight, select "Edit Highlight," then tap "Edit Cover." Choose "Upload Photo" and select an image from your phone. Instagram will crop it to a circle, so make sure the important part of the image is centered. Once you're happy with it, tap "Done."
Custom covers don't have to match the Stories in the Highlight — you could have a Highlight called "FAQ" with a custom cover that says "FAQ" in large text, even if the Stories inside don't contain that text. This makes it easier for visitors to understand what each Highlight contains at a glance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add a Story to a Highlight right after I post it?
No. Stories must be at least 24 hours old before Instagram lets you save them to a Highlight. This is a built-in limitation. If you want to save a Story immediately, you can save it to your archive instead, then add it to a Highlight the next day.
What happens to a Highlight if I delete the Stories in it?
If you delete a Story from your archive, it's automatically removed from any Highlights it was part of. The Highlight itself stays on your profile, but with fewer Stories in it. If you delete all the Stories from a Highlight, the Highlight remains but appears empty.
Can people message me or see my location from a Highlight?
No. Highlights are view-only. People can watch the Stories but cannot interact with them, send you messages, or see your location unless you've shared it in the Story itself. Viewing a Highlight does not notify you the way viewing a regular Story does.
Do Highlights work the same way on mobile and desktop?
You can create and manage Highlights on both the Instagram app and the web version, but the steps are slightly different. On mobile, you tap and hold on Stories. On desktop, you right-click on a Story to see the same options. Both methods work equally well.
Can I hide a Highlight from certain followers?
No. Highlights are either visible to all your followers or to nobody, depending on whether your account is public or private. Instagram does not have a feature to hide specific Highlights from specific people. If you need to share something with only certain people, use direct messages instead.