How to Delete Highlights on Instagram (EASY)
Emily RodriguezInstagram has many unique features which make it stand out from the crowd. It is no surprise then, that Instagram has become one of the leading social media networking platforms in the world.
With 1.47 billion monthly active users, Instagram currently ranks as the fourth most popular social media platform.
One of its unique features is the story highlight. A story highlight is essentially an Instagram story you choose to feature on your profile permanently. Instagram allows you to create folders where you can show off your best stories on your Instagram profile.
However, most Instagram users do not know how to delete highlights. Deleting highlights is an easy, fast, and convenient way of decluttering your profile. In this article, we'll discuss the three ways in which you can delete your story highlight. But first, let's briefly discuss the benefits of story highlights.
Should You Use Instagram Story Highlights?
Although Instagram stories are a powerful marketing tool, one major downside is that they have a short life span of 24 hours after which they disappear from your profile. So, if a large percentage of your audience doesn't get to see your story before it expires, they won't get to see it ever again, unless you repost it.
Thankfully, story highlights come to the rescue. Highlights allow your content to stay on your profile for much longer than 24 hours. There are no time restraints, so the videos and pictures you feature can remain on your profile for as long as your Instagram account exists.
This is a great way to give your profile visitors a good first impression and educate them about your brand. Instagram bios have a 150-character limit, which in most cases, is never enough to introduce your brand. You can think of story highlights as an extension of your Instagram bio.
Story highlights are located at the top of your profile, just after your bio and before your posts. So, when a person visits your profile your highlights are one of the first things they see.
If you’re looking to properly position your brand in your industry, market your product, and enhance your credibility, story highlights are a powerful marketing tool you must use to the fullest.
It is also a great place to display customer reviews, product launch, and product specifications, all of which will make your visitors more interested in your brand.
As we have already pointed out, one of the best features of story highlights is that they display your best stories for as long as you want. However, over time you might realize that some of your story highlights no longer resonate with your brand or don't follow new trends and technology. So you may need to get rid of them.
How to Delete Old Story Highlights on Instagram
Instagram allows users to delete single stories in a highlight. Depending on your needs, you may choose to delete multiple stories at once or even the entire highlight. So let's discuss the three ways to delete highlights.
- Deleting one story from your Instagram highlight.
- Deleting more than one story from your highlight.
- Deleting all of an Instagram highlight.
How to Delete One Story from Your Instagram Highlight
If one story in your highlight starts to look out of place, you can choose to delete just that story without erasing your entire highlight. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to delete one story:
- Access the Instagram app on your phone.
- Navigate to your profile by clicking the profile icon at the bottom of your screen.
- Click on the highlight that contains the story you wish to get rid of.
- Locate the story you wish to get rid of.
- Click the three-dot menu at the bottom of your story.
- Tap "Remove from Highlights."
- Click on "Remove" to complete the process.
How to Delete Multiple Stories from Your Instagram Highlights
While some situations require deleting just one story, others might require you to delete multiple stories at once, but without deleting all of the highlight. You can easily delete multiple stories by following the steps below:
- Launch the Instagram app on your device.
- Navigate to your profile by clicking the profile icon at the bottom of your screen to the right.
- Select and hold down the highlight where the stories you wish to get rid of are located.
- Click on "Edit highlight."
- Uncheck all the stories you wish to get rid of from your highlight.
- Click on "Done" to complete the process.
How to Delete an Entire Instagram Story Highlight
If an entire story highlight becomes irrelevant or no longer resonates with your brand, you can follow this step-by-step guide to delete it entirely.
- Launch the Instagram app on your device.
- Navigate to your profile by clicking the profile icon at the end of your screen to the right.
- Identify the highlight you wish to get rid of.
- Select and hold down the highlight to reveal the menu.
- Click on "Delete Highlights" from the pop-up menu.
- Click on "Delete" to complete the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can People Like and Comment on My Story Highlights?
Yes, people can like and comment on your highlights. Instagram has recently launched a new functionality which allows users to react to stories without sending a message. When somebody likes your story highlights, you'll be the only one who can see this reaction.
Can I See Who Viewed My Story Highlights?
Yes, you can see who viewed your story highlights, but this is only possible within 48 hours of posting your Instagram story. Once this period elapses, you can no longer see viewers of that highlight.
How Many Highlights Can I Have?
There is no limit to how many highlights you can have. However, your profile can accommodate only 100 highlights at a time, so if you have over 100 highlights, the oldest ones will be automatically archived.
How Do I Order My Highlights?
Highlights are arranged chronologically. This means that newer highlights are displayed at the beginning, while your profile visitors will have to scroll toward the bottom of the list to view older highlights. But if this arrangement doesn't work for you, you can reorder your highlights as desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
To remove one story, go to your profile and tap on the highlight containing it. Find the specific story, tap the three-dot menu at the bottom, and select 'Remove from Highlights.' Confirm by tapping 'Remove' to delete just that story while keeping the rest of the highlight intact.
Yes, you can delete multiple stories simultaneously without deleting the entire highlight. On your profile, press and hold the highlight, then tap 'Edit highlight.' From the edit screen, simply uncheck the boxes next to all the stories you wish to remove and tap 'Done' to save the changes.
To delete a whole highlight, navigate to your profile and press and hold on the highlight icon you want to remove. A menu will appear; select 'Delete Highlight' and then confirm by tapping 'Delete.' This will permanently remove the entire highlight folder from your profile.
Instagram does not set a strict limit on the number of highlights you can create. However, only the 100 most recent highlights will be visible on your profile at one time. Any highlights beyond that count are automatically archived by Instagram.
By default, highlights are arranged chronologically with the newest ones appearing first. If you prefer a different order, you can manually reorder them. This is typically done by going to your profile, pressing and holding a highlight, and dragging it to your desired position.
Yes, viewers can like and comment on your story highlights. Likes on highlights are private and only visible to you. You can see who viewed a highlight, but only for up to 48 hours after the original story was posted; after that, the viewer list is no longer available.
Emily Rodriguez
Social media consultant and growth hacker. Specializes in viral content creation and influencer marketing strategies for brands of all sizes.
