When you put up a story on Instagram, it stays on your profile for a day, and then it goes away. But don’t worry! Instagram saves it in a particular place called your “archive.” You can visit this archive anytime to look at your old stories, even ones from way back.

Now, some people have had trouble finding their archives. And when they do find it, the stories look all gray and won’t play.

In this article, we’ll show you how to make your old stories appear in your archive, play them if they won’t, and fix any other problems with Instagram stories.

Why are archived stories missing on Instagram?

If your old stories are not showing up in your Instagram archive, you probably turned off the “Save story to archive” setting.

This setting helps Instagram save your stories automatically in your archive when they disappear.

If you turn it off, Instagram won’t save your stories.

But if you have it turned on and your stories are still missing, it could be due to a problem like a bug, glitch, or server issue.

How do I see my archived stories?

You can find your old Instagram stories in the archive by following these simple steps:

Method 1:

1. Go to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap on the menu icon.
3. Select “Archive.”
4. Then, choose “Stories archive.”

Method 2:

1. Visit your Instagram profile.
2. Tap on the menu icon.
3. Go to “Your activity.”
4. Click on “Archived.”
5. Finally, select “Stories archive.”

How to fix archive stories not showing on Instagram

If you want to make sure your old stories show up in your Instagram archive, you should turn on the “Save story to archive” option.

If that doesn’t work, you can also try deleting and then reinstalling the Instagram app.

Fix 1: Enable “Save story to archive”

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open your Instagram profile and tap the menu icon.
2. Choose “Settings and privacy.”
3. Scroll down and pick “Archiving and downloading.”
4. Turn on “Save story to archive.”

Keep in mind that this change will work for stories you post in the future. You won’t be able to see stories from before you turned on this option.

Fix 2: Uninstall and reinstall Instagram

1. 1. Find the Instagram app on your device.
   2. Press and hold on to the Instagram app, then delete it.
   3. Go to the App Store (for iPhone) or Google Play Store (for Android).
   4. Search for “Instagram” and install it again.
   5. Log in to your Instagram account.
   6. Go to your Instagram profile by tapping your picture.
   7. Tap the menu icon (usually looks like three lines).
   8. Choose “Archive,” and then pick “Stories Archive.”
   9. See if your old stories are now showing up.

Note: Uninstalling and reinstalling Instagram will also update the app to the latest version, which can archiving issues.

Fix 3: Solutions from the community

Switch your account from business to personal: Go to your Instagram profile.

• Tap the menu icon (it’s usually three lines).
• Choose “Settings and privacy.”
• Go to “Business tools and controls.”
• Select “Switch account type.”
• Then, pick “Switch to Personal Account.

Unprivate/private your account:

• Visit your Instagram profile.
• Tap the menu icon (those three lines again).
• Click on “Settings and privacy.”
• Go to “Account privacy.”
• Turn “Private account” on or off to change your settings.