How to recover deleted pictures on instagram

(Pocket-lint) - Instagram has a feature called Recently Deleted that allows you to recover recently deleted posts, including photos, videos, reels, IGTV videos, and stories.

Table of Contents Show

How to access Instagram's Recently Deleted folder
How to restore content you've deleted from Instagram
Which deleted posts can you recover on Instagram?
Want to know more?
How to restore deleted Instagram posts
About the Author
Michael Potuck
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Since February 2021, deleted items stay in a "Recently Deleted" folder for 30 days. After that, they are auto-deleted. The only exception is deleted stories, which will stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 24 hours before they too are gone for good.

Here is how to find Instagram's Recently Deleted folder and restore any deleted posts.

How to access Instagram's Recently Deleted folder

Follow the steps below to access Instagram's Recently Deleted folder:

Open the Instagram app
Tap on your Profile icon in the top right corner
Tap on the three lines in the top right corner
Tap on 'Settings'
Tap on 'Account'
Scroll down to 'Recently deleted'

Instagram will ask via email or text to verify you're the account owner when permanently deleting or restoring content from Recently Deleted.

How to restore content you've deleted from Instagram

Tap on the Profile icon in the top right to go to your profile
Tap the three lines in the top right
Tap Settings
TapAccount
Tap Recently Deleted
At the top, tap thetype of content you’d like to restore or permanently delete
Tap thephoto, video, or story you’d like to restore or permanently delete
Tap thethree-dot icon in the top right
TapRestore to profile or Restore to restore content or Delete it

Which deleted posts can you recover on Instagram?

You can recover the following content from your Instagram account if you've deleted it within the last 30 days:

Photos and videos from your profile
Photos and videos from your Instagram story*
Instagram stories from highlights and your story archive
Reels
Direct messages

Note: Deleted stories will stay in the Recently Deleted folder for up to 24 hours. Everything else will be automatically deleted 30 days later.

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Want to know more?

Check out Instagram's help hub for more step-by-step instructions.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Britta O'Boyle.

Instagram is rolling out a useful new Recently Deleted feature today that allows users to recover posts including photos, videos, stories, and more. Read along for more details and how to restore deleted Instagram posts.

The new feature for Instagram will be familiar for Apple users as it uses the same 30-day window to hold recently deleted posts as the Photos iOS app. It will be handy for accidents and also be helpful for those that have had their Instagram accounts hacked since you’ll need to confirm your identify via text/email before being able to completely delete content.

The Verge reported on the news today:

The company is rolling out a “recently deleted” feature in the app that’ll allow you to review content you’ve deleted, including photos, videos, reels, IGTV videos, and stories, and restore them. Instagram is positioning this feature as helpful against hacks, particularly if hackers gain control of an account and start deleting content. Starting today, users will need to confirm they’re the account owner through either text or email in order to permanently delete or restore content.

Any deleted content will automatically be permanently removed after the 30-day window. The new Recently Deleted and restore option comes in addition to Instagram’s archive option.

How to restore deleted Instagram posts

In Instagram, tap the profile tab in the bottom right corner (person icon)
Tap the three-line icon in the top right corner
Choose Settings
Tap Recently Deleted (rolling out now, check back soon if not available)
Choose a post/video/story > tap Restore

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About the Author

Michael Potuck

@michaelpotuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.