How to save Instagram stories automatically (3 ways)

Tapping save after every story works right up until the day you forget. The reliable way is to let it happen on its own. Instagram has two settings that save stories automatically, and you can add a backup outside Instagram that runs by itself too. Here's how to switch each one on and what it actually keeps.

The short version: three ways compared

1. Archive: on by default

Unless you turned it off, Instagram already files every story you post into your Archive after it disappears from your profile. Only you can see it, and from there you can share a story again or add it to a highlight.

1. Profile
2. ☰ Menu
3. Archiving and downloading
4. Save story to archive

If the switch is on, you're done. Your saved stories are under Profile → ☰ Menu → Archive.

2. Camera roll: a copy on your phone

In the same Archiving and downloading menu, turn on Save story to camera roll (on Android it may say gallery). From then on, every story you post is also saved to your phone's photos.

1. Profile
2. ☰ Menu
3. Archiving and downloading
4. Save story to camera roll

It only covers stories you post after switching it on, and only on the phone you post from. If it's on but nothing shows up, go through why stories don't save to your camera roll.

Want to turn it off?

If the extra copies in your photos bother you, switch the same setting off. As long as Save story to archive stays on, your stories are still kept in the Archive.

3. Telegram backup: outside Instagram, on every device

The Archive and the camera roll each depend on one thing: your Instagram account or a single phone. Lose either and the copies can go with it. To keep a copy somewhere else, have new stories sent to a Telegram chat automatically. For the other ways to get stories into Telegram, see how to save Instagram stories to Telegram.

With Story Autosave, an automatic Instagram story saver, setup takes a few minutes:

1. Sign up and pick a plan for the number of accounts you need (1, 3 or 5).
2. In Account → My subscriptions, enter the Instagram username, the part after @. No password needed.
3. Connect Telegram and press START in the bot.
4. That's it. New stories arrive in Telegram, each account in its own @username topic.

Photos arrive as original files rather than compressed images, and videos as videos. New stories are checked regularly rather than the moment they go up, so they arrive a little later, not in real time.

How to check that it's working

1. Open ☰ Menu → Archiving and downloading and make sure both switches are on.
2. Post a short test story and look in Recents or the Instagram album in your photos.
3. The next day, find it under Profile → ☰ Menu → Archive.
4. Using the Telegram backup? Check that account's topic a little after posting.

Quick questions

My archive switch was off. Can I still save old stories?

Usually not. Both switches only apply to stories you post after turning them on, which is why it's worth setting them up now.

Can I back up a private account to Telegram?

Not with Story Autosave, which works with public accounts only. For a private account, use the Archive and camera roll settings above.

Are stories with music saved automatically too?

Not always the way you'd expect. Licensing can leave the music out of the saved copy, or keep the story from saving as you'd like. For ways to keep the sound, see how to save Instagram stories with music.

Do my settings carry over to a new phone?

Check both switches once on the new phone. The camera roll one is the one most often found switched off after a change of phone or a reinstall.