How to save Instagram stories to Telegram (3 ways)

Stories disappear after 24 hours, and the copies in your photos get buried under everything else. Telegram makes a tidy story archive instead: it's free, the same chat opens on your phone, your computer and the web, and scrolling a chat is an easy way to look back. There are three ways to get stories there.

Why keep stories in Telegram?

• Cloud storage: photos and videos in your chats stay in Telegram's cloud, so they're still there after you change phones.
• Every device: the same chat opens on your phone, your computer and the web.
• Light on storage: clearing Telegram's cache frees space on your phone, and files in the chat can be downloaded again.

1. Send them yourself to Saved Messages

For your own stories, save them from Instagram and send them to Saved Messages, the private chat with yourself that every Telegram account has.

1. In Instagram, open your story, tap ⋯ More and choose Save. Older ones are under Profile → ☰ Menu → Archive.
2. In Telegram, open Saved Messages and tap the paperclip to attach.
3. Send the photo or video as a file. Sent as a regular photo, Telegram compresses it and the quality drops.

To have Instagram save your stories on its own first, see how to save Instagram stories automatically.

2. Download bots: send a link, get a file

Telegram also has bots that send back the photo or video when you give them an Instagram link or username. It's quicker than switching between apps, but as with method 1 you still ask for each story yourself.

3. Automatic delivery: new stories arrive on their own

To keep every story without thinking about it, take yourself out of the loop. Connect an Instagram username and Telegram to Story Autosave, an automatic Instagram story saver, and each new story is sent to Telegram for you.

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 and videos as videos, each with the account name and the time the story went up. New stories are checked regularly, so they arrive a little after they're posted, not instantly.

The three ways compared

Keeping stories tidy in Telegram

• Pin the chats or topics you open most so they stay at the top.
• Search a chat for an account name, or jump to a date from the calendar.
• Free up space by clearing Telegram's cache in its storage settings; files in your chats can be downloaded again.

Quick questions

Do I need a Telegram account?

Yes. Stories are delivered to a Telegram chat, so you need a free Telegram account, which you can create with a phone number.

How much quality do photos lose in Telegram?

Sent as a regular photo, Telegram shrinks the image, so it can end up smaller than the original. Send it as a file to keep the original. Story Autosave sends photos as files.

Can I get stories from a private account?

Not with automatic delivery, which works with public accounts only. For your own private account, save your stories and send them yourself with method 1.

Can I move stories that already disappeared to Telegram?

If they're your own, open them from the Archive, save them and send them with method 1. Automatic delivery also sends stories that are still up when it first checks an account, but it can't fetch ones that already disappeared.