What Instagram Highlights Are and Why You'd Create One

An Instagram Highlight is a permanent home on your profile for Stories you've already posted. When you create a Highlight, you pick Stories from your archive, give them a label, and they stay visible on your profile indefinitely — even after the Story itself disappears 24 hours later. Your followers see these Highlights below your bio, arranged as circles with custom cover images.

Most people use Highlights to organize content by theme: a "Travel" Highlight for vacation photos, a "Promotions" Highlight for sales or announcements, a "FAQs" Highlight for common questions. Because Highlights live permanently on your profile, they're useful for content you want people to see repeatedly, not just once.

You can create as many Highlights as you want, reorder them, delete them, or add and remove Stories from them at any time. The Stories themselves don't change — you're just deciding which ones to feature and for how long.

Key Takeaways

  • Highlights are created from Stories you've already posted, so you must have at least one Story saved to your archive before you can make a Highlight.
  • You access the Highlight creation tool directly from your profile by tapping the plus icon below your bio, or by long-pressing a Story and selecting "Add to Highlights."
  • Each Highlight needs a name and a cover image, which can be a screenshot from one of the Stories in it or a custom image you upload.
  • Highlights are visible to anyone who can see your profile, unless your account is private — in which case only your followers see them.

How to Create Your First Highlight From Your Profile

Open Instagram and go to your own profile by tapping your profile icon at the bottom right. Below your bio, you'll see a plus icon (it looks like a circle with a plus sign inside). Tap that icon to start creating a new Highlight.

Instagram will show you a list of all the Stories you've posted in the last 30 days that you've saved to your archive. (Stories you didn't save disappear after 24 hours and won't appear here.) Tap each Story you want to include in this Highlight — you can select one or many. Once you've chosen all the Stories for this Highlight, tap "Next" at the bottom right.

You'll be asked to name your Highlight. Type a name that describes what's in it — "Travel," "Recipes," "Team," or whatever makes sense for your content. Keep it short; longer names get cut off on smaller screens. Tap "Add" when you're done.

Choosing and Customizing Your Highlight Cover

After you name your Highlight, Instagram shows you a cover image — usually a screenshot from the first Story in your Highlight. You can keep this image, or tap "Edit Cover" to choose a different one. If you tap "Edit Cover," you can select any Story from the Highlight to use as the cover, or upload a custom image from your phone's camera roll.

Custom cover images are useful if you want your Highlights to look polished and consistent. Many people create straightforward graphics in Canva or another design app, then upload them as covers. The cover image appears as a circle on your profile, so make sure whatever you choose looks good in a small, round format.

Once you've set your cover, tap "Done" or "Add" (the button name varies by phone). Your Highlight is now live on your profile, visible to anyone who can see your account.

Adding Stories to a Highlight After It's Created

You don't have to decide everything when you first make a Highlight. To add a Story to an existing Highlight later, open that Story (either from your archive or while it's still live), tap the three dots at the bottom, and select "Add to Highlights." A list of your existing Highlights appears — tap the one you want to add it to.

You can also add Stories by going to your profile, tapping the Highlight you want to edit, tapping the three dots at the top right, and selecting "Edit Highlight." From there, tap "Add Stories" and choose which ones to include.

Reordering, Editing, and Deleting Highlights

To change the order of your Highlights on your profile, go to your profile and long-press (hold your finger on) any Highlight. A menu appears with options including "Move." Drag the Highlight left or right to reorder it among your other Highlights, then release.

To edit a Highlight's name or cover image, tap the Highlight, then tap the three dots at the top right and select "Edit Highlight." You can change the name, swap the cover image, or add and remove Stories from the list.

To delete an entire Highlight, tap it, tap the three dots, and select "Delete Highlight." This removes the Highlight from your profile but does not delete the Stories themselves — they stay in your archive and can be added to a different Highlight later.

Privacy and Who Can See Your Highlights

If your Instagram account is public, anyone on Instagram can see your Highlights, whether they follow you or not. If your account is private, only your followers can see them. People who don't follow you and aren't approved to follow you will not see your Highlights at all.

You cannot make individual Highlights private while keeping your account public — it's all or nothing based on your account privacy setting. If you want to hide a Highlight from certain people, your only option is to delete it from your profile (though the Stories remain in your archive).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a Highlight from a Story I posted more than 30 days ago?

No. Instagram only shows Stories from the last 30 days when you're creating a new Highlight. However, if you saved that old Story to your archive, you can still add it to an existing Highlight by editing that Highlight and tapping "Add Stories" — the archive goes back further than 30 days.

What happens to a Highlight if I delete the Story it contains?

The Highlight stays on your profile, but that particular Story disappears from it. If you delete all the Stories in a Highlight, the Highlight itself remains but appears empty. You can add new Stories to it or delete the Highlight entirely.

Can I use the same Story in multiple Highlights?

Yes. A single Story can appear in as many Highlights as you want. This is useful if a Story fits multiple themes — for example, a photo from a trip could go in both "Travel" and "Food" Highlights.

Do my followers get notified when I create a Highlight?

No. Creating a Highlight does not send a notification to your followers. However, if you add a new Story to an existing Highlight, followers don't get notified of that either — Highlights are passive, not broadcast like new Stories are.

Can I edit a Highlight's cover image without changing the Stories in it?

Yes. Tap the Highlight, tap the three dots, select "Edit Highlight," and tap "Edit Cover." You can change only the cover image and leave all the Stories exactly as they are.