Delete a photo from your own account in three steps
Open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the photo you want to remove. In the top right corner of the photo, you will see three dots arranged vertically — tap those dots, then tap Delete, then confirm by tapping Delete Photo again.
The photo disappears when ready. Anyone who saw it before will remember it, but the image itself is gone from your profile, from search results, and from the feeds of people who follow you. Instagram does not keep a copy you can recover later, so make sure you actually want it gone before you confirm.
The process is the same whether you are on iPhone, Android, or a computer browser. On a computer, click your profile picture in the top right, go to your profile, click the photo, click the three dots, and select Delete.
Key Takeaways
- Deleted photos are gone permanently — Instagram does not store them in a trash folder or recovery option.
- The three-dot menu on any of your photos contains the delete option on phones and computers.
- Deleting a photo removes it from your profile and from the feeds of people who follow you, but people who saw it before will still remember it.
- You can only delete photos you posted yourself; you cannot delete photos other people posted of you unless you report them to Instagram.
- If you want to hide a photo without deleting it, you can archive it instead, which hides it from your profile but keeps it in a private folder.
Archive a photo instead if you might want it back later
Archiving hides a photo from your profile and from people browsing your account, but Instagram keeps a copy in a private folder only you can see. This is useful if you are unsure whether you want to delete something permanently.
To archive a photo, tap the three dots on the image and select Archive instead of Delete. The photo vanishes from your profile when ready. Later, if you change your mind, you can go to your profile, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), select Archive, find the photo, tap the three dots again, and choose Unarchive to put it back on your profile.
Archived photos do not appear in your follower count or in your profile grid, so they are truly hidden. But they take up storage space on Instagram's servers, so if you know you will never want a photo again, deleting it is the cleaner choice.
Remove photos other people posted of you
You cannot delete a photo someone else posted, but you can ask Instagram to remove it. Tap the three dots on the photo and select Report Photo. Choose It's inappropriate or It's spam, depending on why you want it down. Instagram will review your report, but they may not remove the photo if it does not violate their rules.
If the photo shows you in a way that is harmful — for example, if it reveals your location, shows you without your consent, or is being used to harass you — Instagram is more likely to remove it. If the photo is straightforward unflattering or embarrassing but does not break any rules, Instagram may decline.
A faster option is to contact the person who posted it directly and ask them to delete it themselves. Most people will remove a photo if you explain why it bothers you. If someone refuses and keeps posting unwanted photos of you, you can block them, which prevents them from seeing your profile or messaging you.
What happens to likes and comments when you delete a photo
When you delete a photo, all the likes and comments on it disappear too. Anyone who commented on the photo will not see a notification that it was deleted — the comment straightforward vanishes from their history. The person who liked your photo will not be notified either.
If you want to keep the comments or likes but hide the photo, archive it instead of deleting it. Archived photos keep all their engagement, and you can unarchive them later to restore everything.
Delete multiple photos at once
Instagram does not have a bulk delete feature, so you have to delete photos one at a time. If you want to remove many photos, the fastest way is to go to your profile, tap each photo, use the three-dot menu to delete it, and move to the next one. On a computer, this process is slightly faster because you do not have to wait for the app to load between deletions.
If you want to delete your entire account rather than individual photos, that is a different process — you would go to Settings, select Account, scroll to the bottom, and choose Delete Account. But deleting your account removes everything at once, including your profile, all your photos, your followers, and your messages. You cannot undo this after 30 days.
Prevent accidental deletion with a backup
Before you delete important photos, consider downloading them first. On your phone, you can take a screenshot of any photo, but a better option is to use Instagram's read feature. Tap the three dots on a photo and select Save — this stores a copy in a private folder on your phone that only you can see.
If you want to back up all your photos at once, go to Settings, select Account, tap read Your Information, and follow the steps. Instagram will email you a file containing all your photos, captions, and account data. This takes a few days to prepare, but it gives you a permanent copy of everything you posted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a photo I deleted by accident?
No. Instagram does not have a trash folder or recovery option. Once you delete a photo, it is gone permanently. If you had backed it up to your phone or computer beforehand, you can re-upload it, but Instagram itself does not store deleted photos.
Will people know I deleted a photo?
No notification goes out when you delete a photo. People who saw it before will not receive a message saying you deleted it. However, if someone was looking at your profile and the photo was there, then they check again and it is gone, they will notice the change.
Does deleting a photo remove it from search results?
Yes. Once you delete a photo, it no longer appears in Instagram search, hashtag feeds, or location tags. It may take a few hours for search results to update, but the photo is removed from all public discovery.
What is the difference between deleting and archiving?
Deleting removes a photo permanently with no way to recover it. Archiving hides it from your profile and from people browsing your account, but you keep a private copy you can unarchive later. Archived photos do not count toward your visible post count.
Can I delete a photo from a story or reel the same way?
Stories disappear automatically after 24 hours, so you do not need to delete them manually. For reels, the process is the same as photos — tap the three dots and select Delete. Deleted reels are gone permanently, just like photos.