Are your Instagram highlights not visible? First, check whether you can still see them and ask someone else to open the same highlight. This will tell you whether to look at who can see your stories, your app, your connection or your saved stories. Do not delete the highlight yet. First, check whether the photos and videos are still available.
Choose what you see on your profile below and follow the corresponding steps.
Which Instagram highlights are missing?
Highlights, also called story collections, are collections of stories on your profile. When Highlights and the Stories archive were introduced Meta explained that highlights show stories for longer than 24 hours. The archive is visible only to you.
An entire collection that is missing requires different checks than an image that will not load. Use this table to determine where to start.
| What do you see? | What should you check first? |
|---|---|
| You can see your highlights, but one other person cannot. | Check whether that person is allowed to see your profile and stories. |
| You cannot see any highlights, but someone else can. | Close your app and test another connection. |
| A highlight is missing for both of you. | Look for the corresponding stories in your own archive. |
| The cover is blank, but the stories open. | Check why the cover is not loading. The stories are still available. |
| Only certain older stories are missing. | Search your archive around the date you shared them. |
Ask someone who can normally view your stories to check with you. Have that person open your profile and the same highlight from their own account. You do not need to share a password.
Why can someone else not see your Instagram highlights?
Can you see your highlights, but one other person cannot? First, check who is allowed to see your profile and stories. Look at your settings for a private profile, hidden stories, a limited group of viewers and blocked accounts.
Also ask which account the other person is using to look. They may be using a second account. So first compare it with the account they normally use to view your stories.
- Can that person view your profile and regular posts?
- Could that person see the original story?
- Did you choose a limited group of viewers for that story?
- Can someone else who is allowed to see your stories open the highlight?
Check one setting at a time and then have the other person look again. This lets you see which choice makes a difference. You do not need to make your profile public if you do not want to.
Can that person also not see your regular posts? Then read why your followers cannot see your Instagram posts. That requires different checks than a highlight that is missing from your profile.
Check your story archive for missing highlights
Search your own Instagram account for the archive. There, choose the stories view, if available, rather than the posts view. The location and names of these options may vary by app version.
- Check your account. Do you use multiple profiles? Open the account you used to post the story.
- Search around the correct date. Look at the day you shared the photo or video. This may be a different day from the one when you created the highlight.
- Open the story. Check whether the photo or video still loads.
- Check story saving. Look for whether you can have your stories saved automatically to the archive and whether that setting is enabled.
Cannot find the archive? Check whether your app is up to date. Then, if necessary, search Instagram’s help for the story archive.
An empty archive does not immediately mean that Instagram has removed your highlights. You also cannot tell from it whether your stories were saved in the past. Are you turning on automatic saving now? Do not expect old, missing stories to return.
Can you add disappeared Instagram highlights again?
This may be possible if the stories are still in your archive and you can open them. Look in the story or while editing your highlights for an option to add the story.
Try one story first. Then open the highlight on your profile to check whether it works. Only then add the other stories. You can find more information about putting them together at Creating Instagram highlights.
Example: Suppose your highlight with holiday photos is missing. You can still find the stories from that week in your archive. You can then try creating a new highlight with them. You are recreating the collection rather than automatically restoring the disappeared highlight.
Is the story not in your archive? Also search among your own photos and videos. You may be able to share an original file again. This will not bring back the old story with its original reactions.
What should you do if Instagram highlights or covers do not load?
Does a highlight keep loading or do you see only a blank cover? First, open the highlight itself. The cover is the front image of the collection. You can also find information about this at Buffer about highlights and covers.
Do the stories play normally? If so, leave them as they are. A blank cover by itself does not mean that the stories have disappeared.
- Open another highlight. Check whether one collection is not loading or whether it happens with all highlights.
- Test another connection. Switch between Wi Fi and mobile data if possible. When using mobile data, keep an eye on your plan.
- Close Instagram completely. Reopen the app and try the same highlight.
- Check whether there is an update. Check the official app store on your phone for this.
- Restart your phone. Try the highlight again afterwards, without deleting it in the meantime.
Do the stories work, but does only the cover remain blank? When editing the highlight, check whether you can choose another cover. Then check whether it appears.
Are your posts overview and other profiles also not loading? Then there may be more going on than a highlights problem. Ask someone with a different internet connection whether they notice the same thing. This may point to an outage, but does not confirm one. You can find more checks at what you can do if Instagram is not working.
Have your Instagram highlights really been deleted?
If your highlights are not on your profile, you still do not know whether they were deleted or by whom. Check your archive, ask another viewer what they see and see whether Instagram sent a notification about the content.
Do you think you deleted something yourself? Check whether your app has a section for recently deleted content. See whether the story is there and whether you can restore it. Without available content or a recovery option, it is not certain that you will get the story back.
Did you receive a notification about deleted content? Read it and use the option to have the decision reviewed, if offered. Assume that Instagram removed it only when you have a specific notification confirming this.
Buying followers will not solve this. It will not bring back a disappeared story and will not help with a stalled app or a setting that prevents someone from seeing your stories.
Instagram highlights still missing: report the problem
Does the problem continue after the checks that apply to your situation? Search within Instagram for the option to report a problem. Describe exactly what is happening instead of just saying “my highlights do not work”.
Include this in your report:
- Which highlight is missing and since when you have noticed it.
- Whether the entire collection, individual stories or only the cover is missing.
- Whether someone else sees the same thing.
- Whether the original stories are still in your archive.
- Which connections you tested and what you have already tried with the app.
If possible, add a screenshot without other people’s private information. In the meantime, leave the stories that are still available as they are. This way, you will not delete content you want to keep while looking for the cause. Once your account is working as intended, you can explore our Instagram services to compare packages for followers and likes for your public profile or content.
