If you’ve ever shared an image on Instagram that you later felt was a little on the embarrassing side or didn’t seem to fit with your existing collection, there’s now a way to get rid of it without wiping it from your account. This will let you come back to it later if you decide it’s not so bad after all, so that you can repost it on your profile page, or you can simply hold it in a private collection, for your eyes only.
Instagram started testing its new Archive feature with select users last month, and launched it on Tuesday, June 13 as part of its latest update — v10.21 — for iOS and Android users.
“Your profile is a representation of who you are and evolves with you over time,” Instagram said in a post introducing the new feature. “With Archive, you now have more flexibility to shape your profile while still preserving moments that matter.”
So how do you use it? Well, to archive a photo or video that you’ve already posted, first select the image and then tap “…” at the top of the screen. Finally, select Archive from the list of options that appear.
To view your archived content, tap the circular arrow symbol on the top of your profile page, and then tap on Archive at the top to switch between posts and stories. If you want to return a post to your public collection, simply tap the “…” again, and select “show on profile” from the list. It will immediately return to its original spot on your public profile page, there for all to see.
Oh, and archiving a photo or video retains all the likes and comments, so there’ll still be there if you decide to repost.
It seems Instagram is hoping the new feature will encourage its users to think twice about deleting content, though that may prove tough with those — particularly teens — already in the habit of keeping only their favorite 25 images on their profile, and otherwise deleting content as and when required.
If users transfer their images to their Archive rather than delete them, they’ll probably dive into that Archive from time to time, increasing the amount of time they spend interacting with Instagram, which will of course please advertisers who use the platform.
