How to Delete Instagram Photos and Videos

Regret posting that photo or video to Instagram?

Updated on January 23, 2020

Maybe it seemed like a good idea to post that photo or video to Instagram in the moment, but now you might be regretting it and wondering how to go about deleting it.

Whether you want to clean up some of the older posts on your feed or you've changed your mind immediately after posting something, deleting Instagram photos and videos is quick and easy to do.

Follow these steps to delete any of your own Instagram photos or videos that you simply don't want to showcase on your profile anymore.

Need a break from Instagram? Consider temporarily deactivating your Instagram account.

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Navigate to the Photo or Video That You Want to Delete

First, make sure you have access to a compatible mobile device with the official Instagram app installed on it. You can only delete posts while signed into your account within the app, meaning you can't delete anything if you try signing in using a web browser at Instagram.com

Open the Instagram app (sign in to your account in necessary) and tap the profile icon in the bottom menu to go to your profile. Tap the post you want to delete to view it.

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Tap the Three Dots in the Top Right Corner

In the top right corner of the screen of every photo and video post, you'll see three dots. Tap these to pull up a menu of options to choose from.

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Delete or Alternatively Archive Your Post

Before you head straight to the Delete button, consider archiving your post instead. Here's a brief summary of the difference between archiving and deleting:

Archiving:

Hides your post from your profile so nobody else can see it (even you)
Gives you the option to put your post back on your profile anytime you want, with no time limit for how long it can stay in your archive
Keeps all your likes and comments on the post

Deleting:

Permanently deletes your post from your profile, including all the likes and posts that it got
Can't be undone

The nice thing about archiving is that it makes your post appear to have been deleted when in reality, it's just been moved to a hidden section that you can always put back at any time.

To access your archive, navigate to your profile and tap the menu icon in the top right followed by Archive. Tap the Archive option at the top to switch between Stories and Posts.

If you ever want to put an archived post back on your profile, tap the post from your profile to view it and then tap the three dots in the top right corner to select Show on Profile. Alternatively, if you've decided that you definitely don't want the post on your profile or in your archives anymore, you can go ahead and tap Delete.

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Confirm That You Want to Delete Your Post

Three screenshots of the Instagram app for iOS.

To finalize the permanent deletion of your Instagram post, you'll be asked to tap Delete again just to confirm that you actually do want to delete your post. Remember that once a post is deleted, it can't be undone.

If you have posts from other Instagram users saved in your likes or your bookmarks, you can delete them from these sections by un-liking or un-bookmarking them. To delete posts from your Likes section, go to your profile, tap the gear icon and scroll down to tap Posts You've Liked. Tap on the post that you want to un-like and then tap the heart button in the bottom let corner so that it's no longer colored red. To delete posts from your Bookmarks, go to your profile, tap the menu icon in the top right, tap Saved, tap the post you want to un-bookmark and then tap the bookmark icon in the bottom right corner so that it's no longer colored black.