How to Delete Instagram Photos and Videos

This article explains how to delete photo or video posts from your Instagram account. We also cover archiving posts if you prefer not to delete them.

Delete Instagram Photos or Videos

These instructions apply to the official Instagram app. You can also delete or archive posts from the web version at Instagram.com using these steps, but the interface will look slightly different.

1. Open the Instagram app (sign in to your account if necessary) and tap the profile icon.

2. Select the post you want to delete to view it.

3. In the upper-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.

4. Select Delete. Alternatively, you can archive Instagram posts, which effectively hides them from other users.

5. 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. 

Bulk Delete Instagram Posts, Comments, and Activity

You can also view and delete multiple posts, as well as comments and other activity, via your profile settings. This is helpful if you want to delete multiple posts without going through them one at a time, or if you want to wipe out previous interactions, likes, or other activity. Here's how it works:

1. Launch Instagram and tap your profile picture.

2. Tap Menu (three lines) from the top right.

3. Tap Your Activity.

4. Tap Photos and Videos.

5. Select Posts.

   You can also select Reels or Videos to bulk delete these elements.

6. Tap Select.

7. Select the posts you want to delete.

8. Tap Delete from the bottom.

9. Tap Delete to confirm.

10. To bulk delete other interactions, go to the Your Activity page and select Interactions.

11. Select Comments to bulk delete past comments, Likes to bulk unlike posts, or Story replies to bulk delete story replies.

12. In this example, we'll bulk delete comments. Tap Select, tap the comments you want to delete, and tap Delete. Tap Delete again to confirm.

    Use the same process to delete likes or story replies.

Deleting vs. Archiving Instagram Posts

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:

• Removes your post from your profile, including all the likes and posts that it got.
• Can't be undone after 30 days.

Instagram Recently Deleted Folder

When you delete an Instagram post, it goes to your Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before it disappears forever. No one else but you will be able to access the post until then. If you decide you want to view or restore your deleted Instagram photos during that time, go to Settings > Your Activity > Recently Deleted.

If you want to restore or permanently delete a post, you must provide identity verification via text or email. This feature was put in place to protect your photos from getting deleted by hackers.