How to Delete Instagram Photos and Videos

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 into 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.

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.

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 clock arrow icon in the top right corner. Then tap Archive at the top and select Posts to view posts you've archived.

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.

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 (however you can't delete these posts permanently from Instagram since they're not your posts).

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 bookmark icon that appears directly above your feed, 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.