How to Use Instagram Collections

Social Media

Updated September 18, 2019

Instagram Collections are a feature that allows you to save posts created by other users to private folders for future reference. Every photo or video you save is bookmarked and added to a collection within the app, rather than your smartphone or tablet. You can then view all of your saved posts at any time by opening the Instagram app’s Saved Posts section.

These instructions apply to the official Instagram apps for iOS and Android devices.

Why Use Instagram Collections?

Saving posts on Instagram to a collection can be a convenient way to keep track of gift ideas, inspirational quotes, exciting travel destinations, and workout tips. Instagram collections can also be a great way to sort photos or Instagram videos posted by friends and family members.

No one is able to see your saved Instagram posts and your collections are only viewable by you.

How to Save Images to Collections on Instagram

Any photo or video post can be saved to an Instagram collection as long as you're able to view it from your account.

When viewing an Instagram post you want to save, tap the bookmark icon under the photo or video.
The post will immediately be saved to your default All Posts Instagram Collection with no other action required.
If you want to save the Instagram post to a different collection, quickly tap Add to Collection when it appears along the bottom of the post after you tap the bookmark icon.
A new menu will appear with all of your current Instagram collections. Tap your preferred collection to save it.

Even if you save an Instagram video or photo to a custom collection, it will still be viewable within your All Posts collections category.
To save the post to a new collection, tap the plus icon, enter a name for your new collection, then tap Done. This will create the new collection and save the selected post to it automatically.

How to View Saved Posts on Instagram

All of your saved Instagram posts can be viewed from within the Instagram app at any time as long as you have a cellular or internet connection.

Open the Instagram app on your iOS or Android device.
Tap the profile icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Tap the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner.
Tap Saved.
You should now see all of the Instagram collections you’ve created when you’ve saved posts in the past. All of your saved posts can be found within the All Posts collection, but they can also be viewed in other collections if you’ve created any.

How to Create an Instagram Collection

By default, all of your Instagram saved posts will be saved within the All Posts collection, but you can also create custom collections to sort your posts by topic, theme, or mood.

For example, you may want to make one Instagram collection for holiday locations and another for trendy clothes worn by your favorite social media influencer.

To create a new collection on Instagram:

Tap the plus icon in the upper-right corner of the screen on the Saved Posts page.
Type a name for the collection.
Tap Next, then choose any pre-saved posts you want to add to this new collection.