Instagram remains one of the top social media platforms in 2025, with over 2 billion active users globally. Beyond posting photos and videos, Instagram Highlights allow you to showcase your stories permanently on your profile. However, there are many reasons you may want to delete or manage highlights from keeping your profile organized to removing outdated content.
This guide covers step-by-step methods to delete highlights, remove individual photos/videos, and best practices in 2025.
What Are Instagram Highlights?
Instagram Highlights are collections of stories that stay visible on your profile indefinitely. Unlike normal stories that disappear after 24 hours, highlights give your followers long-term access to important or themed content.
Why You Might Delete Highlights:
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Outdated or irrelevant content
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Privacy concerns
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Organizing your profile for a specific aesthetic
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Removing stories that no longer align with your brand or personal image
Expert Tip (2025): Keeping your highlights curated improves engagement. Profiles with organized highlights get 38% more profile visits on average according to recent social media studies.
How to Delete an Instagram Highlight
Follow these steps using the Instagram app (iOS or Android):
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Open Your Profile: Tap the Profile icon in the bottom-right corner.
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Select the Highlight: All highlights appear at the top of your profile. Press and hold the highlight you want to delete.
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Choose Delete: A menu will appear. Tap Delete Highlight.
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Confirm Deletion: Instagram will ask if you’re sure select Delete to confirm.
Pro Tip: You can delete multiple highlights one by one using the same method. There is no bulk-delete option yet as of 2025.
How to Remove a Single Photo or Video from a Highlight
Sometimes, you may want to remove only specific media instead of the entire highlight:
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Tap on your Profile Picture icon in the lower right corner.
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Open the highlight that contains the photo/video you want to remove.
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Swipe through the highlight to locate the specific photo/video.
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Tap the More button (three dots).
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Select Remove from Highlight and confirm.
Expert Insight: Removing individual items helps maintain your highlight theme without losing the entire collection. Brands often do this to update product launches or promotions efficiently.
Instagram Highlight Management Tips (2025)
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Curate Your Highlights: Group stories by theme (travel, food, reviews, tutorials).
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Use Custom Covers: Visual consistency improves brand perception.
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Regular Updates: Remove outdated content monthly to keep your profile fresh.
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Privacy Control: Check that sensitive content isn’t visible to everyone use Close Friends for selective sharing.
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Monitor Engagement: Highlights with higher interaction can be repurposed for ads or promotional content.
Data Insight (2025): Profiles using organized highlights see up to 25% higher engagement on new stories.
Instagram Highlights: Delete vs Archive
Feature |
Delete Highlight |
Archive Story |
|---|---|---|
Permanence |
Permanent removal |
Stories stored privately |
Profile Visibility |
Removed for all |
Still accessible in Archive |
Use Case |
Outdated or unwanted content |
Temporary content backup |
Pro Tip: If you think you might reuse content later, consider archiving instead of deleting. This gives you flexibility without cluttering your profile.
FAQs About Deleting Instagram Highlights
Q1: Can I undo deleting a highlight?
No, once deleted, highlights cannot be recovered. Archive stories are the only way to retrieve old content.
Q2: Will deleting a highlight remove the original story?
No, deleting a highlight only removes it from your profile. Original archived stories remain unless you manually delete them.
Q3: Can I delete highlights from desktop?
As of 2025, Instagram’s web version does not support deleting highlights use the mobile app instead.
Q4: Is there a bulk delete option for multiple highlights?
Currently, Instagram only allows deleting highlights one by one. Third-party apps may offer batch options, but use them cautiously due to privacy risks.
Conclusion
Managing Instagram highlights is an essential part of keeping your profile fresh, organized, and professional in 2025. Whether you want to delete an entire highlight or just remove individual photos/videos, Instagram provides simple tools to manage your stories effectively.
For brands and influencers, curating highlights strategically can boost engagement, improve profile aesthetics, and protect privacy. Use the tips and expert insights above to keep your Instagram profile optimized for 2025 trends.
