How To Edit Instagram Highlights In 4 Easy Ways

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Here’s how to customize highlights on Instagram – long-press the highlight that you want to edit on your profile. Tap Edit highlight in the popup menu, then make your changes to the highlight. You can add or remove stories and change the title or cover for the highlight.

Have you ever wondered how people make those cool, interesting highlights on their Instagram profiles? I’ve seen friends and businesses use highlights for various reasons and wanted to share how to do it too. 

Read on as I detail in this step-by-step guide how to do everything from changing your highlight cover image to adding and deleting stories from your highlights to deleting the entire highlight. 

What To Do Before You Edit Instagram Story Highlights

Here’s what you need to do before you edit your highlights on Instagram:

  • Double-check to ensure you’ve got the latest version of the Instagram app. You need the latest version to easily edit your highlights.
  • Ensure you have a reliable internet connection because a spotty one will prevent you from making or saving your highlight edits. 

Editing Highlights On Instagram – A How-To Guide

Instagram story highlights are a great way to keep your relevant stories up for more than 24 hours on your profile. According to the social media marketing company, Likeable, highlights allow brands to categorize their content better

Additionally, highlights are a great way to share your best stories, like I’ve seen my friends do and need to start doing myself. 

How To Add A Story To Your Highlights

One of the things I like about story highlights is that you can add Instagram stories to them, even after you’ve posted the highlight to your profile. 

According to the female-focused entrepreneur website, Shecommerce, one of the advantages of story highlights is their longevity, and adding to them increases that.  

Here’s how to add Instagram stories to your highlights:

It will take you about 3 minutes

  1. Open the Instagram app.

    Instagram app icon in the social folder

  2. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right corner.

    Profile picture icon in the bottom right corner

  3. Tap the Instagram highlight icon you want to edit.

    Instagram highlight icon

  4. Tap the three dots in the bottom right corner.

    Three dots menu icon in the bottom right corner

  5. Next, tap Edit Highlight in the pop-up menu.

    Edit highlight option in the pop up menu

  6. Tap Stories.


    This will show you all the Instagram stories in your stories archive that you can choose from to add to your highlights.
    Stories tab on the Instagram profile

  7. Select the Instagram stories to add to your highlight.

    Stories selection option

  8. Once you’ve made your choice, tap Done.

    Done option at the top right corner

  9. Now you’ve added more stories to your highlight.

    Selected stories added to the highlight

Here’s a video on how to add more stories to your highlight:

YouTube player

How To Remove A Story From Instagram Story Highlights

If you’ve added a story to your highlights that’s no longer relevant, you can easily remove it. If you use your Instagram for your business, as I have before, you can use highlights for client testimonials, according to the social media marketing company, Buffer. 

I recommend removing old testimonials and uploading new ones to highlight current customer satisfaction

Here’s how to remove a story from your highlight on Instagram:

  1. On your Instagram profile, tap the highlight icon you want to edit.
Highlight icon on the Instagram profile
  1. Tap the three dots in the bottom right. 
Three dots menu icon in the bottom right corner
  1. Select Remove from Highlight in the popup menu. 

This will remove that specific story from your highlights.

Remove from highlight option in the pop up menu
  1. You’ve successfully removed a story from your highlight
Selected story removed from the highlight

Here’s a video on how to remove a story from your highlight on Instagram:

YouTube player

How To Edit Instagram Highlight Covers

Highlight covers allow you to showcase your creativity, and they appear as cute icons on your profile. I suggest using Canva’s highlight cover templates if you’re unsure where to start. I use it to make free Instagram highlight covers. 

With your designs in tow, here’s how to edit Instagram highlight cover:

  1. Press the Instagram highlight icon that you want to edit. 
Highlight icon on the Instagram profile
  1. Next, tap the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner.
Three dots menu icon in the bottom right corner
  1. Select Edit Highlight in the pop-up menu. 
Edit highlight option in the pop up menu
  1. Tap Edit Cover

This will allow you to change the highlight cover photo. 

Edit cover option for the selected highlight
  1. Select the photo icon

This will allow you to browse your camera roll to upload your custom Instagram story highlight covers.

Photo icon to select the cover from the gallery
  1. Choose the desired photo for the highlight cover
Photo selection screen for the new cover
  1. Afterward, tap Done in the top right corner. 
Done option at the top right corner
  1. Here’s how my Instagram highlight looks with its new cover
New cover added to the selected highlight

Here’s a great video on how to change Instagram story highlight cover:

YouTube player

How To Delete An Instagram Highlight

You can delete your Instagram highlight when they have run their course. Alternatively, you can delete the highlight and recreate it. Check out one of my sources of inspiration, these 15 great Instagram highlights from the social media marketing company, Embedsocial. 

Here’s how to delete an Instagram highlight from your profile. 

  1. Long press the highlight icon that you want to delete.
Highlight icon on the Instagram profile
  1. Select Delete Highlight in the popup menu. 
Delete highlight option in the pop up menu
  1. Tap Delete again. 
Final confirmation pop up to delete the selected highlight
  1. Now you’ve deleted that highlight from your profile. 
Selected highlight deleted from the profile

Here’s a video on how to delete all story highlights at once from your profile page:

YouTube player

FAQs

Is there a way to edit highlights on Instagram?

There is a way to edit highlights on Instagram. Go to your profile and long-press on any of the Instagram highlight icons you want to edit. Select Edit highlight in the popup menu and edit the highlight by removing or adding more stories or changing the highlight name or cover.

Can you change the order of stories within highlights?

You cannot change the order of stories within highlights at the moment. If you want to reorder the stories within highlights, you’d need to remove the stories within the highlight and add them in the order that you desire. This way, you can have the stories in your preferred order.

Can you add to Instagram highlights after posting?

You can add to Instagram highlights after posting. You can add or remove stories from highlights after you’ve added the highlights to your Instagram profile. Additionally, you can add expired stories because they’re stored in your stories archive. This means that your highlights can have any of your stories.

Editing Highlights On Instagram – Wrapping Up

What did you think of this step-by-step guide? I think Instagram highlights were a much-needed feature because some Instagram stories deserve to last for more than 24 hours, even though they don’t need to be posted on your main feed. 

You can customize your story highlights however you want, with a unique name, custom cover, and any Instagram stories from your archive. Additionally, if you have a post you don’t want to be visible but don’t want to delete, remember you can archive Instagram posts.

Ask any questions below, and share this article if you like it.

About The Author

  • Hemant Mendiratta

    Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

Photo of author

Hemant Mendiratta

Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

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