How to Manage Instagram Story Highlights from Desktop

Stories disappear after 24 hours, but Highlights keep your best content visible on your profile indefinitely. They appear as circular icons below your bio and above your post grid - perfect for showcasing product categories, FAQs, testimonials, portfolio pieces, or any content you want visitors to see first.

For stories to appear in the highlights selection menu, you need to have story archiving turned on:

1. Go to Instagram.com/accounts/settings/v2/archiving_and_downloading/
2. Turn ON "Save story to archive"

From then on, any story you publish will be saved to your archive and available for highlights immediately. Stories published before enabling this setting will not be archived.

1. Go to Instagram.com and navigate to your profile
2. Click the [+] New button in the highlights row (the circle with a plus icon)
3. Enter a name for your highlight
4. Click Next
5. Select stories from your archive to include
6. Click Done to save

1. Go to your profile and open the highlight you want to edit
2. Click the three dots button [...] in the top right corner of the highlight viewer
3. Select Edit
4. Click Next to see your story archive
5. Select additional stories to add (or deselect stories to remove)
6. Click Done to save changes

1. Open the highlight you want to remove
2. Click the three dots button [...] in the top right corner
3. Select Delete
4. Confirm the deletion

Deleting a highlight does not delete the original stories from your archive.

• Keep names short - highlight names are truncated on profile, so use 1-2 words
• Use custom covers - create branded cover images for a cohesive profile look
• Order matters - the most recently edited highlight appears first on your profile
• Combine with INSSIST - use INSSIST to publish stories from desktop, then add them to highlights right from the same browser

INSSIST and Instagram's native highlight management work seamlessly together. A typical desktop workflow looks like this:

1. Create and publish stories using INSSIST's story publisher (with music, mentions, links, and stickers)
2. Add published stories to highlights using Instagram's built-in highlight editor on your profile
3. Manage your content calendar by scheduling future stories in INSSIST

This gives you a complete desktop-only workflow for Instagram content management - no phone needed.

Can I add a currently active story to a highlight?
Yes. As long as story archiving is enabled, your stories are available for highlights immediately after publishing.

Can I create highlights from older stories?
Yes, as long as story archiving is enabled in your Instagram settings. You can add any archived story to a highlight, regardless of when it was posted.

Do I need INSSIST to manage highlights?
No. Highlight management is a native Instagram Web feature. INSSIST enhances your workflow by letting you publish stories, schedule content, and add music and stickers from desktop - but the highlights themselves are managed through Instagram's interface.

Why don't I see any stories in the highlights selection menu?
Make sure story archiving is enabled in your Instagram settings. Only stories published after enabling this setting are saved to your archive.

Why don't I see the [+] New button on my profile?
Make sure you're viewing your own profile (not someone else's). The highlight creation button only appears on your own profile page.