How to save, find and delete drafts on Instagram

Instagram's steps for the iPhone app:

1. Tap Create at the top, or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
2. Select a photo from your library, or tap Camera to take a new one.
3. Tap Next. Add effects or filters, then tap Next.
4. Add a caption or location, then tap Back twice in the top left.
5. Tap Close, then tap Save draft.

• Save draft only appears once you've changed something: an edit, a tag, a caption or a location

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Save a post as a draft on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

Instagram's steps for the Android app:

1. Tap Create at the top, or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
2. Tap Post at the bottom.
3. Tap Drafts, then tap the post you want to share.
4. Tap Next. Write a caption, add a location, tag people or add music.
5. Tap Edit to add effects and filters, then tap Next.
6. Tap Share.

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Manage and share posts saved as drafts on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Save a post as a draft on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

1. Tap Next on the reel you're recording.
2. Tap Next again, then tap Save draft at the bottom.
3. To come back to it, go to your profile and tap Reels below your profile info.
4. Tap Drafts, then select the reel you want to edit.

• Instagram says there's no limit on how many reel drafts you can save, and they stay until you share or delete them
• You can also save a reel draft to your camera roll from the editor. Downloading it doesn't save music you added from Instagram's library

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Save and edit drafts of your reel on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

1. Tap Create at the top, or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
2. Tap Post at the bottom.
3. Tap Drafts, then tap Manage.
4. Tap More next to the draft you want to discard.
5. Tap Delete to confirm.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Manage and share posts saved as drafts on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

First draft sounds similar but is a different tool. It trims your videos into one or more clips that you can then reorder, remove or trim. It's only in the Instagram app on iPhone:

1. Tap Create, then tap Reel.
2. Select one or more clips from your gallery, then tap Next.
3. Tap First draft and wait for the edit to appear.
4. Press and hold a clip to move it, tap a clip and tap Delete to remove it, or tap Audio to change the sound.
5. Tap Next to open the full editor, or tap Share to post.

Source: Instagram Help Centre: Use First draft to edit your reel on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

• You're on a different phone or tablet. Drafts are saved on the device, not your account, so they don't appear elsewhere even when you log in
• You uninstalled or reinstalled the app. Instagram says your drafts are lost
• You're looking in the wrong place. Post drafts are under Create, then Drafts; reel drafts are in the Reels tab on your profile
• Save draft never appeared. You need to edit the post, tag people or add a caption or location first
• It was a story. Instagram's help centre documents drafts for posts and reels, not stories

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Save a post as a draft on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Manage and share posts saved as drafts on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Save and edit drafts of your reel on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

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