What is instagram highlights?
Also called story highlights, Instagram story highlights, IG highlights.
Instagram highlights are collections of past stories saved to your profile, shown as circles under your bio. They stay visible until you remove them, even after the original stories have disappeared.
Why it matters
Highlights are the first thing many people tap after reading your bio, so they work like the menu of your profile. A small business can use them to answer common questions once: prices, opening hours, reviews, how to order. Without highlights, everything you put in stories is gone after a day.
Example
A dog groomer has five highlights under the bio: Prices, Before and after, Booking, Reviews and FAQs. A new visitor can see what a full groom costs and how to book without sending a message.
How to create an Instagram highlight
Highlights are made from stories you have already shared, so post the story first. These are the steps in the Instagram app on a phone.
Before you start, decide on the handful of highlights you want and post a few stories for each, so every highlight has something useful in it from day one.
- Go to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom right.
- Tap New under your bio. If you don't see New, tap Story highlight.
- Select the story or stories you want to add, then tap Next.
- Tap Edit cover to choose a cover image, and type a name for the highlight.
- Tap Add.
Adding to or editing a highlight
To add a live story to an existing highlight, open your story, tap More in the bottom right, tap Highlight and pick the highlight. You can also tap and hold a highlight on your profile and choose Edit highlight to add stories, remove them, rename it or change the cover.
Stories in a highlight stay on your profile until you remove them. People who can see your stories can see your highlights, so check your story settings if your account is private or you use Close Friends.
Highlight ideas for small businesses
- Start here: who you are and what you sell, in three or four frames
- Prices or menu, kept up to date
- Reviews and customer photos, shared with permission
- How to book or order, with the link sticker on the last frame
- FAQs: delivery, returns, parking, opening hours
- Before and after, or work in progress
Keeping highlights useful
Treat highlights like the pages of a small website. Check them every month or two: remove offers that have ended, add new reviews and replace photos of products you no longer sell.
Order matters too. The first few highlights are the ones people see without scrolling sideways, so put the ones that answer the most common questions first, usually prices, how to book and reviews. A short first frame that says what the highlight contains helps people decide whether to keep tapping.
- Avoid too many highlights: four to six clear ones are easier to scan than fifteen.
- Vague names. "Info" tells people less than "Prices".
- Avoid out-of-date content, such as an offer that ended months ago.
- Avoid cover images that don't match, which makes the profile look messy. Simple icons in your brand colours are enough.
Common questions
Do Instagram highlights expire?
No. Stories you add to a highlight stay on your profile until you remove them, even after the original story has disappeared.
Can I add an old story to a highlight?
Yes. When you create or edit a highlight, Instagram shows stories from your archive, so you can add ones that have already disappeared.
Who can see my highlights?
The same people who are allowed to see your stories.
Source: Instagram Help Centre: Add a story to your Story Highlights, checked 14 October 2026