What is an instagram story?
Also called Instagram stories, IG story, insta story.
An Instagram story is a photo or short video you share to your Instagram account that disappears from your profile, Feed and messages after 24 hours, unless you save it to your profile as a highlight.
Why it matters
Stories sit at the top of your followers' app, so they are a quick way to stay in front of people between feed posts. Because they vanish, they suit casual, everyday updates that don't need to be perfect: what's new today, a reminder, a question for your customers. Stickers such as polls, questions and links also make stories one of the easiest places to start a conversation.
Example
A bakery posts a story at 8 a.m. showing the first tray of cinnamon buns out of the oven, adds a poll sticker asking "Cinnamon or cardamom tomorrow?", and saves the best stories to a "Menu" highlight so new visitors can see them later.
How to post an Instagram story
These are the steps in the Instagram app on a phone. Stories can't be posted from Instagram on a computer.
- Tap Create at the top of your Feed, or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
- Scroll to Story at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the record button to take a photo, or tap and hold it to record a video. To use something from your camera roll, swipe up anywhere on the screen.
- Add text, stickers or a drawing with the tools on screen. To remove text or a sticker, drag it onto Delete at the bottom.
- Tap Your Story in the bottom left to share it.
Story length and how long stories last
Instagram's help centre says a video of up to 60 seconds appears in your story as one clip. A longer video is split into several clips, which you can trim before sharing.
Each story stays visible for 24 hours. After that it leaves your profile and Feed, but you can still add it to a highlight from your archive so it stays on your profile until you remove it.
Instagram story vs reel
Both are vertical and both can carry music, text and stickers, but they do different jobs. Stories are mainly seen by people who already follow you and disappear after a day. Reels stay on your profile and can be recommended to people who don't follow you yet.
A simple rule: use reels to reach new people and stories to keep in touch with the people you already have. Zolyp can plan and publish Instagram Stories as well as Reels, photos and carousels.
Best practices and mistakes to avoid
- Post a few frames rather than one: a short sequence reads like a mini update.
- Put the key message in the middle of the screen, away from the top and bottom where the app's buttons sit.
- Use one interactive sticker, such as a poll or question, to give people an easy reason to reply.
- Add captions or on-screen text, because many people watch with the sound off.
- Save your best stories to highlights so they keep working after 24 hours.
- Avoid long, unplanned runs of 20 frames that people tap through without reading.
- Avoid covering the whole screen with text, stickers and hashtags.
- Avoid posting only adverts, or followers will stop watching.
Common questions
How long does an Instagram story last?
24 hours. After that it disappears from your profile, Feed and messages, unless you add it to a highlight on your profile.
How long can an Instagram story video be?
A video of up to 60 seconds shows as one story clip. Longer videos are split into several clips.
Can I add a collaborator to an Instagram story?
No. You can mention other accounts in a story, but collaborators can only be added to feed posts and reels.
Sources: Instagram Help Centre: Share a photo or video to your story, checked 14 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Stories, checked 14 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Create collaborative posts, checked 14 October 2026