How to archive all Instagram posts at once

Here is how to archive all Instagram posts in one go. Open your profile, tap the menu, tap Your activity, then tap Posts. Tap Select, tick every post you want to hide, and tap Archive twice (Instagram Help).

The posts leave your profile at once. Nothing is lost. Each post keeps all its likes and comments, and you can put it back whenever you want.

There is one catch. Instagram Help shows no Archive all button, so you tick the posts yourself. This guide shows the fastest way to do that on iPhone, Android and a computer. It also covers how to unarchive, when to delete instead, and what archiving does to your reach.

Can you archive all Instagram posts at once?

Yes, in bulk. Instagram added a way to pick many posts and archive them together. It lives in Your activity, not on your profile grid (Instagram Help, “Archive multiple posts at once”).

What you will not find is a single switch that clears the whole grid. You tick each post, then archive the lot with one tap. On a big account that still takes a few minutes, not a few hours. Instagram Help states no cap on how many posts you can tick in one go.

Start by asking what you really want. There may be a quicker path.

What you want	Best option	Good to know
Hide many or all posts, and keep the option to bring them back	Archive in bulk	Found under Menu, Your activity, Posts
Hide one post	Archive a single post	Found under the three dots on the post
Hide every post from strangers, but not from followers	Make the account private	One toggle under Menu, Account privacy
Remove posts for good	Delete	You can restore for 30 days, then it is gone

A private account hides your posts from people who do not follow you, with one toggle (Instagram Help, “Make your Instagram account private”). Your followers still see everything. Business profiles cannot go private. Our guide on how to make your Instagram public explains both sides of that switch and what it costs in growth.

How to archive all Instagram posts on iPhone and Android

The steps are the same in the iPhone app and the Android app. We checked both tabs on the Instagram Help page, and the text matches word for word.

1. Tap Profile, or your profile picture, in the bottom right corner.
2. Tap Menu, the three lines in the top right corner.
3. Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity.
4. Below Content you shared, tap Posts.
5. Tap Select in the top right corner.
6. Tap each post you want to archive. A tick shows on every post you pick.
7. Tap Archive at the bottom of the screen.
8. Tap Archive again to confirm.

Two filters on this screen save a lot of scrolling (Instagram Help).

• Newest to oldest sorts your posts by date. Flip it to start from your oldest posts.
• All dates lets you pick a date range, such as one year.

For a big account, work one year at a time. Set the date range, tick every post in it, archive, then move to the next year. You are less likely to miss a post that way.

Tip: before a full clear out, decide which posts stay. An empty grid gives a new visitor nothing to look at. We suggest you keep a few strong posts up, such as three, six or nine, so the rows stay full.

How to mass archive Instagram posts on a computer

You can mass archive Instagram posts from a browser too. The menu names differ a little from the app (Instagram Help, Computer Help tab).

1. Go to instagram.com and log in.
2. Click Menu in the bottom left, then click Your Activity.
3. Click Photos and videos on the left, then click Posts at the top.
4. Click Select in the top right, then click each post you want to archive.
5. To narrow the list first, click Sort & filter, choose your filters and click Apply.
6. Click Archive at the bottom, then click Archive to confirm.

A mouse and a big screen make this the most comfortable way to clear a large grid.

The computer has an odd gap, though. Instagram Help says that archiving a single post is not available on computers. The same goes for showing an archived post on your profile again. So you can hide posts in bulk from a computer, but you need the phone app to bring any of them back.

How to archive posts on Instagram one at a time

For one or two posts, skip Your activity. This way is faster (Instagram Help, “Archive a post you’ve shared”).

1. Go to your profile.
2. Tap the post you want to archive.
3. Tap Options, the three dots in the top right corner of the post.
4. Select Archive.

The post is gone from your profile right away. Instagram Help lists no confirm step here, so check you picked the right one.

How to unarchive Instagram posts

Archived posts wait in a private folder called Posts archive. Only you can open it. Here is how to unarchive a post (Instagram Help, “Show an archived post again”).

1. Go to your profile and tap Menu in the top right corner.
2. Below How you use Instagram, tap Archive.
3. Tap Stories archive at the top, then tap Posts archive.
4. Tap the post you want back.
5. Tap Options, the three dots, then tap Show on profile.
6. On Android, tap Show on profile once more to confirm.

You can reach the same folder through Your activity. Look below Removed and archived content and tap Archived.

The post returns to its original spot on your profile (Instagram Help). It does not jump to the top of your grid like a new post. A photo from 2022 goes back between the other 2022 photos, with its old likes and comments.

Instagram Help only gives steps for one post at a time here. It lists no bulk Show on profile option. So archiving 300 posts takes minutes, but bringing 300 back means 300 rounds of taps. Think about that before you clear a whole grid for a short break.

Watch out: apps that offer to archive or unarchive everything with one click need your login to work. An app that logs in as you can do anything you can do. We explain how that goes wrong in our guide to the Instagram action blocked message.

Archive vs delete: which one should you pick?

Both make a post vanish from your profile. What happens next is very different.

	Archive	Delete
Who can see the post	Only you	Nobody
Likes and comments	Kept	Gone with the post after 30 days
Can you undo it	Yes, at any time	Yes, for 30 days
Where it goes	Posts archive	Recently deleted
Where it returns	Its original spot	Your profile, if restored in time

Instagram Help says deleted content moves to Recently deleted and is removed for good 30 days later. Until then you can restore it from Your activity, under Recently deleted. After that, nothing brings it back.

Our rule is simple. If you are not fully sure, archive. It costs nothing and you can still delete the post later. Delete only the posts you never want to see again.

Does archiving hurt reach or delete likes?

Archiving does not delete likes. Instagram Help says an archived post keeps all its likes and comments. They come back with the post.

Reach is a harder question, and many blogs answer it with a guess. Here is what the sources support.

• Instagram has published no rule on it. Its 2023 post on ranking lists the signals it uses, such as likes, comments, shares and saves. It does not mention archiving at all.
• A hidden post earns nothing. Nobody can see an archived post, so it cannot collect new likes, comments or views while it is hidden.
• Your other posts are untouched. They stay on your profile and in feeds as before.
• Bringing a post back is not a repost. It returns to its old spot, not to the top of your grid. Do not expect a fresh wave of likes.

So the real cost of archiving is simple. You lose whatever that post would have earned while it was hidden. For an old photo that is close to nothing. For a recent post that is still getting likes, wait until it slows down.

If your goal is to hide numbers and not posts, there is a lighter tool. You can hide the like count on Instagram and leave the post where it is.

Where bought likes fit

We sell Instagram likes from $2.95, so here is the honest note for anyone cleaning up a grid.

Likes you bought stay with the post when you archive it, the same as any other like. They come back when the post does. But a like only helps where a visitor can see it. Likes on an archived post are invisible, so never order likes for a post you plan to hide.

Buying likes will not fix a grid you are unhappy with, either. If old posts make your profile look off, archive them. If the posts you keep get few likes, work on the content first. Our guide on how to get more likes on Instagram covers the free ways. After a big clean up, the few posts left carry your whole first impression. That is where a visible number matters most. You can test it on one post with our free Instagram likes trial, which needs no card and no password.

A quick checklist

• Pick the posts that stay before you start. Do not leave the grid empty.
• In the app: Menu, Your activity, Posts, Select, tick the posts, Archive, Archive.
• On a computer: Menu, Your Activity, Photos and videos, Posts, Select, Archive.
• Use the date filter and clear one year at a time.
• To bring a post back: Menu, Archive, Posts archive, open the post, Show on profile.
• Remember that unarchiving is one post at a time, and only in the phone app.
• Archive when in doubt. Delete only what you never want back.
• Keep your password away from any app that promises a one click archive.