How to add Instagram Highlights Without Adding to Your Story
Want to update your cover photo, or add an Instagram Highlight, without posting it to your Story? This toolkit takes you through the basics.
Posted last year
Written by
Julia CohenPosted last year
So you want to update your Instagram Highlights? Highlights can be a great marketing tool if you want to create a collection of information readily available to new and existing followers. It can give a deeper insight into who you are, or just get across information about your products and answers to FAQs. Today’s toolkit walks you through how to add an Instagram Highlight or cover photo without adding content to your Story.
What are Instagram Highlights?
Instagram Highlights are essentially a roundup of your ‘best bits’ that sit at the top of your profile. They are compiled of Instagram Stories you have posted in the past, and can be created and added at any time. Most people prefer to create Instagram Highlights under different categories, such as ‘everyday life’, ‘outfits’, ‘animals’, etc. Stories usually disappear after 24 hours, whereas Highlights allow you to make selected Stories visible indefinitely, on your profile.
How many Stories can you have in a Highlight?
There is no limit to how many Highlights you can create, but you can post up to 100 videos or images into each Highlight. If you hit 100, Instagram will pop up with a notification, asking if you’d like to delete the oldest Story from that highlight, in favour of the Story you are trying to add.
How do you create a new Highlight?
To create a new Highlight, just head to your main profile. Underneath your bio, you should see a ‘plus’ sign in a circle, under ‘Story Highlights’. Select the plus sign and you will be able to create a new Highlight!
How to upload a Instagram Highlight cover Without Adding to Your Story
Highlight covers are the main icon of the Highlight that will appear within the circle when someone is on your profile. Most people like to create icons and cover photos for their Highlights, to make them look more organized and aesthetically pleasing. You can either select a cover photo from a Story within your Highlight, or you can upload one directly from your camera roll, without having to add it to your Story. Click here for some fun ideas for Highlight covers!
Here’s how to upload a cover without adding it to your Story:
- Click on the Highlight you want to edit, and select ‘Edit Highlight’.
- Then, at the top of the page, select ‘Edit Cover’.
- From here, you can either select something from your camera roll, or select one of the Stories from your Highlight to use as a cover.
How to add an Instagram Highlight Without Adding to Your Story
Want to add something to your Highlight without adding it to your actual Story? It might be that you want to add to your highlight in bulk without spamming your Story, or just want to post an older piece of content that you like, to fit in with an existing Highlight. There a few hacks you can use to add Highlights, without having to add the content to your Story.
- Switch your Instagram profile to Private, in your general Settings.
- Go to your privacy Story Settings, and Block all users from seeing your Stories.
- Upload the Story you want to add to the Highlight.
- Add the Story to your highlight.
- After waiting 24 hours for the video to add into your Highlights, you can change your privacy settings back to normal.
How do you delete Highlights?
Not feeling a Highlight you posted, and want to delete it? Don’t worry, it’s not too hard to do.
- Head to your Instagram profile, and find the Highlight you’d like to delete.
- Long-press (hold down) the Highlight preview and select ‘delete highlight’ when the option comes up.
How do you delete Stories from a Highlight?
To delete a Story from your Highlight, click on the Highlight to watch it. As Stories come up that you’d like to delete, click on the ‘…’ icon and select ‘Remove from Highlight’.
Instagram Highlight Ideas
Stuck on ideas for what Highlights to create? Here’s a few we prepared earlier:
Behind the scenes
Everyday life
Outfit of the day
Makeup looks
Events
Press
Community
Trends
About us
Hauls
Get to know me
Do Story Highlights have Analytics?
You are able to view insights on normal Stories, which showcase views, interactions, link clicks and more. You can also view historical insights on your Stories through Highlights, by watching the Highlight and swiping up on the Story to access the Insights. The only thing you won’t be able to access is whether new people are watching your Stories on Highlights, after the 24 hours has passed from when you posted it.
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