Facebook stories are a fun and engaging way to share photos, videos, and more with your friends and followers on Facebook. Stories disappear after 24 hours by default, but did you know you can archive stories you want to keep? Archiving stories saves them so you can view them again later. Here’s how to find and view your archived Facebook stories on an iPhone.
What are Facebook stories?
Facebook stories allow you to share photos, videos, and more that disappear after 24 hours. Stories appear in a bar at the top of the Facebook app. Tapping on a story plays a slideshow of the story content. Stories provide a way to share ephemeral, in-the-moment content without cluttering up your profile or News Feed.
Stories you share are visible to your friends and followers. Friends and followers can react to your stories with emoji and send messages in response. You control who can view your stories through your privacy settings.
How do I create a Facebook story?
Creating a Facebook story is easy and fast from your iPhone. To create a story:
- Open the Facebook app.
- Tap the + sign at the top of your screen.
- Select Story from the menu.
- Add photos or video clips to your story.
- Customize your story with text, stickers, drawings, filters, and more.
- Tap Share to post your story.
Your story will now be visible to your friends and followers for 24 hours. Viewing and creating stories are easy ways to engage with friends right from your iPhone.
How are Facebook stories different from posts?
Facebook stories have a few key differences from regular Facebook posts:
- Temporary: Stories disappear after 24 hours while posts remain on your profile unless deleted.
- Casual: Stories have a more off-the-cuff, intimate feel for sharing everyday moments.
- Creative: Stories offer camera effects, text tools, stickers, and drawings to spruce up your photos and videos.
- Slideshows: Stories allow you to string multiple photos and clips together in a slideshow format.
- Immersive: Viewing stories takes over your entire phone screen for a more immersive experience.
How do I save a Facebook story?
If you share a story that you want to keep instead of having it disappear, you can save it by archiving your story on iPhone. Here’s how:
- Create and share your story as usual.
- After sharing your story, tap on it from your profile to view it.
- In the bottom left, tap the down arrow icon.
- Select Archive from the menu.
Archiving saves a copy of your story before it expires so you can access it after the 24 hour period. Archived stories do not show up on your profile or News Feed.
Where do archived Facebook stories go?
Archived Facebook stories are stored in the Archive section of the Facebook app. To view archived stories:
- Open the Facebook app on your iPhone.
- Tap the hamburger menu icon in the top right.
- Scroll down and select Archive.
This will display all of your archived stories and posts. You can tap on any story to view it.
How long do archived Facebook stories last?
Archived Facebook stories are saved indefinitely, unlike regular 24 hour stories. As long as you don’t delete an archived story, you can access it at any time in the future from the Archive section.
Archived stories do not have an expiration date. You have complete control over when archived stories are deleted.
Can I download my archived Facebook stories?
Yes, you can download your archived Facebook stories to your iPhone camera roll so you have a permanent saved copy on your device. Here’s how to download an archived story:
- Go to the Archive section of the Facebook app.
- Tap the story you want to save to your camera roll.
- Tap the three dots menu in the bottom right corner.
- Select Download Story from the menu.
The story will now save all the photos, videos, and text in your story as images in your camera roll so you always have a copy.
How do I delete archived Facebook stories?
If you want to remove a story from your Archive, deleting it is easy. Tap into the story you want to delete, then tap the three dots menu and choose Delete Story.
You can delete archived stories one at a time, or hit Select at the top of your Archive to delete multiple stories at once. Delete removes the story from Archive and frees up space on your phone.
Can I repost archived Facebook stories?
Unfortunately, you cannot directly repost an archived Facebook story back to your current stories. Archived stories can only be viewed from your Archive. However, you can still recycle old stories in a couple ways:
- Screen record your archived story, then upload the video to your new story.
- Take screenshots of your archived story and post the screenshots in your new story.
- Download the archived story to your camera roll, then upload the photos/videos to your new story.
Do archived Facebook stories count as old or new stories?
Archived Facebook stories are considered old stories, not new ones. When you archive a current story, it preserves the story as it was originally shared. Reposting or screenshotting an archived story will count as a new story, but the archived version remains an old story.
Can I edit archived Facebook stories?
Unfortunately you cannot edit the content of an archived story. Archived stories are preserved exactly as they were when first shared. You also cannot add or remove people tagged in the story.
If you need to edit a story’s content, you would have to repost the story as a new one and make the desired changes during the reposting process.
Are there privacy settings for archived stories?
Archived Facebook stories retain the same privacy settings as they had when originally shared. If a story was shared with friends, only your friends will be able to view the archived version of that story. You can change the privacy on an active story, but archived stories keep their original audience.
Can I add to an existing archived story?
It is not possible to append to an existing archived story. Archived stories are static and cannot be edited after being shared and archived. If you want to add new content to an old story, you would have to repost the story as a new one and add the additional content at that point.
Think of archived stories as snapshots in time that record what the story contained originally. You cannot alter an archived story, only view it.
What’s the benefit of archiving Facebook stories?
The main benefits of archiving Facebook stories include:
- Preserve memories: Keep meaningful, fun, or impactful stories forever instead of having them disappear.
- Save space: Avoid clogging up your camera roll by saving stories directly on Facebook.
- Organize content: Archive keeps stories neatly organized but out of your main profile.
- Retrieve old content: Quickly access old stories without scrolling back months in your timeline.
Should I archive all my Facebook stories?
Not necessarily! Archiving is useful for saving special stories, but most standard stories don’t need archiving. Consider archive only your best or most meaningful stories. For everyday stories, the 24 hour expiry keeps your profile tidy.
Stories with inside jokes with friends, fun vacation snapshots, special events, creative content you worked hard on, and impactful life moments are all great candidates for archiving.
Can I upload archived Facebook stories to my Instagram story?
Yes, you can reuse your Facebook stories on Instagram too. To do so:
- Open your archived Facebook story.
- Screen record the story or take screenshots.
- Open the Instagram app and begin creating a new story.
- Upload the recorded video or screenshots into Instagram.
- Adjust and post the story as desired.
Repurposing your best Facebook stories on Instagram is a great way to extend their reach to more of your followers!
Conclusion
Archiving your favorite Facebook stories before they expire is a handy way to hold onto treasured memories and engaging content. By tapping into your Archive tab, you can reminisce on old stories and access their content at any time without taking up space on your iPhone camera roll. Archiving removes clutter from your News Feed while still letting you retrieve stories when nostalgia strikes.