If you notice that one of your Instagram reels has gone missing, there are a few things you can try to locate it. The reel may have been archived, deleted, or hidden from your profile. With the right troubleshooting steps, you should be able to recover a missing reel on Instagram.
Check if the reel was archived
Instagram automatically archives your old stories and reels after 24 hours to clear up space on your profile. Archived posts aren’t deleted, but are simply moved out of public view on your profile.
To see your archived reels on Instagram:
- Go to your profile and tap the icon in the top right corner to access the menu.
- Select ‘Archive’ to view your archived stories and reels.
- Browse through your archived reels and see if you can find the missing reel here.
- If you locate the reel, tap and hold on it to unarchive.
Instagram archives your old reels daily, so it’s common for reels to end up archived without you archiving them manually. Always check your Archive first when looking for missing Instagram reels.
See if the reel was deleted
If you can’t find your missing reel in your Instagram Archive, it’s possible you may have deleted it accidentally.
To check for deleted reels on Instagram:
- Go to your profile and tap the icon in the top right corner to access the menu.
- Select ‘Your activity’ > ‘Interactions’ > ‘Reels’.
- This will display all of your recently deleted reels for the past 30 days.
- See if you can find your missing reel in the deleted section and tap to recover it.
Instagram stores your deleted reels for 30 days before permanently erasing them. So you have a 1 month window to find and restore deleted Instagram reels.
Check if the reel was hidden
Along with archiving and deleting, you also have the option to hide reels from your Instagram profile without deleting them.
To see if you hid the missing Instagram reel:
- Go to your profile and tap the icon in the top right to access the menu.
- Select ‘Settings’ > ‘Account’ > ‘Hidden’.
- This will display all your hidden posts that aren’t visible on your public profile.
- Browse through your hidden reels and see if your missing reel is here.
- Tap on the reel thumbnail and select ‘Show on Profile’ to unhide it.
Check your hidden section if a reel seems to have disappeared from your profile without being archived or deleted. A simple hide can also make reels go missing.
Search for the reel in Reels Explorer
The Reels Explorer lets you search through all public reels on Instagram. If you remember details about your missing reel, you may be able to track it down with Reels Explorer.
To find a missing reel via Reels Explorer:
- Go to the Reels tab in Instagram Explore.
- Use the search bar to search for keywords from your missing reel.
- For example, search for a distinct hashtag, audio, or text overlay you remember.
- Browse through the search results and see if your reel appears here.
Reels Explorer should display your reel if it was posted publicly and hasn’t been deleted. But it won’t show archived or hidden reels.
Ask friends if they can see the reel
To double check if your reel is missing or hidden, ask your friends to check if they can see it on your profile.
Steps to ask friends for help:
- In Direct Message, share your profile link with friends who follow you.
- Ask them to check if your missing reel is visible on your profile or not.
- Their perspective can confirm if the reel is indeed missing publicly.
Having a second pair of eyes check for your missing reel can reveal issues you may have overlooked. If friends can’t see it either, the reel is likely deleted or hidden from public view.
Check reel views and engagement
Analyzing your reel’s views and engagement stats can also provide clues about what happened to it.
To check insights for a missing reel:
- Go to your profile and tap the icon in the top right to access the menu.
- Select ‘Insights’ > ‘Reels’.
- Scroll through and locate your missing reel in the list.
- Check if it still shows view counts or other activity.
If your reel has zero views, it likely was deleted. But views and comments suggest it still exists in some form. Use the metrics to gauge your next troubleshooting steps.
Contact Instagram support
If you still can’t recover your missing Instagram reel through any of the above steps, you may need help from the Instagram support team.
To contact Instagram support:
- Open the Instagram app and visit your profile.
- Tap the hamburger menu icon in the top right corner.
- Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Support’ > ‘Something Went Wrong’.
- Select ‘Reels’ as the issue category and explain your missing reel problem.
- Submit the request and Instagram will follow up via email.
Detail as much context about the missing reel as you can remember. Instagram may be able to investigate further or restore it if there was a technical issue.
Restore from a reel draft
Before you post a reel, Instagram automatically saves a draft. So even if your reel goes missing after posting, the draft may still be available.
To check for a reel draft:
- Tap the + icon in the top left corner of the Instagram app.
- Select ‘Reels’ at the bottom to open the reel recorder.
- Tap the gallery icon in the bottom left corner.
- This will display any existing reel drafts you can access.
If you find a draft of your missing reel, you can edit and re-post it as needed. The content will be restored from the auto-saved draft.
Retrieve from a reel save
In addition to drafts, all reels you save to camera roll or share are also stored on Instagram.
To recover a reel from your saves:
- Go to your profile and tap the icon in the top right to access the menu.
- Select ‘Settings’ > ‘Account’ > ‘Saved’.
- This will display all of your saved reels that you can access.
- Locate the missing reel in saves and tap to recover it.
If you downloaded your reel before it went missing, check your saved collection. The original may still be retrievable from there.
Use a repost app to re-share
Repost apps let you easily recirculate existing Instagram content. So if all else fails, you can try reposting your missing reel using one of these tools.
To repost a missing reel:
- Download a reputable repost app like Regrammer or Repost for Instagram.
- Search for your missing reel within the repost app.
- If it finds the reel, re-share it to your profile via the app.
- This will publish a duplicate reel even if you can’t find the original.
As long as your reel wasn’t deleted, reposting apps should be able to find and share it again. However, analytics will reset on the reposted version.
Takeaway
Investigate all of Instagram’s native archiving, hiding, and deleting options to uncover where a missing reel may have gone. Seek help from friends, support staff, and repost apps as needed. But react quickly before a deleted reel is gone permanently after 30 days. With some detective work, you have a good chance of tracking down lost Instagram reels.