Quick Answer
There are a few different reasons why you may see “This Story is Unavailable” on Instagram:
- The story expired – Instagram stories only last for 24 hours before they disappear.
- The account posted the story privately – Stories shared to “Close Friends” will appear unavailable to followers not in that list.
- The account deleted the story – If the account deletes a story, it will appear unavailable.
- The account deleted or deactivated – If the entire account is gone, all stories will show as unavailable.
- You are blocked – If you are blocked by the account, you will be unable to view their stories.
So in summary, this error usually means the specific story is no longer available because it expired, was deleted, or shared privately. It could also indicate the account is gone or has blocked you.
Why Do Instagram Stories Expire?
Instagram stories are designed to be temporary, fleeting shares that disappear after 24 hours. There are a few reasons why Instagram only allows stories to last for a day:
- It creates a sense of urgency and encourages more engagement, since people know the content will not last forever.
- It allows people to share more candid, authentic moments that they may not want permanently on their profile.
- The ephemeral nature adds a fun, experimental element that differentiates stories from permanent Instagram posts.
- People can share everyday moments without clogging up others’ feeds or their own profiles.
The 24-hour limit gives stories a fleeting, temporary feeling that makes them different than the permanent posts and videos on your regular Instagram feed.
When Do Instagram Stories Expire?
Specifically, Instagram stories expire after 24 hours from the time they are posted.
For example, if you share a story on Monday at 5 PM, it will disappear on Tuesday at 5 PM. The 24-hour countdown starts as soon as you hit the “share” button.
Stories do not wait 24 hours from when each viewer watches them – the countdown is the same for everyone based on that original posting time.
Once a story hits the 24-hour mark, it completely disappears from Instagram and cannot be viewed again. There is no archive or way to recover an expired story.
The one exception is stories that are added to highlights – those will remain available for as long as the user keeps the highlight on their profile.
How Long Do Highlight Stories Last?
Unlike regular stories, highlights do not expire. Highlights allow you to reorder and collect stories to display on your profile long-term.
Highlights have no time limit – they will stay on your profile indefinitely unless you actively remove or edit the highlight.
You can keep highlights on your profile for as long as you want. This allows you to re-share memories and important moments months or even years later if you choose.
Some uses for evergreen highlights include:
- Capturing memories from trips, weddings, graduations, birthdays
- Curating collections of your best work as a photographer/artist
- Showcasing an ongoing event like a conference or sports season
- Featuring special announcements like a pregnancy or engagement
The highlights section is located on your profile right under your bio and above your posts grid.
Can You Recover Expired Instagram Stories?
Unfortunately, once an Instagram story expires after 24 hours, there is no way to recover or retrieve it. Instagram does not provide any archive or backup of expired stories.
However, there are a few workarounds:
- Repost the story as a new story – If you still have the content on your camera roll, you can simply post it again as a new story.
- Add the story to a highlight before it expires – Highlights let you essentially “save” stories indefinitely.
- Use a third-party app to backup stories – Some apps will automatically download your stories so you have a copy.
- Screenshot or screen record the story – You can manually save stories via screenshots or screen recording.
But on Instagram itself, no tool or archive exists to recover expired stories. Once the 24-hour viewing period has ended, the story is gone for good unless you saved it externally.
Why Do Some Accounts’ Stories Say “Story Unavailable”?
If you come across an Instagram story from someone you follow that simply says “Story Unavailable,” there are a few potential reasons:
- They shared it to Close Friends only – Instagram lets you share stories to a customized list of Close Friends. These stories will appear unavailable to regular followers not on the list.
- The story expired – They may have shared it over 24 hours ago, causing it to expire.
- The account deleted the story – They removed the story from their profile manually.
- You are blocked – If you are blocked by the account, you cannot view their stories.
- The account deleted or deactivated – If they deleted their entire Instagram account, all stories will show as unavailable.
Essentially, the “Story Unavailable” message means you are unable to view that story for one of the reasons outlined above – it is no longer accessible because it expired, was removed, or shared privately.
What To Do If Someone Blocked You on Instagram
If you cannot view an account’s story and suspect you may be blocked by them, there are a few ways to check and potentially resolve the issue:
- Check from a different account – View their profile from a secondary account where you are not blocked. If you can see their story, you are likely blocked.
- Look for their comments – Blocked accounts’ comments are deleted from your posts. Scan old posts for missing comments.
- See if you can tag them – Try tagging the account in a comment or story. If their handle does not autopopulate, you are probably blocked.
- Direct message them – Try sending a DM. If your message gets an error, you may be blocked.
- Ask a friend to check – Have a mutual friend view their profile from their account and report back.
- Wait it out – Sometimes blocks are temporary. Check in a week or so and see if it was lifted.
- Contact the person – If appropriate, reach out on another platform and politely ask if you are blocked and why.
- Move on – If you are definitely blocked, respect their wishes and find other accounts to engage with.
With a combination of tools and some patience, in most cases you can figure out if you are blocked. If you are, decide if it is worth gently following up with them or simply moving on.
What To Do If an Account Deleted a Story
Seeing “Story Unavailable” on an account that is still active likely means they shared something briefly but then deleted it from their story. There are a few ways to deal with deleted stories:
- Respect their choice – Don’t interrogate them about deleting it. Assume they had a good reason and let it be.
- Check if you have a screenshot – If you happen to have screen grabbed it, you still have access to the content.
- Ask them about it (nicely) – You can say something like “I noticed your story disappeared – just wanted to check if everything is ok?”
- Talk in person – Bring it up gently in your next in-person conversation to clear the air.
- Consider it forgotten – Pretend you never saw it and carry on as usual.
- Unfollow them – If it really bothers you, you have the option to unfollow so you no longer see their stories.
Ultimately, try not to make a big deal about deleted stories. The account owner clearly wanted it removed, so interrogate them or cause drama. Just acknowledge you no longer can see it and move on.
Reasons Accounts Delete Stories
Why might someone choose to delete a story shortly after posting? Here are some common reasons:
- They had second thoughts about sharing personal information/details.
- They realized something in the story accidentally revealed too much.
- They regretted venting or complaining about someone.
- They got negative feedback and backlash in DMs or comments.
- They decided the content or photo quality was not good enough.
- They shared a story accidentally they did not mean to post.
- They wanted to temporarily post something for certain viewers only.
In most cases, deleted stories are not something concerning or dramatic. People may simply have realized in hindsight they overshared or no longer felt comfortable having that content public in their profile.
If the Account Itself Is Deleted or Deactivated
If you tap on an Instagram story and the message says “Story Unavailable” because the account is disabled, there are a few possibilities:
- They temporarily deactivated their account. It will reactivate after a certain time period.
- They chose to permanently delete their account. All content is erased.
- Instagram disabled the account due to violations of community guidelines.
- The account was hacked or compromised and needed deactivating.
If it is a temporary deactivation, the profile and stories will reappear once they reactivate it.
But for permanent deactivations, all previous stories and posts will remain unavailable. You have no way to retrieve anything they shared before deleting the account.
What To Do if an Instagram Account is Deleted
If someone you follow deletes their Instagram entirely, here are some things you can do:
- Reach out on another platform – Message them asking why they deleted their account and if they plan to come back.
- Ask a mutual friend – See if any friends know the reason behind their deletion.
- Search for a backup account – Look in case they created a new secondary account you can follow.
- Hope they reactivate – Give it some time in case they change their mind and reinstate their old profile.
- Accept the loss – Understand their choice and remember the great content they created over the years.
- Download your old photos – If you have collaborations or photos together saved in your camera roll, you still have those memories.
When someone permanently deletes their Instagram account, unfortunately all their old stories, posts, comments, likes, and more are gone forever. All you can do is reach out on other platforms, search for any potential backup accounts, and reminisce about all the fun interactions you had with them over time on the app.
Key Takeaways
- “Story Unavailable” typically means the story has expired, was deleted, or was shared privately to Close Friends.
- Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours and cannot be recovered on the app itself.
- You may be blocked by an account if you can no longer view their stories.
- Deleted stories should be respected – don’t overreact or make accusations if someone removes a story.
- If the entire Instagram account is deactivated, all previous stories will remain inaccessible.
So in summary, don’t panic if you see an unavailable story. The content was likely removed intentionally and is no longer accessible. Focus on the active accounts you can still engage with, and if someone deletes their account entirely, do your best to connect on other platforms instead!
Conclusion
Seeing “Story Unavailable” on Instagram is very common and usually not cause for concern. In most cases, it simply means the story expired naturally or the account owner deleted it.
Do not assume you are blocked or that the person is hiding something dramatic or scandalous. There are many mundane reasons stories get removed, like cleaning up old content or sharing something accidentally.
The one situation that does warrant a follow up is if the entire account disappears. Check in with that person elsewhere online to make sure they are okay and see if they plan to return to Instagram someday.
Overall though, take unavailable stories in stride. Respect people’s choices in managing their profiles. And if a friend deactivates their account, reminisce about all the fun you had engaging on the app over the years.