You’ve probably posted something on Instagram that felt right at the time but later, you weren’t so sure. Maybe it didn’t fit your current aesthetic, or the moment just passed. Deleting it felt too final, but keeping it up didn’t feel right either. That’s where Instagram’s archive feature quietly steps in to save the day.
Imagine this: You’re scrolling through your profile and spot a post that doesn’t reflect your brand anymore. Instead of deleting it and losing the likes, comments, and effort you put in, you just tap a few buttons and send it to your archive. It’s gone from public view, but still safe in your account waiting in case you ever want to bring it back.
The archive tool isn’t just for feed posts either. Whether it’s an old story, a past live video, or a reel that’s out of date, Instagram lets you quietly move things out of the spotlight without losing them forever.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to find your archived posts and manage them like a pro. It’s quick, simple, and puts you in full control of your profile no unnecessary clutter, no lost content, just clean organization on your terms.
Contents
How To See Someone’s Archived Posts On Instagram:
You can try the following methods below to see someone’s archived posts on Instagram:
1. Using mSpy Tool
There are third-party tools and parental control apps available for this purpose. Although these require device access and may not be free, they can help you see which posts are Archived on Instagram. One option is mSpy, which also allows monitoring chats on the app.
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: First of all, go to the tool’s official website on mSpy Instagram tracker and download it.
Step 2: Then, use the app’s features to access Instagram chats and messages, including sent and received pictures, and message timestamps.
Step 3: Now, enter the Instagram user & install the device on the target phone and link Instagram with it.
With mSpy’s Instagram Tracker, you can keep track of everything on Instagram that he is doing or saving to ‘Archive’.
📌 TIP
You can also access your Live Video Archive and Reels Archive from this dropdown.
2. From Profile Archive
You can use the profile archive feature on Instagram to view someone’s archived posts.
🔴 Steps To Follow:
You can now try the following steps below:
Step 1: First of all, open the Instagram app on your device.
Step 2: Then, just go to the profile of the person whose archived posts you want to see.
Step 3: After that, tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right corner of their profile.
Step 4: Finally, select the “Archive” option from the menu to access their archived posts.
3. From Archive Highlights
Just you can use this method to check if the person has any archived highlights on their Instagram profile.
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Just, try the following steps below:
Step 1: First, open the Instagram app and go to the profile of the person you want to see the archived posts of.
Step 2: Then, tap on the circle icon below their bio section that represents their highlights.
Step 3: Next, swipe left or right to browse through their highlights and see if they have any archived posts included.
Step 4: Now, tap on a highlight to view the archived posts within that particular highlight.
Note: You can also access your Live Video Archive and Reels Archive from this dropdown.
4. Manage Your Archived Content
Step 1: Tap on any archived post to view it in full.
Step 2: Use the ⋯ menu on the post to choose “Show on Profile” if you want to unarchive it.
Step 3: The post will return to its original spot on your feed, with all past likes and comments.
How To See Someone’s Deleted Posts On Instagram:
The methods are down below to see others’ deleted Instagram posts:
1. From Google Cache
You can see someone’s deleted Instagram post from the Google cache. Google Cache is where you’ll be able to find all the deleted and old Instagram posts of any user. It will show you or display the post along with the picture.
If someone has deleted any of their earlier or old pictures or posts from Instagram you can search for it on Google. Google Cache displays results that can help you see older posts. You’ve to search for the profile manually on Google to find out the older posts of any user if those are cached.
To view older posts, you’ve to scroll down the Image results section of Google a little more and you’ll find the posts from the cache (if available) that are much older and even deleted from the account.
You can search for the user manually or copy the profile link and paste it into the search box to search for the profile. Searching in Google not only reveals the older Instagram posts of any user, but you can even see the deleted photos you’re looking for.
As Google cache stores all the old pictures and data, it will be able to show you long-lost or deleted photos of any user.
The steps below have the details you need to follow:
Step 1: Open the Google search page and enter the username of the Instagram profile whose deleted post you’re looking for.
Step 2: You can also copy the profile link from the Instagram profile page and paste it into the search box.
Step 3: Click on the search button and search for the user.
Step 4: As the result page appears, click on the Image row to enter the image section.
Step 5: There you can scroll down and find the deleted Instagram post of any user.
That’s all.
2. From Profile Tab
You can see someone’s old post from the Post tab of their profile. If you want to see someone’s older posts you need to get into their profile and click on the option ‘Post‘ that’s displayed next to the DP on the profile page.
To view posts and pictures of any user, you need to first search for the profile by clicking on the search icon from the bottom panel of the Instagram app. From the search results, you need to click on the profile whose Instagram post you want to see.
As you’re on the profile page of that user, you’ll find three options at the top. These are Posts, Followers, and Following. You need to click on the Post option and it will bring you down to the posts section.
You’ve to scroll down the posts one after another to find the one you’re looking for. The newer posts of the user would appear at the top of the posting page, and as you’re scrolling down, you’ll be able to see the older posts.
> For Public Profile:
The posts of the profiles on Instagram which are public accounts are open to all to view. You can search for the profile and as you’re into the profile page, you can scroll down the Posts section to view every post the user has uploaded on his or her profile. You don’t need to follow the person on Instagram whose account is kept public to view his or her Instagram posts. Rather, even if you’re not following the person, you can visit the profile and view the pictures and videos uploaded by the user on his or her profile. Instagram would not show your name for stalking the profile too.
> For Private Profile:
You can’t view the posts of the profiles that are private. If any user has kept their Instagram account private by switching on the private mode, then only the followers of the user can view their profile and none else.
If you don’t follow a user on Instagram whose profile is private but want to view his or her old Instagram post you won’t be able to do it. You first need to send the user the ‘Follow’ request. As the user accepts your request, you can become a follower of that user, and then you’re allowed to view his or her posts on Instagram.
Only if you follow a private account, are you entitled to view the posts of that user. But if you don’t follow the account, you won’t be able to stalk his or her account to view the posts.
3. Instagram Archive on App
In the archive section of your Instagram profile, you’ll be able to find old and archived posts. All the posts that you archive are stored in the Archive section. The archived posts are your pictures or videos that you’ve chosen to keep hidden in the archive section.
Archive posts of any user aren’t visible to his or her followers. The archive section of the Instagram app is totally personal, where you can compile your older posts. No followers of yours can see your archive posts. Only you can check the archive section yourselves where you’ll be able to find the old posts that you’ve archived.
The archive section of the Instagram app displays all the archived posts, and older stories according to the dates. You’ll have to scroll through the archive section to view all the archive posts.
The steps are down below to follow and proceed further:
Step 1: Open the Instagram app.
Step 2: From the home page, click on the profile picture icon at the bottom right of the screen.
Step 3: Next on the profile page, you’ll have to click on the three horizontal lines icon which you’ll find at the top right of the screen.
Step 4: From the prompting options, you’ll have to choose Archive.
It will take you to the archive section where you’ll be able to find the posts archived according to their dates.
Conclusion
Mastering Instagram’s archive feature is a smart move for anyone looking to keep their profile clean, organized, and on brand without losing valuable content. Whether you’re a business fine-tuning your marketing strategy or a personal user curating your online presence, archiving allows you to hide posts temporarily while keeping the option to restore them later.
It’s not just about aesthetics it’s about control. With just a few steps, you can manage how your profile looks to others, revisit past content privately, and bring back posts exactly as they were, with engagement intact. This feature gives you flexibility without the commitment of deletion.
Take advantage of Instagram’s built-in archive tools to maintain a dynamic, polished feed that aligns with your goals. It’s efficient, private, and completely reversible everything modern social media management should be.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can see someone’s deleted Instagram posts using different methods. As cache data stores the old and the deleted items, you can find someone’s old and deleted posts from the Google cache data section.
You can see archived posts only of yourself. As Instagram does not allow you to see someone else’s archived posts, so you can’t.
You can scroll through someone’s profile to view their older posts if their account is public or you follow them. Just visit their profile and scroll down to see older content. Keep in mind: If they’ve deleted or archived a post, it will no longer appear publicly.
No, you can’t see someone else’s deleted or archived posts. Instagram’s archive is completely private and only visible to the account owner. If a post is removed from their feed, it’s gone from public view there’s no workaround to access their archive.
