Instagram stories are great for those quick updates and announcements that you want to share with followers, whether it be a simple block of text, a photo, a short video clip, or a post that you’ve seen on your newsfeed and want to share with others.
But the benefits of stories don’t end there.
The way that we create stories is incredibly easy, with editing playing a big part in the three step process before clicking share.
In this blog, we’re covering the basics of story editing on Instagram, and answering a few commonly asked questions about what you can edit and when.
What Edits Can You Make To An Instagram Story?
Once you’ve got your photo front and centre of your story screen, it’s time to edit – and the options really are endless.
The most common edits involve adding text and gifs around the outside of a photo or video and changing the colour filter. If you have a device which allows live photos to be captured, the editing screen on your Instagram will also allow you to turn that live photo into a boomerang to share as your Instagram story, adding life and movement to a photo.
Some other popular edits include layering images on top of each other through the creation of story collage posts, and adding details like the location of the image, tags, the time a photo was taken, or background music.
How Do You Edit The Photo on a Photo Story?
If you upload a photo to your story and want to edit the colouring, you need to add a filter. To do this, simply swipe right in the centre of the screen and watch the tone and colour palette of your image change with each option.
You can also add some fun features to static photos specifically, adding things like snowfall or sparkles to the outside of the image, fireworks bursts or light, and even patterned or textured overlays. Or you can get super creative and pull out a drawing pen on the screen, updating the photo with your own details.
When Can You Edit Your Instagram Story?
Editing an Instagram story, regardless of what you want to do to it, needs to be done after uploading the image or video, and before sharing. Once the Instagram story has been shared and added to your profile, you cannot edit it anymore.
If you want to make a change to a story you’ve posted, you will need to start again.
NOTE: This is why you often see businesses and those who post text-heavy stories having to post an update if they share something with a typo or mistake – because once posted, it cannot be changed!
Can You Edit a Story You’ve Shared Already?
Unfortunately, no you cannot. But there are things you can do, including deleting the post and sharing it again with the right edits, or posting a follow-up story with the correct information.
Can You Edit Someone Else’s Story?
Again, no. However, you can share someone else’s story and add some of the edits that you would have made to the original, to your repost.
When you share someone else’s Instagram story, for example if they have tagged you in it and you want to share it with your own followers, it appears on your story edit screen as any other image or photo does. As such, you are free to edit the colouring, add filters, add GIFs and text, and share your own tags and information alongside the post.
Instagram stories are a great way to share what’s going on with your followers, quickly and easily. We hope this helps you to make the most of every story that you post!
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