Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Stories

It seems that of the one billion Instagram users, 86% absolutely adore the Stories feature. Instagram Stories are feature in the Instagram camera on the app which enables you to instantly take a photo or a video and share it with your followers. Instagram Stories last for 24 hours and you can also add content from your gallery to your Stories. Stories are love by all Instagram users due to their versatility, users can post videos, texts, photos, gifs, or even add their favorite music to a photo.

Regardless of whether you are a new or experienced user of Instagram, everyone can use more facts about Instagram Stories. Read on as we tell you everything you need to know about Instagram Stories and feel free to use the newfound knowledge to boost your Instagram engagement.

Browsing Stories Is Pretty Easy

Instagram Stories are located above your feed and are easy to view. Simply tap on the Story you want to view and it will pop up on your screen. If you want to flip through Stories, swipe left to go to the next one or swipe right to get yourself back to the past one. If you want to take your time with an Instagram Story, tap and hold so that the Story freezes. Butt you want to go on about flipping through Stories, lift the finger and it will move automatically. 

If you value your privacy and don’t want to pop up as a viewer on a certain Story, using an Instagram Story viewer provides anonymous and quick Story searches for public profiles. If you are left without your Instagram account, or, for some unfortunate reason you can’t access the content from your profile anymore, it’s always good to have a free backup that will let you browse away anonymously.

How to Upload Stories

To upload a Story simply swipe to the left to access the camera and let the camera click as the perfect Story is captured. If you want to create a Story with content that was previously taken, simply swipe left and swipe up and the camera roll will pop up. Here you will find all the visual content that you have stored on your smartphone.

It’s recommend that the aspect ratio of Instagram visuals is always 9:16. If the image is larger Instagram will make the cut for you.

The Added Flair

With Instagram, only the sky is the limit. Instagram provides a heap of features and tools that can make your Stories more flashy. Read below as we uncover them.

Add a Boomerang Effect

With the super fun Boomerang effect, your clips will play backward and forwards. To add this effect, open up the Story section, press the Boomerang symbol to the left of your screen and let the loops carry you away.

The Stickers and the Filters

You can use stickers and filters to add fun and flair to your content. When your Stories camera is open, on the bottom you will find different filter options. Tap on the filters to see what effects they produce and pick the most suitable one. Stickers on the other hand are find next to the text tool and can be access by pressing the smiley face.

Who Can View My Instagram Stories

The visibility of your Stories depends on your privacy settings under the account section. If you set your account to private, only followers can view your Stories. You can also view who has check your Story out but not how many times it was open by that person.

If you want your Instagram available to the public, make sure that your profile is not set to private.

You Can Save Your Stories

If a Story becomes something of importance to you, it doesn’t have to disappear into the thin Instagram air. Open the Story and press the more option, here you will find the Save feature.

You can also automatically force Instagram to save your Stories to camera roll by activating the Save Story to Camera Roll option.

Final Thoughts 

Instagram Stories are a great way to communicate your creative ideas with your followers. If you are looking to create the perfect Instagram Story, consider using the filters and cool features provided by the Instagram app. Don’t forget that you can browse anonymously and that your Stories can be save for future use.