How long does an Instagram story last

Stories are one of Instagram's most popular features. Its temporary nature is one of the main hooks to attract users, as many tend to enter this social network at least once a day to see this time-limited content (often by FOMO).

The most characteristic feature of Instagram stories is, therefore, their short lifespan. But do you know how long can an Instagram story be and how long it remains visible? Read on to discover the answer to these and other questions.

How long can an Instagram story be

Stories have a limited duration imposed by the platform. Currently, an Instagram story can last up to 60 seconds if it is a video. Until recently, the maximum duration was 15 seconds, which is the limit that still applies to images, songs, posts, and other publications that aren't clips uploaded or recorded by the user.

In short, if you upload or record a video, your story can last at most one minute. If you share other types of content in the story, they can last up to 15 seconds.

If you want to upload a video longer than 60 seconds to your stories, you can record it in several fragments or trim it with a video editor for Android devices, such as CapCut or InShot. You must manually trim your video because if you try to upload a video longer than one minute, it will not be uploaded correctly.

How to post longer videos on your Instagram stories

As we have indicated, Instagram lets you upload videos of up to 60 seconds in a single story without cuts. It is not possible to post longer videos in your stories, but you do have several alternatives:

• Upload a video in several fragments. You must cut the video in pieces with an editing app and publish them in order.
• Publish the video in reel format and share it in your stories. Until recently, the maximum length of reels was 90 seconds, but now you can post reels of up to three minutes.
• Record a live performance. You can record up to four hours live via the Live function, although this may not be the solution you are looking for.
• Upload the video to another platform and share the URL in your stories. For example, you can upload the video on YouTube and share it via a link tag in your stories.

With these tips, you can post longer videos on your Instagram stories. However, it is worth remembering that stories are designed to be quick consumption content, hence the limit.

How long does an Instagram story remain visible?

Instagram stories remain visible for 24 hours from the moment you post them. That is, if you upload a story on Monday at 11:00, others can see it until the next day at 11:00.

Once a day has elapsed, the story disappears (unless you delete it first). However, there are two alternatives to maintain the publication for longer. You can save your stories to your story archive (a feature active by default), but only you will be able to see them. But you can also add the story to a featured section, where it will remain on your profile until you manually delete it.

You can create up to 100 featured story sections in your profile. Each section can contain up to 100 stories. If you reach the limit and add a new story, the oldest one will be automatically deleted. You can organize them as you wish, assigning them personalized names and covers.

How many times can you view the same Instagram story?

There is no limit to the number of times you can view the same Instagram story. However, once viewed, it will no longer appear as pending to be viewed, so you will have to search for it.

In addition, it should be noted that the user who originally posted it can check the users who saw it, but not how many times it has been seen. The only way to view stories without the person who posted them knowing is to use a third-party app, such as Ghosty. However, this kind of application raises security concerns because you must log in with your social network credentials.