How to Find Your Drafts on Instagram: Ultimate Guide

How to Find Your Drafts on Instagram: Posts, Reels & Stories [2024]

Instagram is a popular social media platform that allows you to share photos, videos, and stories with your followers. The app also has a feature that allows you to save drafts of your posts, reels, livestreams, and stories. It is a great way to keep track of your content and share it at a later time.

A common question in this context is how to find drafts on Instagram. While preparing content in advance is beneficial, the challenge arises when you struggle to find them for posting.

Source: Unsplash

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps on how to find your drafts on Instagram for posts, reels, live, and stories. Whether you’re an influencer, business owner, or social media enthusiast, understanding the ins and outs of drafts can save you time and effort.

Why Did My Instagram Drafts Disappear?

Before we delve into the steps to find your Instagram drafts, let us address a common concern: disappearing drafts. If you’ve experienced the frustration of your Instagram drafts vanishing, sweat not. This guide will help you locate your drafts and provide insights on preventing them from disappearing.

Creating Instagram Drafts

Creating an Instagram draft for future posting is a simple process within the user-friendly Instagram app. The following straightforward steps will guide you through the process:

Open Instagram on your mobile.
Tap on the “+” icon, then either capture a new image or select one from your gallery.

Source: Instagram

To make the availability of the Drafts option, you need to edit the post. Tap “Edit” and make any desired adjustments to your image.

Source: Instagram

After making edits, navigate back by tapping the X in the upper left-hand corner.

Source: Instagram

Upon exiting the editing screen, a popup menu will appear. Choose “Save Draft” to save your work for later use.

Source: Instagram

It is similar to that of preparing a post for immediate posting. Instead of finalizing the post, you opt to go back by tapping the appropriate option rather than ‘Post.’ This action holds the image as a draft until you decide it’s ready for public viewing.

How to Find Your Drafts on Instagram

Posts

Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon.

Source: Instagram

Select Post.

Source: Instagram

Tap the “Drafts” Tab. It is at the right of your Gallery menu.

Source: Instagram

Tap your draft to select it, then tap Next. Doing this will allow you to continue editing your draft and publish it.
To delete drafts, tap Manage and the pencil icon. Select the draft you want to delete, then tap the checkmark next to “Discard”.

Source: Instagram

Source: Instagram

Reels

Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon.

Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon

Source: Instagram

Select Reels at the bottom.
You can see the Drafts option at the top.

Source: Instagram

If you have any saved reels, it shows under the drafts tab.

Source: Instagram

You can edit and make changes to the reel and publish it whenever you find the perfect time.

Stories

Open the Instagram app.
Tap + next to “Your Story” like you’re recording a new Story. A screen that displays your phone’s gallery will open.

Source: Instagram

If you have a draft, it will be listed next to the Gallery tab.

Source: Instagram

From here, you can further edit your clip by tapping Edit, or tap Next to publish it.

Source: Instagram

Note: Story Drafts will be permanently deleted after the number of days shown. After that, you won’t be able to access them.

How to Delete Drafts on Instagram

If you have a situation where you’ve created content on Instagram but no longer wish to post or need it, deleting drafts is a straightforward process. While it’s not always necessary, removing drafts can help declutter your gallery and free up storage space. To delete an Instagram draft, follow these steps:

Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon to start creating a post.

Source: Instagram

Select “Drafts” and then choose “Manage.”

Source: Instagram

Tap “Pencil Icon” in the top right corner.

Tap "Pencil Icon" in the top right corner

Source: Instagram

Choose the specific draft you wish to delete and tap “Tick Symbol.”

Source: Instagram

Finally, select “Discard.”

Instagram will promptly remove the selected draft from your gallery. It’s important to note that once you hit delete, it’s irreversible. Therefore, be cautious to ensure you’re deleting the correct draft.

If you need to clear all Instagram drafts, navigate to your device’s Settings, tap on “Apps,” select Instagram, and clear the cache. Instagram drafts are stored in local storage rather than within the app, so clearing the cache will remove all drafts.

Be mindful that this action is irreversible, and all drafts will be permanently deleted.

Simplified: Your Essential Social Media Marketing Tool

Source: Simplified

Introducing Simplified, an AI-driven platform to streamline your Instagram content creation process. Simplified allows you to plan, write, design posts, edit videos, schedule, manage multiple accounts, and publish social media content seamlessly.

Simplified also has 1000s of built-in templates, which make your content creation a breeze. You can make visually stunning Instagram posts and stories in no time.

Use Template

With an intuitive interface and robust features, it’s the go-to solution for any individual, influencers, and businesses aiming to enhance their social media strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why did my Instagram drafts disappear?

There are a few reasons why your Instagram drafts might disappear.

You might have uninstalled the Instagram app.
This can also happen if you log out of your Instagram account.
Also, drafts disappear if the app version is outdated.

2. How to find drafts on Instagram Android?

The process for finding drafts on Instagram is the same for both Android and iPhone.

Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon.
Select Post/Story/Reel.
Tap the “Drafts” Tab. It is at the right of your Gallery menu.

3. How do you recover a drafted story on Instagram?

The first thing you should do is check your Instagram archive and recently deleted.

To do this, go to your profile and tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
Then, tap “Archive.”
Here, you’ll be able to see all of your stories, even if they’ve expired.
Or tap on “recently deleted”.

If your drafts are here, you can tap on them to open them and then tap the three dots in the top right corner to send them back to your drafts.

4. Can anyone see my drafts on Instagram?

No, only you can see your Instagram drafts. They are not visible to anyone else.

5. Can I get my drafts back after deleting Instagram?

No, if you delete the Instagram app, your drafts will be lost.

6. Did Instagram stop drafts?

No, Instagram did not stop drafts. The feature is still available to all users.

Bottomline

Mastering the art of drafts on Instagram is a game-changer for efficient social media management. The detailed steps outlined in this guide, show you how to find your drafts on Instagram. Remember to explore tools like Simplified to elevate your social media marketing game and stay ahead in the Instagram game.