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24 Instagram tricks to get the most out of it

Instagram started as a place to hang your photos to share them with the world and over time it has grown to become a complete social network and messaging tool. Instagram does not stop evolving and therefore it is difficult to keep abreast of all available tools and options.

In this article we collect several semi-hidden options, functions not too well known, Instagram privacy tricks and settings so you can master this application and get the most out of it.

Archive photos to hide them

From time to time you will want to do some cleaning on your Instagram account, removing from the public eye publications that are no longer relevant or that you no longer find very funny. Instead of erasing them forever, you can hide them filing them. You can continue to see them and, if you change your mind, you can always show them again on your profile.

Tap on the three dots button on the post you want to hide
Choose Archive

Save photos to “albums”

Instagram does not have actual albums, but it does have something similar: collections. A collection can contain both your own and other people’s publications, which are kept in order so that you can refer to them later.

Tap on the bookmark icon on the post you want to save (it doesn’t have to be from you)
Tap on Save to collection
Choose a name for your collection

Block offensive comments

Instagram, like any other social network, can be a pretty toxic place. Luckily recently, several tools have been added to control what comments you receive on Instagram and to be able to block certain words. If someone tries to add a comment that includes one of these words, the comment is automatically hidden.

In Instagram settings, tap Privacy
Go into Comments
Active Hide offensive comments
Active Filter most reported words
Active Manual filter
Add below words that you want to be banned in the comments of your publications. Comments that include them will not be displayed.

Silence someone while still following them

Not everyone you follow is equally important. If you have a friend on Instagram who is having a bit of a fun with beach photos and would like to stop looking at them for a bit, you can silence it. When you mute someone, their posts are not shown to you in the bio, although the other person has no way of knowing.

Tap on the three dots button on a post from the account you want to mute
Tap on Silence

Avoid being labeled

If you want to prevent other people from tagging you in posts on Instagram, you can change it from the application settings. There you can configure the manual label approval, which means that you will not be tagged automatically, but you will have to approve each tag before it goes public.

In the Instagram settings, go to Privacy
Tap on Labels
Active Approve labels manually
Press Activate

Hide if you are connected or not

Another privacy option that is interesting to know on Instagram is the activity status, which indicates to other people if you are connected or not and at what time did you last connect. You can deactivate it from the privacy settings of Instagram.

In the Instagram settings, go to Privacy
Tap on Activity status
Deactivate Show activity status

Share your contact card

Instagram accounts can have really cryptic names, but there is an easier way to share your account: with an identification card. It is something like a QR code for your account, which you can personalize with your photo or emojis.

Open your profile
Tap on the button with the three horizontal stripes
Tap on Identification card
If you want, customize the look of your ID card with a selfie or emojis

Follow hashtags

In addition to being able to follow personal and business accounts, on Instagram you can also follow hashtagsSo you’ll see in your bio a medley of posts from various accounts that use that Instagram.

Tap on the magnifying glass icon to do a search
Find the topic you want to follow
Tap on the hashtags tab
Tap on the hashtag you want to follow
In the hashtag preview, tap on Follow, continue

{“videoId”: “x80zm9u”, “autoplay”: true, “title”: “21 INSTAGRAM TRICKS – Tutorial with all the secrets!”}

Save a draft for later

If you start creating a post on Instagram and you don’t have time to finish choosing the filter and description, no problem. Going back the application will ask you if you want save the draft to continue later. You can access this draft later to pick up where you left off.

Create your post as usual
When you want to save the draft, press back
Press Save draft

See who has accessed your account

Do you think someone is accessing your Instagram account? The good news is that Instagram take good note of each login and you can consult them from a special page. It indicates the location from which the session was started, the IP address and the device.

Query Instagram logins
If you find some suspicious, please check It was not me and change your password
You can close the session that you have left open on other devices

Share video without sound

It is one of the most basic Instagram tricks and yet the most useful. When sharing videos in an Instagram Story we sometimes forget that audio is also included, but only if we want to. Tapping the speaker button mutes the post.

Before posting a story, tap on the volume button

Record without pressing the button

The classic way to record video in Instagram stories is to keep the shutter button pressed, but this is not mandatory. If you change to hands-free mode, with a touch you start recording and with another touch you stop recording.

Change the mode to Free hands
One tap on the button to start recording

Share a story as a post

If you have created such a work of art in an Instagram story that you would like re-share it as a regular post, the good news is that Instagram allows you to do it directly from the contextual menu, without cheating or cardboard.

Tap on the button with the three dots of your Instagram story
Tap on Share as post
Choose the frame and continue like any normal post

Share a post as a story

Just the opposite is also possible. If you see any publication on Instagram that you would like to add to a story, click on the submit button to be able to publish it in a story. This also works for other people’s posts.

Tap the submit button on a post
Choose Add post to your story

Hide the likes of a post

If you prefer not to know how many “likes” has one of your publications got from Instagram, is possible to hide it easily. You can continue to see the complete list of people by tapping on the text, but otherwise you will be shown a generic text.

Tap on the three dots button in the post
Choose Hide like count

Paint the entire screen in one color

A curious trick of Instagram is the possibility of paint the background color of a story completely with a long touch. If you do this touch with the brush tool, the color is solid. If it’s the underline tool, the color is translucent.

Create a new story and take any photo
Tap the button to draw
Choose the paint tool
Do a long touch anywhere
If you want to add a translucent color, choose the underline tool and do the long touch

Use custom colors

Speaking of colors, Instagram presents you with a good series of default colors ready to use in the various drawing tools, but you can use any custom color. To do this, make a long touch on one of the colors and the entire palette will open.

Do a long tap on any of the preset colors
Choose the color you want from the full color palette shown

Create arrows

Creating arrows can be a hassle, but we often forget that Instagram includes its own arrow drawing tool. Basically every stroke you make is crowned by an arrowhead.

Tap the button to draw
Choose the arrow tool
Make a stroke and it will end with an arrowhead

Rescue your old stories from oblivion

Instagram stories are no longer visible 24 hours after they are published, although they are not completely removed. You can continue consulting them from the file menu, and you can republish or highlight them on your profile.

Open your profile on Instagram
Open the side panel by tapping on the button with the three horizontal lines
Go into file
Change to Stories Archive
Tap on the story you want to see or share again

Share songs from Spotify

Besides being able to add song snippets in Instagram stories, you can too share your favorite song directly from Spotify. Whoever visits your story will be able to play and open that song on Spotify.

On Spotify, tap on the song you want to share and open its context menu
Choose Share
Tap on Instagram Stories

Put photos over photos in a story

A curious editing tool for Instagram stories is the camera sticker. With this sticker you can take photos that are placed on top of another photo or video, and you can add as many as you want. The limit is your creativity.

Add the first photo to the story
Tap on the button to add stickers
Choose the camera sticker
Take a photo with the mobile camera
You can tap on the floating photo to change the design

Hide your stories from some people

Instagram stories are generally visible to the same people who can see your profile, but you can further restrict them from their privacy settings. There you can, among other things, hide your Instagram stories from certain people or limit who can reply with messages.

In the Instagram settings, go to Privacy
Tap on History
In section Hide story from, tap on the number of people
Add to the list the accounts that you want not to see your stories

Create a collage

If you want post a collage as Story on Instagram, you do not need no additional app. Instead, switch to mode Design, choose the grid that you like the most and then put a photo in a box using the camera or uploading it from your gallery.

Change the mode to Design
Choose the grid that you like the most
Take photos with the camera or import them from the mobile gallery

Add more filters to Instagram Stories

Instagram stories come with a lot of filters and effects, but the ones that appear for you to select from are just the tip of the iceberg. In the filter finder you will find hundreds of filters created by users, for every taste.