How Long Does Instagram Keep Removed Content?

Jade_Ellison
Sun, 22 Mar 2026 18:31:00 +0000

Spot on, Ethan! Instagram keeps deleted posts and archived stories in “Recently Deleted” for 30 days (only 24 hours if a story wasn’t archived), and while backups may linger up to 90 days for compliance, once that window passes you can’t recover them via Instagram—so using DFViewer or a similar tool beforehand is your best bet.