It’s been said that it goes down in the DMs, but Instagram stories are where a lot of action happens, too. Swiping through stories is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. Maybe your fave celeb is announcing a new album. Or your crush just posted their Spotify Wrapped for you to psychoanalyze. If there’s a green Close Friends ring around your friend’s profile picture, it probably means they have something that’s too hilarious, or juicy, to post on their main story. There’s no telling what a day of stories will bring, but it often comes with a lot of laughs, jaw-drops, and other cherished digital moments. And if any are worth coming back to later, you probably want to know how to download someone else’s Instagram story.
We’ve all had a moment of someone posting a story of us and thinking, “Hey, that’s actually a grid-worthy picture of me.” Or maybe someone posted a hilarious meme that you’re ready to bring into your own arsenal. Currently, Instagram doesn’t have an official way to download someone else’s story, and if the story is on a private account, close friends, or clearly designed to not exist after 24 hours, it’s probably best to leave that story to its intended audience without downloading it. But if you’re determined to save someone else’s Instagram story, there are a few, not-too-sus workarounds.
How To Download Someone Else’s Instagram Story: Photo
One of the easiest ways to download someone’s Instagram story, if it’s a picture, is to screenshot it. When you view a story, the poster’s username will appear above the picture, and a bottom bar with options to reply to the story or send it to someone else is on most people’s stories unless they’ve turned these functions off.
This can make for a pretty crowded screenshot if you’re hoping to download the entire frame, but this can be easily fixed. By holding your finger down on the screen, the username and other features will disappear, showing only the story. While holding your finger down, screenshot as you normally would, and, voila. The picture — sans extraneous graphics — will now be saved to your camera roll.
As of right now, you won’t trigger a notification if you screenshot someone’s story. But there’s no guarantee that Instagram won’t roll out the feature in the future. So make sure you’re OK with the possibility of them finding out before you screenshot.
How To Download Someone Else’s Instagram Story: Video
Downloading someone’s Instagram story as a video can be a bit trickier. And, with just the Instagram app and iPhone features alone, there’s currently no way to save the video without the poster’s username and other features possibly surrounding it.
If this is no biggie for you, you can use the iPhone’s Screen Record feature to save the story as it appears on your screen. Swipe down from the top of your screen to view your Control Center. At the very bottom, there should be an “Recording” icon that looks like a circle with a ring around it. If you don’t see Screen Recording in your swipe-down Control Center, you can add it by heading to Settings.
Click the “Record” button, and it will show a “3, 2, 1” countdown before it begins recording. Return from your Control Center to the screen, open the story, and view as normal. When the story is finished, swipe down to reach the Control Center again, and click the Screen Recording option again. (And no, Instagram doesn’t notify someone if you screen record a video, either.)
Once the video is saved to your camera roll, you can trim the beginning and ending to cut out the recordings of your Control Center. You can also even crop the video to cut out the poster’s username and other options.
