How long do Instagram stories last?

An Instagram story is visible for 24 hours after it’s posted, then it disappears from the poster’s profile and everyone’s story tray. Several things around it last longer.

The timeline

• 0 to 24 hours: the story is live. Followers (and anyone, for a public account) can watch it.
• Up to about 48 hours: the poster can still see who viewed it, from their story archive.
• After that: the story stays in the poster’s private archive (if archiving is on), with a view count but no list of names.
• Indefinitely: if the poster adds it to a highlight, it stays on their profile until they remove it.

Why a story might disappear sooner

• The poster deleted it.
• The account went private, and you aren’t an approved follower.
• The poster used “Close Friends”, so only people on that list could see it.
• The poster hid their story from you specifically.
• Instagram removed it for breaking its rules.

Why you might see no stories for an account

If you look up an account on Ghost Story Viewer and see nothing, the usual reason is simply that it hasn’t posted a story in the last 24 hours. Many accounts post stories only occasionally. Otherwise, the account may be private, which no viewer can show, or it may have been renamed.

Catch stories before they’re gone

Because stories last a day, checking an account once a day is enough to see everything it posts. If you follow several public accounts, keep a watchlist: sign in with Google, add them, and see at a glance which have posted.