Show of hands for the people who have shared a super embarrassing photo on Instagram and lived to regret it. Everyone in the world? Yep, that's what I figured. Happily, Instagram has just rolled out a new archive feature, and it's going to be the best thing since actual Instagram was invented. Here's how to find Instagram Archive and deal with those hideous photos right quick.
Instagram was testing out the archive feature last month, according to Tech Crunch, putting its feelers out to smaller groups of users to see if anyone maybe might be interested in archiving photos without deleting them. To which the world replied, Gimme!
Before Instagram Archive existed, users might impetuously delete pictures and later regret it. Which Instagram didn't love, because deleting posts denies their users the opportunity to see their own history in images. And also because monetizing content on deleted posts is impossible. Now Instagram users simply need to go where they normally would find the edit, share, and delete options for their photos and they will find the archive option. According to Instagram, using archives is super easy:
To archive a post you’ve already shared, tap “...” at the top of the post and choose “Archive.” You’ll still be able to see it when you tap the Archive icon in the top right corner of your profile. That way, you can always return to these posts and see previous likes and comments from friends. If you change your mind about a post you’ve archived, tap “Show on Profile” at any time and it’ll show up in its original spot.
The pictures will be stored indefinitely in a private gallery for your eyes only, which sounds vaguely ominous (a gallery of unwanted photos waiting to get used), but at least they're not out there for anyone else to see, right?
And let's get real... who knows when you're going to want to bring a picture back out into the limelight?
Instagram noted that archiving your photos will allow you to "have a space just for you, where you can revisit moments without having to keep them all on your profile."
Whether you're taking a walk down memory lane, looking back at that year you tried bangs and it was an epic fail, or just need some alone time with cute pics of you and your ex, at least now you can do it with a little privacy.
