How To Use Instagram Archive

If you're anything like me, your Instagram use over the years has probably evolved quite a bit. Scroll far enough back, though, and you'll likely find some pictures that didn't really need to be shared with the world (I mean, why did I think that blurry picture was worth sharing in the first place? Did I really think a filter could salvage that shot?). Luckily, Instagram rolled out a new feature today to help users deal with those old memories without having to actually delete them. If you want to start that process ASAP, here's how to use Instagram Archive.

With Archive, users can move posts into their own personal repository without having to punch that permanent, cruel "Delete" button. That way, users can still (privately) revisit old memories without having to continue broadcasting them to the world. The new feature is rolling out to the app on both iPhones and Androids on Tuesday, so users should see the update hit their phones in the next day or so. If the update doesn't happen, users can visit either Apple's App Store or the Google Play Store and update to version 10.21 of Instagram to gain access to the Archive.

Once the app all updated and ready to go, users can scroll down and select a picture they'd like to remove from the public eye. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the screen, then click "Archive." Ta-da! It'll disappear off your timeline and you can pretend (to everyone but yourself, that is) that it was never there at all. Very sneaky.

To find your archived photos, go to your profile. In the upper right corner, you'll see a little reversing clock symbol. Click that to view all of your archived posts, which will still include all of the comments and likes they collected before you archived them.

If you decide you'd like to bring one (or many) photos back from your archive and onto your public profile — perhaps once you're done applying for jobs — that's not a problem. Go into your Archive, select an image, and then click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner. Select "Show on Profile" to restore it to its former public glory.

For those of us who like to use Instagram as a personal way to record and remember our day-to-day, Archive is a great way to strike a balance between keeping things personal and professional on Instagram — and the update gives you a great excuse to go scroll through all of your old pictures today.