How to Recover Deleted Instagram Highlights in 2025 (Step-by-Step Guide)

How to Recover Deleted Instagram Highlights in 2025 

(Step-by-Step Guide)

Instagram Highlights have become an essential feature for users to showcase their best stories and important content on their profiles. However, accidentally deleting a highlight can be frustrating, especially if it contained valuable memories or information. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the process of recovering deleted Instagram Highlights in 2025, ensuring you can retrieve your precious content with ease.

Understanding Instagram Highlights

Before we dive into the recovery process, it's important to understand what Instagram Highlights are and how they work. Highlights are collections of Instagram Stories that you choose to feature permanently on your profile5. They appear as circular thumbnails below your bio and serve as a way to organize and showcase your best content for new and existing followers.

The Importance of Highlights

Highlights play a crucial role in personal branding and business growth on Instagram. They increase visibility, help organize content, and showcase your brand to the platform's 500 million active daily Stories users6. For businesses, Highlights can act as virtual storefronts, educational resources, and FAQ sections, making them an invaluable tool for engagement and customer interaction.

Step-by-Step Guide to Recover Deleted Instagram Highlights

Step 1: Open Instagram and Access Your Profile

Launch the Instagram app on your mobile device and tap on your profile picture in the bottom right corner to access your profile1.

Step 2: Navigate to Your Activity

Tap on the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top right corner of your profile page. From the menu that appears, scroll down and select "Your activity"1.

Step 3: Locate Recently Deleted Content

In the "Your activity" section, scroll down until you find "Removed and archived content." Tap on this option, and then select "Recently deleted"1.

Step 4: Find Your Deleted Highlight

In the "Recently deleted" section, you'll find all your deleted content, including posts, stories, IGTV videos, reels, and highlights. Scroll through this list to locate the highlight you want to recover1.

Step 5: Restore the Deleted Highlight

Once you've found the deleted highlight, simply tap on it and select the option to restore the content. Instagram will then reinstate the highlight to your profile1.

Important Considerations

1. Time Sensitivity: Instagram typically keeps deleted content available for recovery for a limited time. In 2025, this period may vary, so it's crucial to attempt recovery as soon as possible after deletion.

2. Content Availability: The success of recovery depends on how the highlight was originally uploaded and saved. Some users have reported difficulties in recovering highlights, especially if they were created on the same day as other content4.

3. Archive Check: If you can't find your deleted highlight in the "Recently deleted" section, check your Archive. Instagram automatically saves stories to your Archive unless you've disabled this feature2.

4. Regular Backups: To prevent future loss of important highlights, consider regularly backing up your Instagram data through the app's built-in data download feature.

Tips for Managing Instagram Highlights in 2025

To make the most of your Instagram Highlights and prevent accidental deletions, consider the following tips:

1. Organize by Theme: Group similar content together in your highlights. This not only makes your profile more navigable but also helps you keep track of your content6.

2. Use Clear Titles and Covers: Create visually appealing covers for your highlights and use short, descriptive titles. This makes it easier for followers to understand what each highlight contains6.

3. Regular Updates: Keep your highlights fresh by adding new content regularly. This also helps bump important highlights to the front of your profile5.

4. Utilize Interactive Features: Include polls, quizzes, or AR filters in your highlights to boost engagement6.

5. Align with Marketing Strategies: Integrate your highlights into your broader marketing efforts to extend the impact of your stories and campaigns6.

The Future of Instagram Highlights

As we look ahead to 2025, Instagram continues to evolve its features to improve user experience. One significant change on the horizon is the potential relocation of Story Highlights to a dedicated tab marked by a heart-shaped icon3. This update, which began rolling out in late 2024, aims to create a cleaner, more streamlined profile design while maintaining the functionality of Highlights.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, explained the reasoning behind this update: "We're trying to figure out a way to improve the profile and get more of the content above the fold, and simplify it. You will still have control, you can still pin things, there'll be a dedicated Highlights tab, but we don't need to have pogs and squares and have it be all complicated and pushing everything down."3

This change underscores the importance of Highlights in the Instagram ecosystem and suggests that the platform will continue to support and enhance this feature in the coming years.

Conclusion

Recovering deleted Instagram Highlights in 2025 is a straightforward process when you know where to look. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly retrieve your valuable content and maintain the curated appearance of your Instagram profile. Remember to act quickly when you notice a missing highlight, as recovery options may be time-sensitive.

As Instagram continues to evolve, staying informed about new features and updates will help you make the most of your profile and engage effectively with your audience. Whether you're using Highlights for personal branding or business growth, mastering this feature will contribute significantly to your Instagram success in 2025 and beyond.