CNN: Instagram permanantly some users Stories

GaryPageau
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CNN reports some Instagram posters were notified yesterday that some photos were permanently deleted from the app’s Stories archives, with no recovery possible. Instagram doesn’t automatically save Stories to the Camera Roll (unless a setting is selected); instead, they are auto-uploaded to Story archives. Unlike traditional Instagram posts, Stories are casual posts with a 24-hour lifespan that can be personalized with music, stickers, GIFs, text, filters and more.

“This story is no longer available,” some users saw on certain Stories. “Due to a technical issue, this story is no longer available. While we’ve since fixed this issue, your story can’t be restored.”

According to CNN, Instagram owner Meta, which owns Instagram, declined to share how many users were affected but added only the people whose Stories were lost will see the notice.

“We found and fixed a bug that caused some people’s Story highlights and archives to be deleted. Unfortunately, we are unable to restore these Stories and we’re letting people know in the app if they’re impacted,” a Meta spokesperson said Wednesday. Meta said the black screen showing the error message would be gone by July 2025.

The incident is another reminder for consumers that social media services do not serve as permanent back ups of cherished memories.

Written by 

Gary Pageau is principal of InfoCircle LLC, continuing his marketing communications career. InfoCircle LLC is a marketing and communications consulting firm, specializing in business-to-business markets. For nearly 25 years, he was with PMA International, serving most recently as Publisher, Content Development and Strategic Initiatives. His primary responsibilities included overseeing the Association’s editorial department, marketing research unit, education and corporate relations department.