How to See Deleted Instagram Posts | 5 Effective Ways

Instagram is one of the favorite platforms among millennials and Gen Z to share photos and reels with their friends, family, and other users. However, sometimes, like any other platform, you or any of your friends might delete Instagram posts accidentally. Now the question arises, “How to see deleted Instagram posts?”

This article covers five effective ways to view deleted Instagram posts along with our verdict on Instagram post recovery tools. We’ve also shared some smart ways you can consider in the future to avoid losing Instagram posts.

Part 1. Can You Actually See Deleted Instagram Posts

The answer to “Can you see deleted posts on Instagram?” is not a definitive yes or no. While you cannot see deleted posts directly, you may find deleted Instagram posts in some other places on the platform.

Once you delete any post on Instagram, it goes to the ‘recently deleted’ folder. This folder is only visible to you, and your followers cannot see the post until you recover it. Similarly, when you delete a story, it stays in the folder for up to 24 hours, until you have added it to highlights or story archives.

However, the posts and stories in the recently deleted folder cannot be recovered after 30 days or 24 hours have passed, respectively. Instagram comments, likes, or posts from deactivated or banned accounts cannot be recovered once deleted.

Part 2. 5 Effective Ways to See Deleted Instagram Posts

Way 1. By Instagram tracker-Msafely

Instagram trackers or parental control apps like Msafely are among the top choices for seeing deleted Instagram posts. With Msafely, you can monitor your family’s Instagram activity remotely. It is a helpful option for parents who want to ensure their child’s online safety. Let’s say your child uploaded a story or a post that seemed suspicious to you, but they deleted it instantly. In such situations, you may not be able to view it as you cannot see old Instagram stories of others or deleted Instagram pics.

The only option is to access the ‘recently deleted’ folder to see what they deleted before it expires. If you have physical access to the phone, open the folder and check it. However, in case you do not have access to their mobile phone, the simplest way is to see their deleted Instagram photos or stories remotely via Msafely. This app allows you to keep an eye on your child’s online activity (including texts, call logs, installed apps, and more) even when you’re away.

With Msafely, you can:

🔹 Full message monitoring

• View all sent and received DMs (text, photos, videos).
• Recover deleted messages to prevent hiding of inappropriate chats.
• Keyword alerts for bullying, explicit content, or dangerous topics.

🔹 Link safety check

• Scan all shared links in DMs for scams, malware, or adult content.
• Receive risk assessments to prioritize parental intervention.

🔹 Follower & Following oversight

• Track his followers and following list secretly.

🔹 Post & activity review

• Monitor someone's posts (including private and archived posts), Stories, and Reels in real-time.
• Review likes, comments, and tags remotely.

Suitable for: Family

Steps to use:

Step 1. Go to Msafely website and register a free Msafely account with your email.

Step 2. Select a suitable plan and connect the target phone with your Msafely account.

Step 3. Go to the Msafely Control Panel and tap the Instagram icon to view deleted Instagram posts or stories.

🎯 Success rate: ✰✰✰✰✰

Way 2. Check Instagram’s 'Recently Deleted' folder

As we’ve mentioned earlier, Instagram’s Recently Deleted folder is the only place within the app where you can find deleted Instagram posts. It does not give you access to access to other social media on the phone (unlike Msafely), but you might be able to recover deleted photos from your or your child’s phone if you check the folder in time.

Suitable for: Self & family

Steps to use

Step 1. Open the Instagram app on your phone and click on your profile icon on the bottom right corner.

Step 2. Click on the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top-right corner.

Step 3. Select ‘Your Activity’ and look for ‘Recently Deleted.’

Step 4. When you tap Recently Deleted, you’ll find photos, videos (deleted within the last 30 days) and stories (deleted less than 24 hours earlier)

Now, you can see, recover, or delete the post or story from the Recently Deleted folder. Tap on the post you want to recover or delete permanently, and select ‘recover’ or ‘delete’ accordingly. You might need to enter an OTP for to carry out the action.

🎯 Success rate: ✰✰✰✰

Way 3. Check Google Photos or iCloud Backup

Data backup can be a lifesaver in various scenarios, such as when you want to see old Instagram stories of others. With Google Photos or iCloud backup, you can easily view deleted Instagram photos and videos on your, your children’s, or your friend’s phone if backup was turned on already.

Suitable for: Self, family, and friends

Steps to view deleted Instagram posts via Google Photos:

Step 1. Open the Google Photos app or visit photos.google.com.

Step 2. Select ‘Search’ and type ‘Instagram’ to see posts.

You’ll see the post if the last backup was before the post was deleted. Otherwise, look for the photos and videos in the Trash folder. Similarly, you can see deleted Instagram post through iCloud backup with the below-mentioned steps.

Steps to view deleted Instagram posts via iCloud backup:

Step 1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone and tap Albums.

Step 2. Scroll down to Recently Deleted.

Here you’ll find the recently deleted photos as well, allowing you to view and recover the deleted posts.

🎯 Success rate: ✰✰✰

Way 4. Check in Archive section

If you wonder, “Why did my Instagram post disappear when I did not delete it,” you might have archived it. Archiving a post is a useful choice when you want to hide a photo or video, but do not wish to delete it forever. The archiving option allows you to hide the post which you can unarchive later.

Suitable for: Self

Steps to use:

Seeing archived posts on Instagram is super-easy, just follow these three steps:

Step 1. Open the Instagram app on the target phone and click on the profile icon.

Step 2. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) to open the settings.

Step 3. Look for the ‘Archives’ tab and select ‘posts’ from the options.

🎯 Success rate: ✰✰✰

Way 5. Check screenshots or browser cache

Snooping into someone’s phone can be challenging and might not always give expected results, but that does not eliminate the chances of finding the post you are looking for. If you can get your hands on their phone, immediately go to their gallery and look for screenshots. People often screenshot their posts before deleting them from social media, allowing you to see posts deleted from Instagram.

Also, did you know that Google indexes pages on the internet, including social media, to improve its search results? While Google shows the indexed pages as SERPs to help users, it can also help you with seeing deleted Instagram posts. If the post you want to see was indexed before it was deleted, you may be able to find it through browser cache.

Suitable for: Anyone’s Instagram post

Steps to use:

Step 1. Open Google Chrome and search for the Instagram username.

Step 2. Click on the small green arrow next to the URL in the search results.

Step 3. Click on the arrow and tap ‘cached.’

Step 4. You will see the cached version of the account, which might show you recently deleted posts as well.

🎯 Success rate: ✰✰

Part 3. Avoid Risky Apps: The Truth About Instagram Recovery Tools

Though we’ve shared the best ways to see deleted Instagram posts, you might still be tempted to try apps that claim to recover deleted Instagram posts and stories.

News flash: They’re not worth the risk!

When looking for “How to see deleted Instagram posts,” you might come across apps that promise you to recover deleted posts and stories, not only from your account, but other public accounts as well. Beware; these deleted Instagram posts viewer software are typically phishing tools, robbing you of your private information, including account credentials.

We recommend you to not try any such apps even if they are ‘free’ and not share your (or another person’s) Instagram credentials to these apps to view or recover deleted Instagram photos.

Part 4. Smart Ways to Prevent Losing Instagram Posts

If you have been able to recover deleted photos from the Recently Deleted folder before they vanished permanently, congratulations!

However, if you want, you can hide photos from your Instagram account without deleting them. Here are some ways you can avoid losing Instagram posts in the future:

#1. Enable automatic photo backups

Whether use an Android device or an iPhone, you can enable automatic backup for all photos to ensure you do not lose any. It saves you the hassle of finding old or deleted Instagram posts when you have the photos/ reels already backed up.

To enable Google Photos backup:

Step 1. Open the Google Photos app.

Step 2. Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.

Step 3. Select ‘Photos settings.’

Step 4. Go to ‘Backup and sync’ and toggle it to turn on.

Step 5. You can also look for ‘Device Folders’ and turn on the backup for ‘Instagram’ if available.

To enable iCloud Photos backup:

Step 1. Go to Setting on the phone and select the profile.

Step 2. Open iCloud and click on Photos.

Step 3. Select ‘Sync this iPhone’ or turn on ‘iCloud Photos.’

Step 4. It will sync and save all the Instagram-saved photos in your camera roll to cloud.

#2. Use the archive feature

Instead of deleting an Instagram post, you can simply archive it to view it later. Follow this simple method to archive posts on Instagram:

Step 1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.

Step 2. Find the post you want to archive and tap the three dots in the top-right corner.

Step 3. Select ‘Archive’ from the options.

Later, you can unarchive the post to share it with your followers again.

#3. Save drafts before posting

In case you do not want to post a picture or video, but want to keep it safe on Instagram, simply safe it as draft before posting. You can edit or post the drafted posts anytime you want.

Part 5. Conclusion

Finding and seeing deleted Instagram posts can be a hassle, but you can try the above-mentioned methods when thinking, “How to see deleted Instagram posts?” You can check the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder in your Instagram app or look for the deleted posts in Archives in case you accidentally archived them. If you want to see someone else’s deleted posts on Instagram, checking their Google Photos or iCloud backup is a suitable option other than looking for screenshots or browser cache in their phone. However, when looking for an all-in-one solution to view your family’s deleted or archived posts and storied remotely, Msafely can be the best choice. Msafely gives you insights into sent, received, and deleted messages on the target device’s Instagram app, along with media on the phone.

Part 6. FAQs

Q1. Can you find deleted posts on Instagram?

You can find deleted posts in the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder on your Instagram app. Click on your profile icon in the bottom right corner in the Instagram app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines). Click on ‘Your Activity’ and select ‘Recently Deleted’ to view recently deleted posts and stories.

Q2. Can a deleted Instagram post still be seen?

No, you cannot see a deleted Instagram post from another user until they restore it. You can find your deleted Instagram posts in the Recently Deleted folder after until 30 days of deleting it.

Q3. How to recover permanently deleted photos from Instagram after 30 days?

Unfortunately, you cannot recover permanently deleted photos from Instagram after 30 days when they’re removed automatically from the Recently Deleted folder. You can look for the photos in Google Photos/ iCloud backup though.

Q4. Can Instagram photos be recovered?

If you have archived or deleted your photos, you can recover them. Archived photos can be unarchived any time you want, without any time period restriction. However, deleted photos are available only up to 30 days after deletion.

Q5. How to see someone else's deleted Instagram photos?

You cannot see someone else’s deleted Instagram photos through the app or a deleted Instagram post viewer. If you’re worried about your child’s online safety, using a parental control app like Msafely can help you see their deleted Instagram photos remotely.