INDIANA – Some Instagram users were informed Wednesday that some photos have been permanently deleted from the app’s Stories archives and cannot be recovered.
“Due to a technical issue, this story is no longer available. While we’ve since fixed this issue, your story can’t be restored,” the notice said.
Meta, which owns Instagram, declined to share how many users were affected but said only those whose Stories were lost will see the notification.
Many users treat their Story Archives as a photo diary, with some using it to store pictures and videos.
Instagram doesn’t automatically save stories to your camera roll unless users turn on a setting—instead, they are auto-uploaded to the Story Archives, which is what the bug affected along with the Story Highlights.
Experts say the bug reminds people to back up photos, videos, and other media outside of an app, no matter how trustworthy the company may be.