How to Add Instagram Highlights Without Followers Seeing Your Story

Our profiles on Instagram have essentially become our brand. It is a platform that allows us to showcase what our personality is like.

Since the introduction of Instagram stories that disappear in 24 hours, people have been actively sharing details of their lives. Stories on Instagram were introduced in late August of 201. As opposed to Instagram posts, stories would only stay on the feed for 24 hours and then get deleted automatically.

A few months later Instagram highlights were introduced. They are set in the space between the Instagram bio and the photo grid. Not just limited to one, highlights can be multiple, sort of like mini albums for stories. You can either add them directly after posting the story or later from the archive stories section.

Understanding Instagram Highlights

What Are Instagram Highlights?

In a way, highlights are a permanent collection of the stories. It is a more lasting and organized way to share content especially as it allows to to curate multiple highlights based on the theme. You can group your stories into distinct categories like “outfits”, “travel”, “friends” etc.

The highlights lie directly below your bio, they are represented by circular icons. On clicking the icons the highlights open showing the saved stories in a slideshow-like sequence. This feature not only enables users to highlight their favourite moments but also offers a quick and accessible way for followers to explore specific aspects of a user’s life or content. They have become a very popular tool for users, influencers, and business pages to display their brand in a very cohesive way.

Stories also provide multiple features like:

• Adding music
• Adding your location
• Stickers
• Gifs
• Tagging your friends
• Resharing stories you have been tagged in
• Post multiple pictures using layouts.

The Importance of Privacy?

While being able to share our life online has brought everyone closer, we can not ignore the threat to our safety being posed because of it. People ingress into your life, and can know sensitive information about you such as your location.

Companies have always kept user privacy a main priority, not just for the obvious ethical reasons but also because the users tend to gravitate towards platforms that allows them to enjoy and express themselves without it posting a threat to their safety.

While introducing stories, Instagram was giving paramount importance to privacy. While they allowed people to share feelings and candid moments of their lives, the disappearance takes away permanent access from the followers. Since stories do not provide permanent access to your viewers, you can be more free-minded while posting.

Stories also do not allow your followers to leave comments that are public which can save many people from unnecessary embarrassment or hate. This fosters a more secure experience for the viewers. To make a new highlight, just click the circular icon with a + in the middle under your profile picture.

How to Add Highlights in Instagram Without Story

Essentially, highlights only cater to the stories you have posted. But if for reasons that are important to you, you want to add to the highlight without your followers seeing the story, don’t worry, there is a way.

Due to privacy reasons Instagram also allows us to hide our story from certain followers. In the settings of the stories you can actually cherry pick the viewers that you want to hide the story from. This gives the user more peace of mind and a complete control over their audience. Because you are posting personal details from your life, having more control is highly necessary.

To add to a highlight secretly, here are the steps to do the same:

Step 1: Save the Picture to add in Highlights

Keep the the picture/video you want to add to your highlight in mind.

Step 2: Post on your Story

Post the media to your story like you would normally.

Step 3: Hide Your Story from Followers

In the story settings, hide the story from every one of your viewers.

Step 4: Add Story to Highlight

Add the story to the desired highlight (the highlight icon is the circular icon with a heart).

Step 5: Unhide everyone

Unhide all your viewers.

Setting Up Private Story

Our Instagram has a collection of people we are friends with but it can also include our acquaintances, our family etc.

These different groups of people might not give you the same comfort ground. Sometimes there are things we are only comfortable sharing with a certain sub-group of friends. The same way, sometimes we might only be comfortable sharing a certain story with a specific number of people.

While this would get the job done, it might be more of a hassle to hide and unhide people every time you post. Instagram launched a special little feature called “close friends”, this permits the user to share stories more intimately.

In the closed friends story, you form a list of people who will have access to the story. This is only required to be done once. Therefore , every time you post, you will be faced with two options, to post it as a normal story, or, to post it to your close friends. Choosing the close friends option will make sure your content is broadcasted exclusively to a handful of people that you picked out of your friends list. To make it easier for you, here is step by step guide:

Step 1: Tap on your profile in the bottom right of your Instagram.

Step 2: Tap the three bars on the top right corner.

Step 3: Select the option “Close Friends”.

Step 4: Select the followers you want to add to the close friends.

Step 5: Select “Done”.

Your close friends are now created. The close friend’s story has a light green halo as opposed to the normal story.

How to Add Instagram Highlights Cover Without Adding to Story?

If you wish to organize the selection of your highlights in a specific way, Instagram has options for the same as well. Initially the cover of a certain highlight is the story you first added to the respective highlight. If you wish to pick your own cover picture, here are the steps:

Step 1: Open the Highlights.

Step 2: In the bottom right corner click the three dots icon termed “More”.

Step 3: Select edit cover under the highlight icon.

Step 4: Instagram will provide you a selection of covers. The options will be all the stories you added to the highlight.

How to Create Custom Covers for Instagram Highlights?

Highlights have become a main tool for promotion and showcase for Instagram users. Therefore it is completely understandable why users want complete control over the design as well. This is why Instagram also allows you to be able to design your own cover for your highlight. This way you can match all your highlights or curate the aesthetic of your profile the way you want.

A lot of websites provide a wide range of free templates. You can make your cover by using their templates, or you can also make one on your own. Just make sure that the cover you want is in your photo album.

You will have to follow the same steps as before, which are:

• Open the Highlights.
• In the bottom right corner click the three dots icon termed “More”.
• Select edit cover under the highlight icon
• Instagram will provide you with a selection of covers.
• The first option will redirect to your photo library.
• Select the media you want as your cover.
• This will be your new cover.

How to Remove Highlights from Instagram Profile?

Instagram also heavily relies on treads. And as its users, we also follow the trends. This makes our style extremely dynamic. Now whether it be changing trends or simply a change in your mood. Your Instagram feed also caters to your dynamics.

If by any chance a certain post in your highlight doesn’t compliment the highlight, it’s very easy to delete it too. When you are editing your highlight (as shown earlier) it already shows the selected stories which are a part of your highlight, simply unselecting a story will automatically remove it from your highlight.

If you want to remove a highlight altogether, a long press on the highlight will present you with an option to remove it. Click on delete highlight and it will be permanently removed.

Conclusion

Our Instagram aesthetic is the main display of our online presence, and it’s not just about making your feed look pretty – it’s a visual story that speaks about who we are and what are aesthetic is. Their main principle is creating an experience for the followers, a vibe that resonates and invites them into the world of social media.

When someone scrolls through our feed, we want them to feel a sense of familiarity and connection. But at the same time we want it to stay true to our brand. Crafting an aesthetic is like putting together the perfect outfit; it’s a form of self-expression that’s both addictive and satisfying.

How to Add Instagram Highlights Without Followers Seeing Your Story – FAQs

1. How do I create an Instagram highlight?

Answer:

To make a new highlight, just click the circular icon with a + in the middle under your profile picture.

2. Can I see who viewed my story?

Answer:

Swipe up on your story to see the viewers.

3. What highlights should you make?

Answer:

You have complete independence over your Instagram highlights. For inspiration, we recommend looking at the page of your favourite celebrity.

4. How do I edit my highlights?

Answer:

The “More” option in the bottom right of your highlight allows you to edit your highlight in the way you want.

5. Can I see who viewed my highlight?

Answer:

After 24 hours you can only see the total view count on your story.