Instagram Live & Stories guides

Instagram deletes live broadcasts when they end and stories after 24 hours. These guides explain exactly what survives, for how long, and what can still be watched afterwards.

How to Watch Old Instagram Live Videos

You cannot watch an old Instagram Live on Instagram itself. When a broadcast ends, Instagram deletes it, unless the creator shared it to their profile, and even then only for 30 days. The only way to watch one afterwards is through an archive that recorded the stream while it was live, such as IGLiveStream.

How to Watch Old Instagram Stories After They Expire

Instagram stories disappear from a profile after 24 hours. The person who posted them can still see them in their own private Stories Archive, but nobody else can - unless the story was saved to a Highlight, or captured by an archive while it was live. IGLiveStream preserves stories from public figure accounts.

How to Find Instagram Live Streams Happening Now

Instagram shows live broadcasts from accounts you already follow at the front of your Stories tray, marked with a LIVE ring. There is no global directory of who is live right now, Instagram deliberately does not provide one, so discovering lives from accounts you do not follow means checking profiles individually.

Can You Watch Instagram Lives After They End?

Usually not. Instagram deletes a live broadcast the moment it ends unless the creator chooses to share a replay, and shared replays are removed automatically after 30 days. Once that window closes the video is gone from Instagram permanently, and only an external archive that recorded it can still show it.

Instagram Live vs Stories: What's the Difference?

An Instagram Live is a real-time broadcast that viewers watch as it happens and that is deleted when it ends. A story is a pre-recorded photo or video clip that stays visible for 24 hours. Lives can run for hours; stories are capped at 60 seconds per clip. Both disappear, on different timers.

What Is an Instagram Live Archive?

An Instagram live archive is a collection of Instagram Live broadcasts and stories recorded while they were happening and kept watchable afterwards. Because Instagram deletes lives when they end and stories after 24 hours, an archive is the only way to watch content that has already expired.