How to Download Your Instagram Data Before Deleting Your Account

Instagram lets you request a complete copy of your account's data before you close it - photos, videos, messages, comments, and your profile information all included. It is worth doing this before you start any deletion or deactivation, since there is no way to retrieve anything once a deletion is finalized.

How to request your data

• Log into instagram.com (or open the app) and go to Settings
• Select Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions
• Choose Download your information
• Select the Instagram account, choose which categories of data to include, and pick a file format (HTML is easiest to browse; JSON is better for importing elsewhere)
• Confirm the request - Instagram will notify you by email once the file is ready

What is included

Depending on what you select, the archive can include your photos and videos, direct messages, comments, likes, search history, saved posts, followers and following lists, and account settings. You can choose "all time" or a specific date range.

How long it takes

Most requests are ready within a few hours to a couple of days, though it can occasionally take longer for accounts with a large amount of content. You will receive a notification and an email with a download link once it is ready - the link typically stays active for a limited number of days, so download it promptly.

Where the file goes and how to open it

The archive downloads as a compressed .zip file. Unzip it on your computer or phone, and open the index.html file (if you chose HTML format) in any browser to browse your data with clickable folders, much like the app itself.

Ready to proceed?

Once you have your archive safely saved, you can move on to either deactivating temporarily or the full permanent deletion guide.