Now You Can Hide Your Awful Instagram Photos Without Deleting Them
Thanks to the latest Instagram update, you can now hide your not-so-flattering selfies without really forgetting how awful they are.
According to The Verge, the photo sharing app recently introduced its new archiving feature to all users after testing last month.
The Instagram archive function is pretty obvious:
To archive a message you’ve already shared, click “…” at the top of the message and select “Archive”. You can still see it if you tap the Archive icon in the upper right corner of your profile.
Seems simple enough!
But why add an archive feature when you can just remove it? Well, in addition to allowing Instagram to store that sweet sweet data, it can increase the likelihood of you sharing messages that you normally would not, knowing that at any time you can erase your photo from public records by saving personal copy.
You can easily re-upload your photo to the stream, returning it to where it was in chronological order with a single click of the Show in Profile button. Perfect for people (like me) who want to share something interesting but ephemeral.
I plan to use the archiving feature not to hide awkward images of myself, but to compile my collection of photographs. Using it to shake off the ghost of poorly lit, filtered and framed photographs of the past while still maintaining a record of said images allows me to simultaneously present photographs that I’m proud of while hiding those that spoil my (currently monochrome ) motif. It also allows me to dig through the archive to see where I screwed up and how I have improved since then.
Like Instagram, I am of the opinion that your social media profile should be as groomed as you see fit, and giving users more granular control over what and how they share is always a blessing.