← All export guides

Instagram: request and upload your data

Instagram lets you download a full archive of everything you've posted — feed posts, reels, stories, archived posts, captions, hashtags, locations, and the original photos and videos at full quality. You request it once, Instagram emails you when it's ready (usually within 24 hours), then you download the .zip and upload it here.

Request your archive

You can do this on your phone (recommended — faster) or via instagram.com.

On your phone (Instagram app)

  1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile (bottom-right tab).
  2. Tap the three lines (☰) in the top right.
  3. Tap Settings and activity.
  4. Tap Accounts Center at the very top of the menu.
  5. Tap Your information and permissions.
  6. Tap Download your information.
  7. Tap Download or transfer information.
  8. Pick the Instagram account you want to export. (If you have more than one, do them separately.)
  9. Choose Some of your information.
  10. Under "Your Instagram activity", check the boxes for:
    • Posts (your feed posts and photos)
    • Reels (your reels)
    • Stories (recent stories — older ones may not be included)
    • Story highlights (the ones pinned to your profile)
    • Archived posts (anything you've archived but not deleted)
    • Profile information (your bio, profile photo)
    You can skip everything else (followers, messages, etc.) — we don't need them.
  11. Tap Next.
  12. Choose Download to device.
  13. Set the date range to All time (unless you have a specific reason to limit it).
  14. Set format to JSON (preferred — easier for us to parse) or HTML (easier for you to browse). Either works.
  15. Set media quality to High. (This is the important one — "Medium" downsamples your photos.)
  16. Tap Create files.

On instagram.com (web)

  1. Go to instagram.com and log in.
  2. Click the three lines (☰) in the bottom-left.
  3. Click Your activity → Download your information.
  4. Same flow as on the app from step 7 onward.

Wait for the email

Instagram emails you when the archive is ready. Usually within 24 hours, sometimes up to 48. The email will be from no-reply@mail.instagram.com with subject like "Your Instagram information is ready to be downloaded".

Important: the download link expires after 4 days. Don't request your archive while you're about to leave for vacation.

Download the .zip

  1. Open the email and click Download information.
  2. Instagram may ask you to log in again to confirm.
  3. The .zip downloads to your phone or computer. The file will be named something like instagram-yourusername-2026-04-18-abc123.zip.
  4. Note the file size — for an active account this is usually 1–10 GB. If it's bigger than 5 GB, see below.

If the .zip is bigger than 5 GB

Instagram splits very large archives into multiple .zip files automatically (you'll see part-1-of-3.zip, etc.). Upload all parts; we reassemble them on our end.

Upload to your intake

  1. Come back to your intake page (the link Bryce sent you).
  2. Scroll down to Upload your platform exports.
  3. Drag the .zip into the upload zone, OR click the zone and choose the file.
  4. Wait for the progress bar to finish — large files take a few minutes on a typical home connection.
  5. You'll see Uploaded ✓ next to the file when it's done.

That's it. We get notified, process the archive, and pull the best photos + your real captions to build the gallery and copy on your site.

Stuck? Use the "Ask us" button on any question in your intake page.