You can delete your own photos in three taps from your phone or computer
Open Instagram and go to your profile. Find the photo you want to remove, tap the three dots in the top right corner of the post, and select Delete. Confirm when Instagram asks if you're sure. The photo disappears from your profile, your followers' feeds, and Instagram's servers within a few minutes.
If you're on a computer, the process is the same: navigate to your profile, click the three dots on the photo, and choose Delete Post. Instagram will ask you to confirm before it removes the image permanently.
Once deleted, the photo is gone from public view. Your followers won't see it anymore, and it won't show up in searches or on your profile grid. However, Instagram may keep a copy in its backup systems for a limited time before fully removing it.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete any photo you posted by opening your profile, tapping the three dots on the post, and selecting Delete.
- Deleted photos disappear from your profile, your followers' feeds, and search results within minutes.
- If someone already saved or screenshotted your photo before you deleted it, they will still have a copy on their device.
- You cannot delete photos that other people posted, even if you appear in them — you can only report them to Instagram.
- Deleting a photo removes the likes, comments, and captions associated with it.
What happens to comments and likes when you delete a photo
When you delete a post, all the comments people left on it disappear too. Any likes vanish from your like count. If someone had saved your photo to their Instagram collection, the save disappears from their saved folder on their device, though they may have already downloaded it to their phone's camera roll.
The caption you wrote also gets deleted. If you want to keep the text but remove the image, you should copy your caption before deleting the post, then create a new post with just the text or a different photo.
Deleting photos other people posted of you
You cannot delete a photo that someone else posted, even if you're in it. Instagram does not give you the power to remove other people's posts from their accounts. Instead, you can report the photo to Instagram if it violates their rules — for example, if it shows you without your permission, contains harassment, or includes intimate images you did not consent to share.
To report a photo, tap the three dots on the post and select Report. Choose the reason that best matches the problem. Instagram will review it, though they may decide the photo does not break their rules. If the photo stays up and you want it removed, you can ask the person who posted it to delete it themselves, or you can try messaging them through Instagram's direct message feature.
How to hide photos without deleting them
If you want to keep a photo but don't want it showing on your profile, you can archive it instead of deleting it. Archived photos stay in your account but disappear from your profile grid and your followers' view. Only you can see them.
To archive a photo, tap the three dots on the post and select Archive. The photo moves to your archive folder, which you can access by tapping the clock icon at the top of your profile. You can unarchive the photo anytime to put it back on your profile, or delete it permanently later if you change your mind.
Recovering a deleted photo
Once you delete a photo, Instagram does not give you a way to recover it through the app. If you deleted it by mistake, your only option is to re-upload it from your phone's camera roll or computer if you still have the original file saved there.
Instagram keeps deleted photos on its servers for a short period before removing them completely, but users cannot access this backup. If you think Instagram made an error and deleted your photo without your permission, you can contact Instagram's support through the app by going to Settings > Help > Report a Problem.
Bulk deleting multiple photos at once
Instagram does not have a built-in feature to delete many photos at the same time. You have to delete each photo individually by tapping the three dots and selecting Delete. If you want to remove dozens of old posts, this takes time — there is no shortcut.
Some third-party apps claim to let you bulk delete Instagram posts, but Instagram's rules do not allow these apps to access your account in ways that would let them delete posts on your behalf. Using them risks your account security. The safest approach is to delete posts one at a time through the official Instagram app.
What to do if you cannot delete a photo
If the three-dot menu does not appear on one of your posts, it usually means Instagram is having a temporary problem loading that part of the app. Try closing Instagram completely and opening it again. Make sure you are logged into the account that posted the photo — you cannot delete posts from accounts you do not own.
If you still cannot see the delete option after restarting the app, try deleting the photo from a computer instead of your phone. Go to Instagram.com, log in, navigate to your profile, and look for the three dots on the post. If the option still does not appear, the post may be too old or there may be a technical issue on Instagram's end. You can report the problem through Settings > Help > Report a Problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone see a photo after I delete it?
No, the photo disappears from Instagram. However, if someone saved it to their phone before you deleted it, they still have that copy. Screenshots and downloads happen outside Instagram, so deleting the post does not remove files people already saved to their devices.
Does deleting a photo affect my follower count?
No. Deleting a post does not change how many followers you have. It only removes that specific image and its associated likes and comments from your profile.
What's the difference between deleting and archiving?
Deleting removes the photo from Instagram completely. Archiving hides it from your profile and your followers' view, but you keep it in a private folder only you can see. You can unarchive it anytime to put it back on your profile.
Can I delete a photo if someone is using it in a comment or message?
Yes. Deleting your post removes the image from the main feed and your profile, but if someone quoted it or saved it elsewhere, they may still have a copy. Deleting the original post does not delete copies people made or shared in messages.
What happens to tags when I delete a photo?
When you delete a post, all tags disappear with it. If you tagged other people or locations, those tags are removed from Instagram's record of that post. The people you tagged will no longer see the photo in their tagged photos section.