You can delete your own photos from Instagram in under a minute
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". Instagram will ask you to confirm — tap "Delete" again, and the photo is gone. It disappears from your profile, your followers' feeds, and anywhere else it appeared on Instagram. The whole process takes about 30 seconds.
Once you delete a photo, Instagram does not keep a copy you can recover. If you think you might want the image later, save it to your phone first — you can download your own posts before deleting them.
Key Takeaways
- Deleted photos cannot be recovered from Instagram, so download the image to your phone first if you might want it later.
- The three-dot menu on any of your posts opens the delete option, which works the same way on phone and desktop.
- Deleting a photo removes it from your profile, your followers' feeds, and search results, though cached versions may linger briefly on other sites.
- Comments, likes, and shares on that photo disappear when you delete it, but Instagram does not notify followers that the post is gone.
How to find and delete a photo on your phone
Open the Instagram app and tap your profile icon at the bottom right. Scroll through your posts until you find the one you want to delete. Tap the three dots in the top right corner of that post — they appear when you hover over or tap the post itself. A menu will pop up with several options, including "Delete".
Tap "Delete" and Instagram will show a confirmation message asking "Delete post?" Tap "Delete" again to confirm. The photo is now removed from your profile and your followers' feeds. If you change your mind immediately after deleting, there is no undo button — the post is gone.
How to delete a photo from Instagram on a computer
Go to Instagram.com and log in. Click your profile icon in the top right, then click "Profile" from the dropdown menu. Find the photo you want to delete and hover your mouse over it. Three dots will appear in the top right corner of the post. Click those dots and select "Delete" from the menu.
A confirmation box will appear asking if you want to delete the post. Click "Delete" to confirm. The photo disappears from your profile and your followers' feeds the same way it does on the app.
What happens to comments, likes, and shares when you delete a photo
When you delete a photo, all the comments, likes, and shares on that post disappear too. Anyone who commented on the photo will no longer see their comment, and the like count resets to zero. If someone shared your photo to their story or sent it to a friend, that shared version may still exist in their account, but the original post on your profile is gone.
Instagram does not send a notification to your followers telling them you deleted a post. People who saw the photo before you deleted it will simply notice it is no longer on your profile if they go looking for it.
How to save a photo before deleting it
If you want to keep a copy of the photo, download it to your phone before you delete the post. On the Instagram app, open the post and tap the three dots. Select "Save" to add it to your saved collection — this keeps a copy in your Instagram account even after you delete the post from your profile. You can view saved posts anytime by going to your profile, tapping the menu icon (three horizontal lines), and selecting "Saved".
To save the actual image file to your phone, take a screenshot of the post or use a third-party tool designed for downloading Instagram photos. Instagram does not have a built-in download button, but screenshots work fine if you just want to keep the image for yourself.
What you should know about deleted photos and search engines
When you delete a photo from Instagram, it stops appearing in Instagram's search results and on your profile right away. However, search engines like Google may have already cached a copy of the page. This cached version might still show up in Google Images or Google Search for a few days or weeks, even though the photo is gone from Instagram.
If you need a photo removed from Google Search quickly, you can use Google Search Console to request removal. This is rarely urgent for personal photos, but it is an option if you are concerned about a specific image appearing in search results.
Deleting multiple photos at once
Instagram does not have a bulk delete feature that lets you remove many photos at once. You have to delete each photo individually by opening it, tapping the three dots, and selecting delete. If you want to remove a large number of posts, this will take time — there is no faster way to do it through Instagram itself.
Some third-party apps claim to offer bulk deletion, but Instagram's terms of service restrict what these tools can do, and using them carries a small risk to your account. The safest approach is to delete posts one at a time through the official Instagram app or website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a photo after I delete it?
No. Once you delete a photo from Instagram, it is permanently gone from Instagram's servers. Instagram does not have a trash folder or recovery option. If you deleted a photo by mistake, your only option is to re-upload it if you have the original file saved on your phone or computer.
Will people know I deleted a photo?
Instagram does not send notifications when you delete a post. However, people who saw the photo before you deleted it might notice it is missing if they go back to your profile. There is no way to hide the fact that a post was deleted, but most people will not notice unless they were looking for that specific photo.
What if I delete a photo that someone else shared to their story?
Deleting your photo does not remove it from other people's stories or direct messages. If someone screenshotted your photo or shared it elsewhere, that copy stays in their account. You can only delete the original post from your own profile.
Does deleting a photo remove it from Instagram's servers completely?
Instagram removes the photo from its public-facing platform immediately, but the company may keep backup copies for a period of time for technical and legal reasons. For practical purposes, the photo is gone and no longer visible to you or anyone else on Instagram.
Can I delete a photo someone else posted of me?
No, you cannot delete someone else's post. You can only delete photos you posted yourself. If someone posted a photo of you that you want removed, you can report it to Instagram or ask the person who posted it to delete it themselves.