How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll?

The Instagram highlight is a feature that helps you organize photos or videos into desired categories to allow easy access whenever you need them. You do not need to scroll through dozens of files to find a picture when you already organize it in categories, which you can do from your device’s camera roll. This guide will tell you How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll and start scrolling again.

Why Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll?

The Instagram story highlight feature lets you add photos if you have first added the images to your Story, which implies that story highlights depend largely on pictures or videos in your Instagram story.

However, while a photo or video in an Instagram story will vanish after twenty-four hours, pictures you add to your story highlight will stick to your profile without a time limit unless you delete them. Hence, it becomes needful to add important photos to highlights so you can access them easily in the future.

So, why add photos to Instagram highlights from the camera roll?

You may want to add photos to your Instagram highlights from the camera roll if they are private and you do not want people to see them in Your Story.

Adding Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

You may not be able to add photos to Instagram highlights without first adding them to Your Story, but you can control who can see the Story; you will add images to your Instagram Stories, but they will not appear to the general public.

There are two ways of doing this, and you should consider both tweaks to know which one will suit you since both tweaks have advantages and disadvantages.

Tweak 1: Share Story With Close Friends

Instagram features an option to share stories with all your followers or selected followers using the Close Friends Option. Using this tweak implies that you will add your desired photo to your Instagram story, but it will only appear in your close friend’s feed, and you can limit the number of followers in this circle to one. Let’s get into the process right away.

Step 1: Sign In To Your Account

Launch the Instagram app from your mobile device and sign in to your account.

Step 2: Create a New story

There are a few approaches to creating a story from the homepage, one of which is to swipe to the right side to activate the camera. Then you can click on the camera roll at the bottom left of the page.

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

Alternatively, tap Your Story at the top left of the homepage on the same line as your friend’s Story. 

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

It will take you to your camera roll, where you can add new photos if you do not have an active Story.

However, it will display stories you recently added if they are still active, and you need to tap your profile picture at the top left corner of the page while your Story is displaying. The profile picture on this page is more or less an add button with a plus (+) sign, which will take you to your camera roll when you tap it, but you can only add a photo at a time from here.

you need to tap your profile picture

Also, you can tap the create new (the plus embedded in a square) icon at the top right of the homepage, just before the messages icon, and a dropdown menu will display in the same area.

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

Now, tap on the story option.

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

It will take you to the camera roll, where you can select single or multiple photos.

Step 3: Select the Desired Photos

Scroll through the photos in your camera roll to select your desired images. You can tap on a picture if you do not intend to add more than one. Otherwise, long-press the first photo to choose it before tapping all others individually, but you should use the create new icon from the homepage so you can add multiple images.

Scroll through the photos in your camera roll to select your desired images

Tap the Next button at the bottom left of the page if you selected multiple images.

Next button at the bottom left of the page if you selected multiple images

Next, choose how you want the photos to appear in Your Story – Layout or Separate.

choose how you want the photos to appear in Your Story - Layout or Separate

Step 4: Make Changes to the Photos

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

You can make changes to the photos on the following page. Tap the Next button at the bottom right. You will see the Close Friends button if you choose only one picture, but you should not tap it.

Step 5:  Select Who Can See the Photo

Now tap the Close Friends button to select a close friend with whom you would like to share the photo. Choosing a friend that is very close to you or not usually online is advisable since you don’t want the image in public. Tap the radio button on a follower’s account to select them.

Now tap the Close Friends button to select a close friend with whom you would like to share the photo

Next, tap Done, then the Share button, and finally tap Done.

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

Your Story is now live, and you will see your profile picture in a green circle indicating that it is only visible to the close friend you selected, but you need to change that Setting too. To do this:

  • Tap Your Story at the top left of the homepage.
Tap Your Story at the top left of the homepage
  • Tap the More button on the story page.
Tap the More button on the story page
  • Select story settings.
Select story settings
  • Tap the 1-person option under close friends.
How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll
  • Tap the radio button on the close friend’s name to unselect the person.
How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll
  • Tap Done, and the Story is now hidden from all your followers.
Tap Done and the Story is now hidden from all your followers
  • Note that you do not need to repeat that with other pictures if you added multiple photos to Your Story.

Step 6: Add the Story to Highlights

You can add the Story to highlight after twenty-four hours as follows:

  • Tap your display picture at the bottom right of the homepage.
Tap your display picture at the bottom right of the homepage
  • From your profile page, tap the New (+) icon under the story highlights section.
tap the New (+) icon under the story highlights section
  • Next, select the photos you wish to add, and you can tap as many photos as possible.
  • Click Next at the top of the page.
Click Next at the top of the page
  • Customize the Highlights name and tap Done at the top of the page.
Customize the Highlights name and tap Done at the top of the page

You have successfully added photos to your Instagram highlight from the camera roll, but the close friend you selected while adding the picture to Your Story may still see it before you remove them.

Tweak 2: Make Your Account Private

Your followers won’t see Your Story When you make your account private – a reason why it is better than the first tweak. However, it is best for accounts with only a few followers and not recommendable if your followers are up to a thousand; it can take a lot of time. Let’s get to it!

Step 1: Go to Profile

Tap your profile picture at the bottom right

Tap your profile picture at the bottom right.

Step 2: Menu

How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll

Tap the menu button – the three horizontal lines – at the top right of the homepage.

Step 3: Settings

Select settings from the menu pop-up options

Select settings from the menu pop-up options.

Step 4: Privacy

tap on the Privacy option

On the Settings page, tap on the Privacy option.

Step 5: Switch To Private

Tap on the Private Account toggle under the Account Privacy section

Tap on the Private Account toggle under the Account Privacy section.

Next, tap Switch to Private in the pop-up prompt.

tap Switch to Private in the pop-up prompt

Step 6: Change Your Story Settings

You need to hide Your Story from your followers in the Privacy Settings, which is perhaps, the most tricky part of this tweak. You can easily do this if you have only a few followers, but you may spend a lot of time doing it with too many followers. Nevertheless, check out the steps below:

  • Tap the Story option on the Privacy Settings page.
Tap the Story option on the Privacy Settings page
  • Tap 0 people under the Hide Story From option in the viewing section.
Tap 0 people under the Hide Story From option in the viewing section
  • Tap the radio button next to each follower’s name till you have selected all your followers.
Tap the radio button next to each followers name till you have selected all your followers

Your account activity is now private; you can add photos to Your Story, and your followers will not see them.

Step 7: Add the Desired Photos to Your Story

Add the desired photos to your Story with the normal process below:

  • Go to the homepage and tap the create new button at the top.
Go to the homepage and tap the create new button at the top
  • Select Story in the dropdown menu.
How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll
  • Select the desired photos from your camera roll.
Select the desired photos from your camera roll
  • Tap next at the bottom right corner.
Tap next at the bottom right corner
  • Choose how the photos should appear in Your Story – Layout or Separate – if you selected multiple photos.
  • Edit the appearance of the photos if it pleases you. You can add stickers, texts, emojis, etc. Tap Next to proceed or to skip this step.
Tap Next to proceed or to skip this step
  • Choose to share the photos in Your Story.
Choose to share the photos in Your Story
  • Tap the Share button.
Tap the Share button
  • Tap Done.

Step 8: Add the Story to Highlights

The Photos in Your Story will not be visible to your friends unless you fail to select a friend while changing Your Story settings, and you can add it to the highlight after 24 hours as follows:

  • Tap your display picture at the bottom right of the homepage.
Tap your display picture at the bottom right of the homepage
  • Tap New in the highlights section under the Edit profile button.
How To Add Photos To Instagram Highlights From Camera Roll
  • Select the Photos by tapping them individually.
  • Tap Next at the top of the page.
Tap Next at the top of the page
  • Customize the Highlight’s name, and tap Done at the top right corner.
Tap Done at the top right corner

You should not delete the Story or set your account to the public before 24 hours; you may need to delay sharing public posts until later.

Follow steps one to six above to set your account to public and change the Story settings after 24 hours.

Add Story To Highlights Under 24 Hours

You can add Story to highlight before the 24-hour mark, but you should not switch your account to public.

  • Tap Your Story from the homepage to view the live Story.
Tap Your Story from the homepage to view the live Story
  • Tap the Highlights option at the bottom right.
Tap the Highlights option at the bottom right
  • Tap New in the Add to highlights pop-up to create a new highlight, or tap an existing highlight to add the photo.
Tap an existing highlight to add the photo
  • Choose a name for the highlight and tap Add below it.
Choose a name for the highlight and tap Add below it.
  • Repeat the same for other photos in the story.

Conclusion

The first tweak is best if you have too many followers and do not mind if the follower in your close friend sees the photos in Your Story, while the second is best if you have only a few followers and can wait till after 24 hours before adding public posts or Story.

Read another article on How to Go Back to Old Instagram?

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