How to Delete Drafts on Instagram [Updated]

Written by Emilija Anchevska Social Media / Instagram

Twitter - 5 min read
Key Takeaways
  1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the plus sign-in at the top right corner.
  2. Tap on ‘Posts’.
  3. Instagram will show you the pictures from your gallery. Tap on the image labeled as a draft. 
  4. Tap on ‘Select’ in the upper right corner.
  5. Select the image you want to delete.
  6. Tap on ‘Delete’ at the bottom of the screen. 

As the competition among social media platforms grew, Instagram was forced to implement new features to keep its users interested in the platform.

One of the updates the company introduced was Instagram drafts. The goal was to allow users to keep the photos that were not worthy of posting within the app.

The feature also proved to be practical for users who wanted to go back and forth with the editing of their images but didn’t want to lose the previous effects.

However, if your photo draft library has become a little bit crowded it may be time to do some tidying up by deleting some of your old drafts.

To learn how to delete Instagram post drafts, keep on reading.

How to delete drafts on Instagram

Deleting Instagram drafts requires going through a few steps first. However, it is an easy and straightforward process that might help you when you want to post a photo on Instagram but then decide that you want to wait a bit.

Note: The steps are the same for iOS and Android users.

UPDATED STEPS

  1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the plus sign-in at the top right corner.

instagram plus sign

  1. Tap on ‘Posts’.
  2. Instagram will show you the pictures from your gallery. Tap on the image labeled as a draft.

instagram drafts

  1. Tap on ‘Select’ in the upper right corner.

select draft

  1. Select the image you want to delete.
  2. Tap on ‘Delete

delete instagram draft

For older Instagram versions, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the plus sign-in at the top right corner.
  2. Tap on ‘Posts’.
  3. You will see a section divided into two categories, ‘All photos’ and ‘Drafts’. Tap on the ‘Drafts’ section.

instagram drafts section

  1. Tap on ‘Manage’.

Instagram drafts manage option

  1. Tap ‘Edit’’ in the upper right corner and then select the drafts you want to delete. A blue checkmark will appear as in the screenshot below.

instagram draft blue checkmark

  1. Next, tap ‘Done’ and then tap ‘Discard Posts.’

instagram discard post option

What do drafts mean on Instagram?

A draft on Instagram is a preliminary version of your image, which you can save in the app and re-edit at any time.

A feature like this was added to make the editing process easier and to help users avoid submitting an image that they aren't happy with.

While this feature was introduced a while back, in 2016 to be more precise, some users are still not aware of it, thus missing the benefits it brings.

For instance, many social media influencers can benefit from this feature and achieve the perfect photo and post it when they think it’s the right time. In addition, drafts can serve as a scheduling tool. Every post you want to publish on a particular day can be saved in this section.

Explore also how to delete draft Reels on Instagram.

Wrapping Up

By now, you may already know how to manage Instagram drafts. However, as the platform constantly evolves, there might be some features that you haven’t heard of or old ones you are still wondering about.

In any case, you can check out the most frequently asked questions about Instagram drafts below to see if there is anything that might help you further with this option.

FAQ

How to save Instagram drafts?

As mentioned previously ‘Instagram drafts’ is a handy feature for users who want to come back to a photo that they were editing previously.

However, since the feature is not so obvious some users still struggle to save the posts as drafts.

Here is how to save Instagram drafts.

Tap on the plus sign at the top right corner.
Choose an image you want to upload.
Apply effects and then tap on the back arrow in the upper left corner.
Tap ‘Save as draft’.

Can I access Instagram drafts from the desktop?

You may also be wondering if Instagram allows accessing drafts from a desktop. Unfortunately, that is not possible. Users can only save and delete drafts from their iOS and Android phones.

How long do Instagram drafts last?

There is no set duration of Instagram drafts. Some users, however, have complained that their drafts have suddenly disappeared. There is no official explanation from Instagram for the reason why this is happening. However, several online sources suggest that this might be due to a glitch in the Instagram app, inappropriate content, or deleting and re-downloading the app again. A solution, for this, might be third-party apps that have the saving draft feature under their belt.