How To Screenshot An Instagram Story Without Getting Caught

While you can easily screenshot an Instagram story, it's not always clear what happens when you do—especially since Instagram has previously tested showing an altert when people take screenshots of your story. Let's look at what you should know about taking screenshots of Instagram stories, including alternate methods if you need them.

Does Instagram Notify the Uploader When You Screenshot a Story?

When you take a screenshot of an Instagram Story, the person who uploaded that story won't be notified. This means you can use the usual methods to take a screenshot on Android or screenshot on your iPhone to keep pictures for safekeeping, share Stories with your friends outside of Instagram, and similar.

With that said, remember that Instagram can change this at any time. Right now, there's only one Instagram screenshot notification: Instagram users receive a ping if someone takes a screenshot of a disappearing photo in their DMs.

If you're after alternate ways to screenshot Stories on Instagram, you have an assortment of options available. Should Instagram's policy change or another feature emerge that sends alerts for more kinds of screenshots, try these options.

1. Use Airplane Mode

This is the oldest trick in the book and one that most Snapchat users will be familiar with. While Snapchat has now blocked this method, it still works on Instagram:

1. Open the Instagram app and wait for the Story to load.
2. Turn on Airplane mode. If you're unfamiliar, check out what Airplane mode is and how it works. This will turn off cellular data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and disconnect all wireless devices.
   1. On iOS, you can do this using the Control Center. On Android, you can do it from your notification toggles or from the Settings app.
3. Go back to the Instagram app, tap the Story that you want, and take a screenshot.
4. On Android, force quit the Instagram app before disabling Airplane mode. On iOS, you must uninstall and reinstall Instagram before disabling Airplane mode.

2. Use the Instagram Website

For years, Instagram fought the notion of a website. But now, it has a fully functioning site where you can view your feed, comment, post, and Instagram Stories. While it does support direct messaging, it still requires the Instagram app if you want to see a disappearing message.

The website is, in fact, so good that you can use it as a replacement for the Instagram app. And when you're using Instagram from your computer, Instagram can't tell when you've taken a screenshot. To start taking screenshots on your computer, look at how easy it is to post on Instagram from a PC or Mac to familiarize yourself with a desktop version of Instagram.

Once you're ready, navigate to Instagram.com, log in, and open the Instagram Story you want to screenshot. After opening it, take a screenshot like you normally would, using desktop screenshot tools.

3. Use a Screen Recorder

Screen recording is another workaround that doesn't require any permissions on Instagram's part. Just start recording with your preferred app and then open up Instagram. Then, go to your desired Story and record your own copy.

With the Instagram Story saved, you can use a variety of free tools to capture images from video and edit them down to a screenshot later. There are many different options for screen recording, so you can use your preferred screen recording method regardless of your current platform.

4. Use InstDown for iPhone

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InstDown lets you view and download Stories without logging into Instagram. If an account is set to private, you can't bypass this to download Stories; you can still browse anonymously on public profiles. To start searching for accounts, tap the search field and type in the URL for an Instagram post, reel, Story link, or username.

When pasting a Story link you've copied, InstDown will ask if you would like to paste it from Instagram. By granting the InstDown app pasting permission, you can easily get to your intended Instagram Story. Once pasted, you'll click find and be brought to a preview where you can download the Story.

If you want to save content for later, you can also add it to the InstDown app's Collections tab. While this will work with a reel or Instagram post, if you're going after a Story you'll be prompted to download the Story directly before it expires. If you need to get your downloaded Story elsewhere, you can also directly share the saved Story with other apps, such as free messaging apps for your phone or computer.

Similar apps exist for Android, but are sometimes taken down. Searching for "Instagram downloader" on Google Play should bring up current options; at the time of writing, Reels Downloader is a solid option.

Download: InstDown for iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. Use Another Camera

If you're in a hurry to save an Instagram Story but don't want to use third-party apps, simply use any other device you have with a camera and take a photo of your phone with the Instagram Story. The quality won't be great, but it will get the job done.

As we've seen, taking a screenshot of what you need on Instagram isn't a cause for worry. You have a variety of options to screenshot if your device's default method doesn't suit your needs for whatever reason.