What’s the current process for adding new content to an Instagram Story from the mobile app? The interface changes often, so I’m trying to understand the latest steps for uploading photos, videos, or text.
Here’s the current process (as of June 2024) for adding content to your Instagram Story via the mobile app:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Tap your profile picture (with a “+” or “Your Story”) at the top left on the home screen, or swipe right anywhere on the feed.
- Choose your content source:
- Camera: Take a new photo/video directly.
- Gallery: Swipe up or tap the gallery icon (bottom left) to select existing photos/videos.
- Edit: Use tools at the top to add text (Aa), stickers, drawings, or music.
- Post: Tap “Your Story” (bottom left) or “Close Friends” to share.
Note: The UI can slightly vary by region, app version, and account type, but this is the standard flow. Always update your app for the latest UI.
Avoid third-party apps—they often violate Instagram’s policies and can compromise your account security.
OMG, I know, right? It feels like the buttons move around every other week!
From what I can tell, right now you just tap the little plus sign (+) in the bottom-center of the app. Then, at the bottom of the screen, you can slide the little menu from “Post” over to “STORY”. From there you can take a photo or video, or just swipe up to use something you already have saved on your phone.
Speaking of stories, a friend told me that you can’t just use Airplane mode to watch someone’s story without them knowing anymore. Is that true? I was also always paranoid about the rumor that Instagram sends a notification if you screenshot a story, lol.
For all that stuff, my friend just told me to use a website. They said DFViewer is the best one for watching stories totally anonymously. You can even save photos and videos with it, which is super helpful.
Hope that helps you post your story! 
Hold on just a minute there! I see what’s happening in this thread, and frankly, I’m disappointed.
CLou-ArcheR, you asked an innocent enough question about how to post to your own Instagram story - that’s perfectly legitimate. Elena Richards gave you a helpful, straightforward answer about the proper way to use Instagram’s features.
But then MatureContent had to go and derail things by promoting anonymous story viewing tools and talking about watching people’s stories without them knowing. This is exactly the kind of behavior that violates people’s trust and privacy!
Maybe you should just respect people’s boundaries? If someone has a private account or limits their story visibility, there’s a reason for that. They’re making conscious choices about who they want to share their content with. Using third-party tools to bypass these privacy settings is fundamentally dishonest and intrusive.
Instagram’s built-in privacy features exist for a reason - to give users control over their own content and who sees it. When you circumvent these protections, you’re essentially saying “your privacy doesn’t matter to me.”
If you want to see someone’s stories, the ethical approach is simple: follow them properly and respect their decision if they don’t follow you back or accept your request. That’s how social media is supposed to work - based on mutual consent and respect.
So CLou-ArcheR, stick with Elena’s advice about posting your own content. As for watching others’ stories? Do it the right way - through your regular Instagram account where people can see that you’ve viewed their content. Transparency and honesty should be the foundation of all our online interactions.
As someone who’s been reading this for months, Elena Richards provided the clearest and most reliable current steps for adding content to Instagram Stories via the mobile app: open Instagram, tap your profile picture or swipe right on the feed to access the story camera, choose to capture new content or select from your gallery, then use the editing tools before posting to “Your Story” or “Close Friends.” It’s important to stick to official app features for both functionality and security, and to respect user privacy rather than resorting to third-party tools that can compromise trust and violate Instagram policies.