How to download your Instagram data
Instagram's official export, start to finish
Short version: It lives in Accounts Center under "Download your information." Pick JSON if you want the data to be usable later, HTML if you just want to read it. Then wait for the email and grab the file before the link expires.
Step by step
- Open Instagram and go to your profile, then the menu (☰).
- Go to Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions.
- Tap Download your information, then request a download.
- Choose the accounts to include, the date range (all time is usually what you want), and the format.
- Confirm your email address and submit the request.
- Wait for the notification. It is often ready within hours, but Meta allows itself much longer, so do not leave this until the day you need it.
- Download the archive promptly. The link expires after a few days.
JSON or HTML?
HTML opens in a browser and is easy to skim, which is fine if you only want to look through old posts. JSON is the one to pick if you might ever want to search it, move it somewhere else, or feed it into another tool. If you are unsure, choose JSON.
What the export does not give you
This is the part that catches people out. The archive is a snapshot of your content, not a record of your account's life:
- No growth history. You get today's state, not how your follower count and engagement moved over months and years.
- No sense of who matters. There is no map of which followers actually engage with you, which is the thing you would need most if you had to start again.
- It goes stale immediately. Everything you post after the export is not in it, so you have to remember to repeat this forever.
- It is gone if the account goes first. If your account is disabled before you request the export, you may not be able to request one at all.
If you want a copy that stays current
Hypekept connects once and keeps mirroring your account into a vault you own, including the growth history and audience map the native export skips. You own the copy, so the platform cannot take it back.
More: the full Instagram backup guide · Instagram bans explained