How to Put a Date on an Instagram Story + Troubleshooting

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Add the date to an IG story

Co-authored by Rain Kengly Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: September 24, 2025 Fact Checked

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Adding a Date

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Troubleshooting

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FAQ

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Video

Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours, but you can add a date to them so you'll know when it was last used if you want to move them to your Highlights or archive. Currently, there's no date sticker, but you can easily input the date and customize it yourself. This wikiHow will show you how to put a date on an Instagram story.

Adding Dates to Instagram Stories

Tap the circular button to take a new picture for your Story. Then, tap the Aa icon at the top-right corner of the screen, type the date, and then select the customizations.

Section 1 of 3:

Adding a Date

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1
Open Instagram. The app icon is a camera inside a square that’s a gradient from yellow to purple. You can find this app on your home screen, in the app drawer, or by searching.
- Log in if prompted.
- While there's no built-in date sticker in Instagram, you can easily add it manually and customize the text.
You can also tap the camera icon in the top left corner of your screen.^{[1]
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Tap the circular button to take a new picture for your Story. You can also hold down the button to record a video, select an image or video from your gallery, or make a video with special effects like the Boomerang or Rewind options at the bottom of the camera screen.^{[2]
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- You can tap the two arrows icon to switch the active camera from forward-facing mode to backward-facing mode.
- You can also add effects to your photos and videos by tapping the face icon.
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Tap the Aa icon. You'll find this in the top right corner of your screen.^{[3]
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- Your keyboard will slide up from the bottom, and you can write the date on the Story.
You can write out the full month so the date reads, "November 19, 2019," or you can keep it short by typing "11/19/19."
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Edit the text. After you type, you can change the size of the font by dragging the slider up and down on the left side of the screen. You can change the color of the font by tapping a color above your keyboard, and you can change the font style by tapping "Classic," "Modern," "Neon," "Typewriter," "Strong," and more.
- When you're done editing your font, tap Done in the top right corner of your screen.
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Tap Your story. You'll see this in the bottom right corner of your screen. This will upload your post to your story.
- Alternatively, tap Close friends to share with your Close friends list, or tap the arrow icon to select individual users.

Section 2 of 3:

Troubleshooting

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Cancel your current Story creation, and then try uploading it again. This may fix any minor app bugs that were preventing you from using it properly.
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Restart your device. If you're having trouble adding the date on Instagram, try restarting your device fully.
- On iPhone: Press and hold the side button (or side button + Home button) until the screen turns black and you see the Apple logo.
- On iPad: Press and hold the top button (or top button + Home button) until the screen turns black and you see the Apple logo.https://support.apple.com/en-us/102642
- On Android: Hold down the Power button, and select Power off from the menu. Wait 30 seconds, and then hold the Power button to turn your device on again.
If you're running an older version of Instagram, you won't have access to new features and bug fixes. Open the App Store or Google Play Store, search for Instagram, and look for an Update button.

Section 3 of 3:

Frequently Asked Questions

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What happened to the date sticker on Instagram Stories? While you could add the date using a sticker in the past, Instagram has removed this feature. However, you can still manually add the date on Instagram Stories using the text option.
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How do I add the time to my Instagram Story? Instagram has a time sticker you can use to easily add the current time to your Story. You'll just need to set up a Story post as normal, and then tap the "sticker" icon during editing. From there, you can select the time sticker. Tap and drag to move its location.