Instagram gives you a save button for your own stories and nothing for anyone else's. Screen recording works in a pinch but costs you quality, drops the audio on some phones and still records a view against your account. This guide covers the clean way: downloading a public account's story as the original file, with sound, from a phone or a computer, without an Instagram account being involved.
Before you start: what you can and cannot download
- Live stories from public accounts: yes, for 24 hours after they are posted.
- Highlight stories: yes, however old, as long as the owner kept them in a highlight.
- Stories from private accounts: no. Instagram serves them to approved followers only.
- Expired stories that were never added to a highlight: no. They are gone from Instagram's servers.
On iPhone (Safari or Chrome)
- In the Instagram app, open the profile and copy its @username. You can also copy a story link from the share menu; PvGram reads the username out of it.
- Open pvgram.com in Safari, paste the username and tap Open profile.
- The live stories appear as cards with the time left on each. Tap Download on the one you want, or Save all to take every live story at once.
- Safari asks whether to download. Photos go to Photos or Files depending on your settings; videos go to Files, from where you can save them to Photos.
Videos are MP4 with the original audio, including music added on Instagram. Photos are JPG at the size Instagram serves, usually 1080 by 1920 pixels.
On Android (Chrome, Samsung Internet or any browser)
- Copy the username or story link from the Instagram app.
- Open pvgram.com, paste it and tap Open profile.
- Tap Download on a story card. The file goes to your Downloads folder and appears in Gallery or Photos within a few seconds.
Some Android browsers ask for storage permission on the first download. Allow it once and later downloads are silent.
On a computer
Open pvgram.com in any browser, paste the username and click Open profile. Click Download on a card and the file lands in your Downloads folder. On a wide screen, the story grid and the highlights are all visible at once, which makes saving several stories quick. The story downloader page has the details on formats.
Downloading from highlights
Switch to the Highlights tab, pick a highlight, and its stories load with the date each was originally posted. Every card has the same Download button, and Save all works here too. This is the only way to get a story that is older than 24 hours.
Why not just screen-record?
Three reasons. First, you are logged in while recording, so your view is recorded and shown to the owner. Second, the recording is re-encoded at your screen's resolution and frame rate, usually noticeably worse than the original. Third, on iPhone, screen recording captures Instagram's audio only when the app allows it, and it often does not. A direct download gives you the original file and leaves no view behind.
About the view
When PvGram fetches a story, the request comes from PvGram's server with no Instagram account attached. There is no identity for Instagram to log, so the owner's viewer list does not change. You can read more about how this works on the how it works page.
Troubleshooting
- "This account is private." Only public accounts can be opened. There is no workaround, by design.
- "No live stories." The account has not posted in the last 24 hours. Check the Highlights tab.
- The download opens in a new tab instead of saving. On some browsers, long-press the Download button and choose "Download linked file", or use the browser's share menu to save.
- The video has no sound. Check the phone's silent switch; the file itself includes the audio track.
Respect the content
A downloaded story belongs to the person who posted it. Keep it for yourself, and if you share it, say where it came from. Do not repost someone's story as your own, and never use a download to harass anyone.
Keeping downloads organised
PvGram names each file with the username and the story's ID, so a folder of downloads stays readable weeks later. On iPhone, create an album in Photos for saved stories; on Android, a folder in Files does the same job. If you save several stories from one account, Save all keeps them in posting order, which makes it easy to rebuild the sequence later.