How to export your Instagram saved posts (step by step)

Maybe you've got years of saved posts and want a backup. Maybe you're tired of scrolling one endless grid and want your saves somewhere you can search. Or maybe you just want to know what Instagram has actually kept. Whatever the reason, Instagram lets you download your saved posts, and it only takes a few minutes to request.

The menus have moved around more than once, so it's easy to get lost. This guide walks through the current steps on iPhone, explains what's in the file you get, and shows what you can do with it afterwards.

Can you export Instagram saved posts?

Yes. Instagram's Download your information tool, which lives in Meta's Accounts Center, lets you request a copy of your data. You can ask for everything or just certain parts, and Saved is one of the categories you can pick on its own.

One thing to know up front: the export contains links to the posts you saved, plus the names of your collections and which posts are in each. It doesn't contain the videos or photos themselves. Those still belong to the people who posted them.

How do you export Instagram saved posts on iPhone?

Here are the steps as they appear in the Instagram app today.

Request the download

1. 1Open Instagram and go to your profile.
2. 2Tap the menu in the top corner and open Accounts Center.
3. 3Tap Your information and permissions.
4. 4Tap Download your information, then Download or transfer information.
5. 5Pick the Instagram account you want, if you have more than one.
6. 6Choose Some of your information rather than everything, which keeps the file small.
7. 7Scroll to the section with your activity and tick Saved.
8. 8Choose Download to device.
9. 9Set the date range to All time so you get every save, not just recent ones.
10. 10Set the format to JSON and tap Create files.

Tip: choose JSON, not HTML. HTML is easier to open in a browser, but JSON is what save apps read most reliably when they import your saves.

Wait for the email

Instagram prepares the file in the background and sends you an email and a notification when it's ready. For saved posts alone, this is often fairly quick, but it can take longer if your account is large. You don't need to keep the app open.

Download the file

1. 1Open the email or notification on your iPhone and follow the link.
2. 2Log in if asked, then tap Download.
3. 3The file saves to the Files app, usually in Downloads, as a zip.

The download link expires after a few days, so grab it soon after the email arrives. If it does expire, you can simply request it again.

What's inside the Instagram export?

If you unzip the file (you don't have to), you'll find a set of folders. The part you care about is a saved folder, which holds files for your saved posts and your saved collections.

Inside, each saved post appears as a link to the post on Instagram, along with the account that posted it and when you saved it. The collections file lists each collection's name and the posts inside it.

What you won't find:

• The videos or photos from the posts.
• The captions of the posts you saved.
• Saved audio, effects or places in a form most people would find useful.

So the export is best thought of as an index: a complete list of what you saved, which you can then bring somewhere more useful.

What can you do with the export?

A list of links in a JSON file isn't much use on its own. Here are the realistic options.

Keep it as a backup

Store the zip in iCloud Drive or on a computer. If your account is ever locked or you delete it, you'll still have a record of what you saved. This is worth doing once a year even if you do nothing else.

Open it on a computer

If you're comfortable with files, you can open the JSON in a text editor and see every link. It's readable but not pleasant, and there's no search beyond your editor's find tool.

Import it into a save app

This is where the export becomes useful. anoli, a free iPhone app that saves posts from Instagram, TikTok and any website into folders, can read Instagram's download directly:

1. 1Open the app and go to Settings, then Import saved posts.
2. 2Choose Instagram and pick the file from Files. There's no need to unzip it.
3. 3It reads your saves. Each Instagram collection becomes a folder with the same name.
4. 4Saves that weren't in a collection are sorted the same way as a new save: recipes to Recipes, places to Travel, and so on. Anything it isn't sure about waits in Needs sorting.

From then on, your old saves sit alongside new ones, searchable by caption, creator and your own notes. If you've ever wanted to know how to find saved reels on Instagram without scrolling, this is the long term fix.

Why export instead of just using collections?

Instagram collections are a fine way to sort saves while you're in the app, and we've compared them in detail in Instagram collections vs a save app. The export is useful when you want something collections can't give you:

• A backup you control, outside Instagram.
• Search across years of saves.
• One place for Instagram saves alongside TikTok, YouTube and web links.
• Sorting for the posts you never put in a collection, which for most people is the majority.

Common problems and fixes

Exports don't always go smoothly. These are the issues people run into most.

I can't find Download your information

It's inside Accounts Center now, not in Instagram's own settings list. Open your profile, tap the menu, tap Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions.

The file doesn't include all my saves

Check the date range. If it was left on the default, you may only have recent data. Request again with All time selected.

The import says it can't read the file

Make sure you chose JSON format and that the file you picked is the zip from Instagram (or the saved folder from inside it). If you requested HTML, request again as JSON. Our support page has more help if you're still stuck.

Some posts don't open

If a creator deleted a post, archived it or made their account private, the link in your export will no longer work. That's on Instagram's side and nothing in the export can bring it back, which is a good reason to add notes to anything important when you save it.

Should you download all your Instagram data instead?

You can choose All available information rather than Some of your information, and some people like to keep a full archive once a year. It's a much bigger file, though. It includes your messages, comments, likes and your own photos and videos, so it takes longer to prepare and longer to download over mobile data.

If your goal is to organise or back up your saves, the smaller request is better:

• It arrives sooner, because Instagram has less to package.
• It's easier to import, because there's nothing else in the file to sift through.
• It holds less personal information, which matters if you keep the file in cloud storage.

If you want both, make two requests: a full one for your records, and a Saved only one for importing.

Tip: request your saved posts export once a year, around the same time, and keep the zip. Over time you'll have a record of what you saved each year, even if posts later disappear.

Do the same for TikTok and Pinterest

Instagram isn't the only app that lets you download your saves. TikTok lets you download your data, including favourites, from Settings and privacy, Account, then Download your data. Pinterest lets you request your data from Privacy and data in its settings, and it emails you when the file is ready, which can take a few days. anoli's Import saved posts reads all three, so TikTok collections and Pinterest boards become folders too.

Keep new saves organised from now on

An export is a one off clean up. To stop the pile growing again, change how you save: instead of tapping the bookmark, tap Share and choose anoli. It files each post as you go, so you never need another big clear out.

The first time, open the share sheet, scroll the row of apps to the end, tap More, then Edit, switch anoli on and drag it to the front.

Wrapping up

Exporting your Instagram saved posts takes a few taps in Accounts Center: choose Saved, All time and JSON, then wait for the email. The file is a list of links rather than the posts themselves, which makes it a good backup and an even better starting point for a tidier system.

If you'd like your saves sorted into folders you can actually search, get anoli free on the App Store. You can read reviews from people using it or see more on the anoli home page.