The short version: go to your profile, tap the three-line menu, then Your Activity, then Interactions, then Likes, and you’ll get a mixed grid of every post and reel you’ve liked, newest first. There’s no separate “liked reels only” filter, which trips people up every single day, and if you unlike something it vanishes from that list instantly with no backup.
The exact steps, right now, no guessing
Instagram buries this in a slightly different spot than it used to, so here’s where it lives in 2026:
- Open the Instagram app and go to your own profile
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner
- Tap “Your activity”
- Tap “Interactions”
- Tap “Likes”
- You’ll land on a grid called “Posts you’ve liked” which includes reels, photos, and carousels all jumbled together
Tap any thumbnail with a little play triangle in the corner and that’s a reel. Everything without one is a static post. That’s the whole system. There’s no toggle, no filter button, no “show reels only” switch, even though people search for one constantly.
One thing worth knowing before you get excited: this only works on the mobile app. On desktop browser Instagram, Your Activity is stripped right back and in most cases won’t show you this liked grid at all, so don’t waste twenty minutes hunting for it on your laptop like I did the first time a client asked me about it.
Why the list is such a mess (and why that’s not an accident)
I was helping a client pull together reel ideas for her bakery account last spring, and she was convinced she’d liked a specific reel about proofing dough back in February that she wanted to reference for her own video. We went into her liked posts together on a call. By the time we scrolled back to February her phone had loaded well over 900 liked items, all mixed, photos and reels tangled together with zero labels, and the app started stuttering on her older iPhone around the 600 mark. We never found the dough reel. She ended up recreating the idea from memory instead.
That’s the bit nobody tells you plainly: Instagram’s liked archive is not built as a research tool for you, it’s a byproduct of the like button existing. Meta has never added sorting, filtering, or search inside that grid because there’s no commercial reason to make it easy for you to mine your own likes. The feature exists so you technically have access to the data, which satisfies transparency requirements, but nobody at Instagram is incentivised to make it fast or pleasant to use.
Liked reels versus saved reels, and why the difference matters
This is where most explanations online get lazy and mash the two together, but they behave completely differently:
- Liked reels sit in one long unsorted chronological grid with no folders
- Saved reels can be organised into named collections, like “recipe ideas” or “client examples”
- Unliking a reel removes it from your liked list forever, instantly, no confirmation
- Unsaving works the same way but you’re less likely to do it by accident since saving takes a deliberate tap on the ribbon icon rather than a quick double-tap
If you’re liking reels because you want to find them again later, you’re using the wrong button. Double-tapping is muscle memory, it’s fast, and it’s exactly why that liked grid balloons into the thousands within a year for anyone who scrolls reels daily. Save the ones you want to reference. Like the ones you just want the creator to know you enjoyed. Treat them as two separate jobs, because Instagram clearly does.
What to do instead if you want your favourites findable
Once you’ve hit the limits of the liked grid, here’s what works for building a usable archive of reels:
- Switch to saving with collections for anything you might want to reference for content ideas, gift lists, recipes, or client examples
- Use Instagram’s search bar and search for keywords from the caption if you remember any specific words, since it does index some caption text
- Check the account that posted it directly, since most creators keep their reels visible on their profile grid indefinitely
- If you’re a business owner mining reels for content inspiration, keep a running note in your phone with the creator handle and rough date instead of relying on Instagram’s memory
If you’re finding your own liked reels frustrating to track down, it’s worth knowing the same limitation applies in reverse. There’s a full breakdown of how to see which reels someone else has liked on Instagram and the honest reality is it’s even more restricted than checking your own account, so don’t go down that rabbit hole expecting more than you get here.
The algorithm angle nobody mentions
Every reel you like feeds the recommendation engine, which is exactly why your Explore page and reels feed shift within days of a liking spree. If you’ve noticed your reels tab suddenly full of cooking content because you liked six sourdough videos in one evening, that’s not a coincidence, and it’s also not permanent. I’ve walked clients through cleaning this up before, and the fastest fix when your feed has drifted somewhere you don’t want it is covered in the guide on resetting your Instagram reels recommendations, which works far better than trying to unlike your way back to a clean slate one reel at a time.
For creators specifically, this matters commercially too. If you’re studying which of your own reels get liked most as research for your content strategy, that data feeds directly into how Instagram decides what to show your followers, and understanding that link is part of why creators who track this tend to see steadier performance. It’s a similar logic to the numbers behind how Instagram pays creators for reels, where the platform rewards consistent engagement patterns rather than one viral spike.
A quicker fix if reels are the problem, not the archive
Sometimes when people ask me how to find their liked reels, what they mean is they’re drowning in reels generally and want more control over the whole experience, not just the history of what they’ve clicked. If that’s you, it’s worth knowing you can mute reels from specific accounts without unfollowing anyone, or go further and turn reels off in your main feed entirely using settings that still work in 2026 despite Instagram quietly moving them around every few months.
None of that changes the fact that your existing liked reels grid will always be there, unsorted, waiting, until you unlike each one manually. There’s no bulk delete either, which is its own small annoyance if you ever decide you want a clean start.
Related reading: can i see who has viewed my instagram reels.
Frequently asked questions
Can I filter my liked posts to show only reels on Instagram?
No, Instagram does not offer a reels-only filter inside the liked posts archive as of 2026, you have to scroll the mixed grid and check for the play icon on each thumbnail to spot which items are reels.
Why can’t I find my liked reels list on Instagram’s website?
The desktop browser version of Instagram has a much thinner Your Activity section than the mobile app, and in most cases the full liked posts grid doesn’t load there at all, so you need to check from your phone.
Does unliking a reel delete it from my history permanently?
Yes, unliking a reel removes it from your liked posts archive immediately with no undo option, so if there’s a chance you’ll want to find it again later, save it into a collection instead of relying on the like button.
Can other people see which reels I’ve liked?
No, your liked reels list is private to your own account and only visible to you when you’re logged in, other people cannot view it directly from your profile.
Related reading: How to Hide Your Liked Reels From Other People on Instagram and How to Get More Views on Instagram Reels (What Moved the Needle for Me).
For the bigger picture, see my full guide to social media marketing.
Further reading
If your real worry is: whether other people can see your Instagram likes.
For anything else on Instagram, see the Instagram help page.
