How to See Your TikTok Story Archive and Save Highlights

TikTok Stories disappear from view after a day, which leaves a lot of people asking where the old ones went. If you share behind-the-scenes clips, offers or event updates, it's natural to want to find them again and keep the best ones on your profile.

I've read TikTok's help pages on Stories, and I'll be straight about what they say and what they don't. They mention a Story archive, but they only show it in one place, which is when you build a Highlight. Menu names can vary between app versions.

What the TikTok Story archive is, as the help page describes it

The help page says Stories let you share photos and videos that stay visible for 24 hours, and that you can save them to your profile using Highlights to keep them visible for longer. When TikTok describes making a Highlight, it tells you to select Stories from your Story archive. That's the archive: the collection of Stories you've posted.

What the help page doesn't do is give a standalone path such as Settings, then Archive. So I won't make one up. The route TikTok does document is the Highlights picker.

Seeing your old TikTok Stories through the Highlights picker

1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap Create Story Highlights.
3. Look through the Stories shown from your Story archive.
4. Select the ones you want, then tap Add at the bottom.

If you only want to look, you can back out before publishing anything. Nothing is posted until you choose a cover and name and publish the Highlight.

Creating a TikTok Highlight to keep Stories on your profile

1. Tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap Create Story Highlights.
3. Select the Stories you'd like from your Story archive, then tap Add at the bottom.
4. Choose a cover image and enter a name for the Highlight.
5. Publish it to your profile.

Creating a Highlight from a live Story

If you've got a current Story, TikTok says you can start from there instead. Tap Profile, tap your Story, then tap Create Story Highlights at the bottom, and carry on with the same steps.

Organising your TikTok Highlights

TikTok says you can organise Stories into different Highlights and give each one a cover and a name. That works well for a small business: one Highlight for customer questions, another for product launches, another for events.

• To edit a Highlight, press and hold it, tap Edit Highlight, change the cover, name or Stories, then tap Done.
• To delete one, press and hold it, tap Delete Highlight, then Delete to confirm.
• Highlight visibility matches the visibility settings of the original Story, according to TikTok.

Who can see your TikTok Stories and Highlights

Your Story can be viewed from your profile, your inbox and the For You and Following feeds, according to TikTok. To see who has watched, tap your profile photo, open the Story and swipe up. The total number of views shows at the bottom.

TikTok also says that people can see you viewed their Story even if your account is private or your profile view history is turned off. It's worth remembering before you browse someone else's Stories.

Deleting a TikTok Story you no longer want

1. Tap your profile photo at the top of your Following feed, inbox or profile.
2. Swipe up on the Story.
3. Tap Delete, then tap Delete again to confirm.

You can also tap Share at the bottom of the Story and then Delete. If you want a Story back later, make sure you add it to a Highlight before you delete it, because TikTok doesn't describe a way to restore a deleted one.

Who can reply to your TikTok Stories

Viewers can reply to your Story with direct messages. TikTok says you control who can reply by managing your direct message settings. If you'd like to tidy those replies afterwards, my guide to deleting TikTok messages walks through it.

Using TikTok Highlights as a shop window

A Highlight sits on your profile, so a new visitor can see your best Stories without needing to catch them in the 24-hour window. Name them clearly and put your most useful one first. If you also direct people to a link from your profile, my guide to adding Linktree to TikTok covers that.

Where you can watch other people's TikTok Stories

The archive is only about your own Stories. For other people's, TikTok says you can watch from your inbox, public profiles, the Following feed and the For You feed. You can react with an emoji or reply with a direct message. Reactions and replies to friends, meaning followers you follow back, go straight to the inbox, and otherwise they arrive as message requests.

If you can't see your TikTok Story archive

• Update the TikTok app, because Stories features change between versions.
• Check you're on your own profile and that Create Story Highlights appears.
• If you haven't posted a Story recently, there may be nothing to pick from.
• Features are sometimes tested with a limited number of users, so an option may not be available to you yet.
• If you still can't find it, use Report a problem in the app's settings.

Frequently asked questions

How do I see my TikTok Story archive?

TikTok's help page mentions the Story archive when you create a Highlight. Tap Profile, then Create Story Highlights, and choose from your Story archive.

How long do TikTok Stories last?

TikTok says Stories stay visible for 24 hours. Highlights keep them on your profile for longer.

Does TikTok have a separate archive button?

TikTok's help page doesn't describe a separate archive button. The archive appears in the Highlights picker.

Can I see who viewed my TikTok Story?

Yes. Tap your profile photo, open the Story and swipe up. The total number of views shows at the bottom.

Can people tell I viewed their Story?

TikTok says people can see you viewed their Story even if your account is private or your profile view history is turned off.

How do I delete a TikTok Highlight?

Press and hold the Highlight, tap Delete Highlight, then Delete to confirm.