You’ve been there. You have this perfect video of a sunset, or maybe a quick tutorial on how to fix a leaky faucet, and you realize Instagram is just going to butcher it into those tiny, annoying segments. Or worse, it just cuts you off mid-sentence. It's frustrating. We want more time. We want to know how to make IG story longer without jumping through a dozen hoops or looking like we don't know how the app works.
Honestly, the "limit" on Instagram Stories has been a moving target for years. Back in the day, you were stuck with 15 seconds. Then it went to 60. Now, things are a bit more fluid, but the platform still loves to constrain us. Why? Because attention spans are short, and Meta wants to keep people scrolling. But sometimes, your content needs room to breathe.
The 60-second shift and what it means for you
Most users now have the ability to upload or record clips up to 60 seconds long that play seamlessly. If you haven't updated your app in a while, do that first. Seriously. It's the "turn it off and on again" of social media advice. Once you're updated, Instagram generally stops chopping your 45-second rant into four different slides. It just plays.
But what if you need more? What if you're trying to post a three-minute song or a five-minute vlog?
Instagram doesn't just "give" you more time because you ask nicely. You have to be smart. You have to use the ecosystem.
Leveraging Reels for the "Infinite" Story
Here is the trick most people miss. Don't post a Story. Post a Reel.
Wait, hear me out. Reels can be up to 90 seconds (and sometimes longer depending on your account's beta status). If you record your content as a Reel and then share that Reel to your Story, you've effectively bypassed the traditional Story limit. When someone views your Story, they see the Reel playing. They can tap it to see the whole thing. It's a bridge. It’s a loophole.
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It feels a bit like cheating, but it’s the most effective way to maintain high quality while pushing past the one-minute mark. Plus, the Reels algorithm might actually show your video to people who don't follow you, which is a nice little bonus for your reach.
The "Long Video" upload hack
If you have a video sitting in your camera roll that is, say, three minutes long, and you try to upload it directly to Stories, Instagram used to just take the first 60 seconds and toss the rest. Now, it usually tries to split it.
But it’s messy.
To keep things clean, use a third-party editor. I’m talking about apps like CapCut or InShot. Don't just let Instagram's internal AI do the cutting. It's blunt. It’s a hatchet. If you use a real editor, you can find the natural "breaks" in your speech or the music. You can cut at 59 seconds, then start the next clip at exactly 60 seconds.
- Upload the first 60 seconds.
- Upload the second 60 seconds.
- Add a "Part 1" and "Part 2" sticker.
It sounds simple because it is. People overcomplicate this. They look for "hacks" that involve glitching the app, but those glitches get patched. The manual split is evergreen. It’s reliable. It works every single time.
Why your Stories might feel too short (The Loop Effect)
Sometimes the issue isn't the technical limit. It's the engagement.
If you're looking for how to make IG story longer in terms of how long people actually stay on them, you need to talk about Boomerangs and loops. A Boomerang is technically very short—just a few seconds. But because it loops, it can feel infinite.
If you have a static photo, you can add a piece of music to it. Instagram allows music clips up to 15 seconds on a single photo. If you use a "Live Photo" from an iPhone and turn it into a Boomerang within the Story uploader, you gain a bit of kinetic energy that holds the eye longer than a flat JPEG ever could.
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The Music Sticker Duration trick
Did you know you can actually change how long a static image stays on screen by adjusting the music sticker?
- Select your photo.
- Tap the Music icon.
- Look for the little circle with a number in it (usually "15").
- Tap it.
- You can actually slide this down to 5 seconds or keep it at 15.
While you can't go past 15 seconds for a static image, many people have their images set to a default of 5 seconds without realizing they are cutting their own screen time by two-thirds. Max it out. Give people time to read your captions.
Third-party apps: The good, the bad, and the glitchy
I've tested a lot of these. "Continual for Instagram" or "LongStory" are popular names you’ll see in the App Store. They basically do the splitting for you.
Are they worth it?
Kinda. If you're a heavy creator who posts long-form content daily, yes. They save you the manual labor of trimming clips. But for the average person just trying to show off a concert, they're overkill. Also, be wary of any app that asks for your Instagram login credentials. You don't need to log in to an app just to trim a video. If an app asks for your password to "unlock" longer stories, delete it. It’s a scam. Your account security is worth more than a 90-second clip of your cat.
The "Live" Workaround
If you truly have something long-form to say—like a 10-minute Q&A—stop trying to use Stories.
Go Live.
Instagram Live allows for hours of broadcasting. Once the Live is over, you can share the replay to your profile. Then, you can share that replay to your Story. It creates a "Watch Full Video" link that sends people directly to the archived broadcast. This is the professional way to handle long-form narrative content. It signals to your audience that this is "event" content, not just a passing thought.
Technical glitches and the "Why isn't mine 60 seconds?" problem
I see this a lot in help forums. Someone says, "I tried to follow the steps for how to make IG story longer, but mine still cuts at 15 seconds!"
This usually happens for three reasons:
- Regional Rollouts: Instagram is notorious for testing features in certain countries (like Brazil or India) before the US or Europe.
- Account Type: Sometimes "Creator" or "Business" accounts get features before "Personal" ones. Or vice versa if it's a music-related feature.
- Cache Bloat: Your app is "remembering" old settings.
If you're stuck in the past, try offloading the app. Don't just delete it—offload it in your phone's storage settings. This keeps your data but replaces the core binaries. It forces the app to check in with the server and see, "Oh, hey, this user should actually have the 60-second limit."
Actionable Steps for Longer Content
If you want to move forward and actually start posting longer content today, follow this workflow. It’s the most efficient way to handle the platform's current architecture.
First, record your video outside of Instagram. Use your native phone camera. The quality is always better, and you aren't at the mercy of the app crashing mid-record.
Second, decide if the content is "high value." If it’s high value, post it as a Reel. Use the "Share to Stories" button. This gives you the 90-second window and keeps your Story feed from looking like a series of tiny dots at the top of the screen.
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Third, if it's a casual update, use the 60-second direct upload. If you hit the 60-second mark and you're still talking, Instagram will automatically start a second segment for the next 60 seconds. It’s much smoother than it used to be. Just make sure you aren't saying something crucial at the exact 60-second transition, as there's often a tiny "hiccup" or frame drop during the jump between segments.
Finally, keep an eye on your analytics. Longer isn't always better. If people are dropping off after the first 15 seconds, your "long" story is actually hurting your engagement rate. Use the "Exited" metric in your insights to see where people get bored. If they're leaving at the 30-second mark, that’s your cue to start editing more aggressively.
To get the best results, always check for an app update before a major post. Instagram frequently tweaks these limits without a formal announcement. What works today might be slightly different in a month, but the core principle remains: use the native camera, leverage Reels for length, and manually trim for precision.