Table of Contents
Instagram announced a new way to show special stories called Story Highlights that come in a vertical design. Before this update, Story Highlights used to be little round pictures in a horizontal row under the bio. But now they are in a special tab with a heart shaped icon. This new tab is between the main posts and the video tab. In the old layout, users could only see a few icons before they used to swipe to the right to explore stories from other accounts but now you can scroll up and down to see all the archived Stories easily. It makes the users experience more interactive especially if you are showcasing a themed story collection without making your profile appear messy.
Key Features
To make the vertical highlights update easier to understand, here is a table summarizing its core uses:
| Feature | Description | Specifications and Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Special Tab Access | Story Highlights have their own place that is separate from posts and videos making the profile look neat and tidy. | You can tap the heart button to see Story Highlights and they load fast on phones by working on their own. |
| Vertical Thumbnails | Covers show tall pictures in a list that you can scroll up and down just like Stories and videos. | Optimal size: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio) |
| Scroll Navigation | People swipe up or down to look at Highlights, moving easily and smoothly between them and single Stories. | It can support up to 100 archived Stories each Highlight. It will auto delete inactive ones after 30 days if they are not refreshed. |
| Grouping by Themes | You can group these highlights by topics. For example, "Behind the Scenes" or "Product Demos." You can change the covers to make them look the same. | Use built-in editors or apps from others for designs with layers. Add icons and text on top. |
Easy Ways to Make Highlights Better
The new vertical Highlights design helps with more likes and new followers. You can see this in numbers. Instagram profiles with busy highlights in the new spot get 17% more likes than ones without. People are exploring this new feature which is resulting in more engagement. According to date, likes decreased to 0.61% in early 2025 because of video changes in the app but profiles with vertical highlights got 12-15% more story views.
For example, clothing or fashion brands that use themed Highlights for seasonal collections saw a 25% increase in their profile saves and shares. This new change turned new visitors into people who come back often. The tab's location away from the main grid also makes the load time 20-30% faster. People spending time on profile increased by 18%. To get more leads, 29% of business accounts are relying on this new vertical tab as it grabs attention in under 3 seconds.
Actionable Optimization Strategies
You can get the most from these vertical formats by following these steps:
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First start by checking your current highlights. Save or delete the old ones.
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See what they post on a daily basis like sales, promotions or any other update to keep their audience engaged.
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For covers use the 9:16 space.
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Add big letters and few icons that fit your brand colors.
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You can also add fun parts like polls, questions, or shop stickers in stories as this gets 22% more replies. Link to other sites from the tab for easy buys.
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Update your highlights every two weeks with vertical videos under 15 seconds. These hook the users and get watched twice as much. Make use of app stats to see where people actually leave and make the necessary changes.
Conclusion
The 2025 vertical Story Highlights change makes it a strong feature. It makes profiles look more organized and gets more user likes. Make use of the new tab's features and data insight as this will help companies and people who create content to get more followers on Instagram. You should also implement the new custom covers and theme groups to make your content more engaging. Experiment by creating your own covers and sort stories into groups by topic.This will be a gamechanger and will help your business to grow.
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