You’re most likely only seeing Highlights on Instagram because of how Instagram’s current design and settings work, not because something is “wrong” with your account.

Quick Scoop: What “only seeing highlights” usually means

When someone says “why am I only seeing highlights on Instagram,” it can mean a few slightly different things.

Here are the most common scenarios:

  1. You only see highlight circles on people’s profiles, not regular posts.
  2. You used to see someone’s Stories, but now you only see their Highlights.
  3. On your own profile, only a few highlight stories show, or highlights behave weirdly.

The fix and explanation depend on which of these fits you.

Scenario 1: On someone’s profile, you mostly see Highlights

This is actually normal design :

  • Highlights are the row of circles under a profile’s bio that stay permanently until the user deletes them.
  • Regular posts are down in the grid; if someone posts very rarely, you might see only a few posts but a lot of highlights.
  • Some creators intentionally use Highlights as their main “menu” (About, Q&A, Services, etc.) so your eye is drawn to those first.

In other words, Instagram is not “hiding” posts; you’re just noticing that Highlights are pinned and always visible, while posts and stories come and go.

Think of Highlights like a website’s fixed navigation bar – always at the top – while posts are more like blog entries that move down the page.

Scenario 2: You used to see their Stories, now only Highlights show

If you’re seeing no new Stories , just old Highlights:

  • They may have stopped posting stories recently, so you only see older stuff saved as Highlights.
  • They might have changed Story privacy settings so you’re hidden from their current stories but can still see Highlights they saved earlier.
* Stories can be limited to “Close Friends” or hidden from specific people.
* Those privacy settings carry over when stories are turned into Highlights, but they might have changed settings only for _new_ stories.
  • If their account is now Private and you don’t follow them (or got removed), you may see nothing at all — in some cases, only limited public info is visible.

What you can do (on your side):

  • Check if you still follow them and if their profile is private.
  • Try logging out/in or using another device to rule out a display bug.
  • If you know them personally and it’s important, you can politely ask if they changed their story settings.

Scenario 3: On your own profile, only some Highlight stories show

If your problem is:

“My highlights are weird — only a few stories appear, or highlights don’t load properly.”

This is a known type of glitch and settings issue many users report.

Common causes:

  • Story archive is off
    • If Instagram isn’t archiving your stories, you can’t add them to Highlights or they may disappear from the selection list.
  • Partial highlight bug after an update
    • Users have reported that after an app update, only a few stories show inside each highlight, while others vanish or appear unselected when editing.
  • App or cache glitches
    • Old app versions, corrupted cache, or weak connection can cause Highlights not to load fully or at all.

What to try:

  1. Check Story Archive setting (very important)
 * Go to your profile → menu (three lines) → settings/privacy area → “Archive & downloading” or similar.
 * Make sure “Save story to archive” is turned **on** so future stories can safely become Highlights.
  1. Update the Instagram app
    • Install the latest version; many highlight bugs are fixed quietly in updates.
  1. Clear cache / reinstall
    • On Android: clear app cache from system settings, then reopen Instagram.
 * If still broken, uninstall and reinstall the app.
  1. Check your connection
    • Switch from Wi‑Fi to mobile data (or vice versa) in case stories in highlights aren’t loading due to network issues.
  1. Wait out server glitches
    • Occasionally, highlight issues come from Instagram’s side and resolve within hours or days.

Scenario 4: You only see Highlights when someone has an active Story

Some users notice that highlights seem to vanish or only appear when there’s a fresh story on the profile ; this has been discussed in user forums as a sporadic bug.

If that’s what you’re seeing:

  • It’s not an intended feature; it’s a display glitch on some accounts or app versions.
  • Usual fixes apply:
    • Update app.
    • Log out and back in.
    • Try another device or web browser version of Instagram.
    • Wait for a backend fix.

Quick checklist: Figure out your exact situation

Ask yourself:

  1. Is this happening:
    • Only on other people’s profiles?
    • Only on my profile?
    • In the feed or just when visiting profiles?
  2. Are you:
    • Not seeing new stories at all (just old highlights)?
    • Seeing highlights that are missing some stories inside?
  3. After checking:
    • If it sounds like a privacy choice , there’s nothing you can change on your end.
    • If it sounds like a bug or archive setting , follow the steps above.

Mini example: How this plays out

Imagine you follow a creator who used to post daily stories. They now only use Instagram as a portfolio:

  • They stop posting regular stories.
  • They keep curated Highlights (“Travel”, “Work”, “Reviews”) on their profile.
  • When you visit, you’ll mostly see these Highlights and maybe a few posts, so it feels like “I only see highlights now.”

Nothing is broken — they just changed how they use the app.

TL;DR

Most likely, you’re only seeing highlights because:

  • That’s the permanent, pinned content on profiles.
  • The person changed story privacy or slowed down on posting stories.
  • Or your app has a highlight/story archive glitch that you can often fix by enabling story archive, updating the app, clearing cache, or reinstalling.

If you tell me whether it’s happening on your profile or others’ (and whether stories used to show before), I can narrow it down more precisely for your situation.