How to Remove an Instagram Reel from Your Profile Grid [2023]

We all like to keep our Instagram profiles organized and professional. You have full control over what you want to keep on your profile and what not. If you post a reel on Instagram, it gets added to your profile grid also. Although there is a separate section for reels just like for IGTV videos and tagged posts, they are also shown on the main grid on your profile.

Sometimes you don’t want to show your reels on the main profile grid. This may be either because you don’t like their cover photos or you want to keep your reels and normal posts separate. This can help give your profile a more organised and aesthetically pleasing look.

Luckily, it is possible to remove a reel from your profile grid without having to delete it. There are multiple ways you can do this. Apart from that, you can also hide a reel from your Instagram profile with an archive feature. Let’s take a closer look at each of these topics.

Removing a reel from your profile grid

Instagram has a feature that lets you remove a reel from your profile grid without having to delete or archive it. The reel will still be available on your profile and people can see it in the Reels tab. Follow these simple steps –

1. Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Click on your profile picture icon in the bottom-right corner. This will take you to your profile page.
3. Now find and open the reel you wish to remove from your profile grid.
4. Click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
5. Select Remove from profile grid option.

Once you do that, the reel will be removed from your profile grid. Please note that this method doesn’t delete the reel from your profile permanently. It is still visible to the public and can be found in the Reels tab.

If your Instagram profile grid looks too cluttered and overwhelming, you can remove some reels from it that you no longer wants to display on your profile. This will make your profile more visually appealing.

How to archive an Instagram reel

If you want to remove a reel from your profile grid and also hide it from appearing in the Reels tab, the best way to do that is by using the archive feature on Instagram. This feature allows you to hide posts and reels from your profile without permanently deleting them.

After archiving, you can still see your reel in the archive folder but it will be hidden from your profile so no other person can view it. You can bring it back to your profile and make it public again at any time. Here’s how to archive an Instagram reel –

1. Launch Instagram on your smartphone.
2. Go to your profile tab.
3. Navigate to the reel you wish to archive.
4. Tap on three dots in the upper-right corner.
5. Select Archive from the list of options.
6. You’ll see a pop-up asking you to confirm your action now. Select Archive option again. That’s it!

This will move the reel to the Archive section of your profile, where it will no longer be visible to the public. It will be removed from your profile grid and Reels tab also. You can view the reel at any time by going to the Archive section.

For that, tap on the menu button (three parallel lines) in the top-right corner on your profile and then select Archive option. Now switch to Posts archive from the top and there you will find your archived reel.

How to delete a reel from your Instagram profile

If you have a reel that you no longer want visible on your Instagram, deleting it is the best way to remove it from your profile permanently. To delete an Instagram reel, go to your profile and tap on the reel.

Then select the three dots in the top-right corner and click on Delete option. Confirm the deletion and the reel will be removed from your profile. There is no way to restore the reel once it is deleted, so you should be aware of that.

How to hide a reel from your profile while posting

In this method, we will talk about how you can hide new reels that you are going to post on your Instagram profile. At the time of sharing your reel, you can choose to show it on profile grid. There is an option named “Also share to feed”. If you keep this disabled, then reel won’t appear in your profile grid. Here’s how you can do it –

1. Open Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. Go to Reels and select the video that you want to post.
3. After that, you can edit it by adding text, filter, song, emojis, and GIF.
4. On the next screen where you choose cover image and write a caption, you will see a button named “Also share to feed”. It is enabled by default. Just toggle the button to turn it off and then share your reel. This way, your reel will be posted on the reels tabs but it will not appear in your profile grid.

How to change the cover photo of an Instagram reel

If you want to remove a reel from your profile grid because of its cover photo, there is no need to do that. You can simply edit the reel’s cover photo, which will update the photo on your profile grid. This allows you to keep the reel on your profile without needing to delete it.

To change the cover photo of an Instagram reel, go to your profile and find the reel you want to update. Tap the three dots at the top-right of the reel and select “Edit”. From there you can click on the “Cover” option and then choose a frame from your video or add an image from your camera roll. Tap Done to save the changes.

How to add reel back to your profile grid

If you wish to add the reel back to your profile grid, it is possible to do that from the Reels tab. Here are the steps you need to follow –

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Go to your profile.
3. Go to the Reels tab.
4. Find and open the reel you want to add back to your profile grid.
5. Tap three dots in the bottom-right corner.
6. Click on Manage option.
7. Finally, select Add to profile grid.

Note: If you couldn’t find “Add to profile grid” option in your case, then update your Instagram app to the latest version and try again. It was not previously possible to add reels back to the profile grid but this feature has been added in the recent update.

Adding an archived reel back to your profile

If you have archived a reel to hide it from your profile grid and now you want to add it back, simply go to your profile and tap the menu button (three parallel lines) in the upper-right corner. Next, click on Archive option and then select Posts archive from the top.

Now you will the posts and reels you have archived. Open the reel you want to restore and tap on three dots. After that, select Show on profile option. This will add the reel back to your profile grid and people will be able to see and interact with it again.

Frequently asked questions

When you hide reels from your profile grid, they will no longer be visible on your profile page. This means your followers will not be able to see your reels in the grid, but they will still appear in the Reels tab of your profile.

No, they are not the same. When you remove a reel from the profile grid, it is still visible to the public. On the other hand, when you archive an Instagram reel, it is removed from the profile and no longer visible to the public. It will still be accessible to you in the Archive section but no one else can see it.

The only way to hide your Instagram reels from certain people is by making your profile private, which will prevent anyone who isn’t following you from seeing your reels. You can also block specific people on Instagram to restrict them from viewing your profile.

Yes, it is possible to put the reel back on your profile grid after it has been removed. This can be done by tapping on three dots on the reel and then selecting Manage > Add to profile grid option.

Make your profile grid look better

We hope this guide has been helpful to you in removing an Instagram reel from your profile grid. With this, you can hide reels that you no longer want to display on your profile without having to delete them.

As part of this article, we have also discussed various ways of managing Instagram reels such as hiding them with an archive, deleting the reels permanently, or changing their cover photo. If you want to ask any questions, you can share them in the comments below.