Why is my Instagram Stories blurry? If you like posting on your Instagram story to share your day with your followers, and one of these days your Instagram Stories just wants blurry, and the pictures you uploaded a few minutes ago are not clear enough.
While this can come as a surprise, this isn’t your fault, sometimes it’s Instagram doing their usual, or your phone has a little issue.
In this guide, you will learn why your Instagram Stories are blurry, and how you can fix it by changing some settings on your iPhone and Android, and doing the most while also avoiding certain things.
READ ALSO: How The Instagram Followers And Followings List Are Ordered
Why Instagram Stories Are Blurry?
If you are wondering the reason why your Instagram Stories are blurry after posting a photo or video, we got all the right answers you need and more.
Blurry Instagram Stories may sometimes have nothing to do with the user’s device, and it may just be Instagram doing the most with their size limit and aspect ratio.
If you post a photo on your Instagram Stories, and it is over 2MB in size or has an aspect ratio of more than 1080px by 1920px (9:16), these factors can reduce the image quality. This applies to both photos and videos.
1. Photos Over 1MB
If you uploaded a photo of 1MB in size, Instagram will compress the image, and this will make it lose quality.
To avoid Instagram compressing the quality of the photo you post to your story, make sure that the image is less than 1MB in file size.
2. Your Aspects Ratio
If you post on your Instagram Story and the photo gets blurry, it is because the photo aspect ratio is not correct, too large, or too small.
And if you posted the image on Instagram, the photo-sharing app will crop and compress the quality of the photo.
The Instagram Story aspect ratio is 1080px by 1920px (9:16), and if you have an image that is wider than this, it will be cropped and compressed.
3. Photo Quality Is Too Low
If you upload a low-quality image on your Instagram Stories, it will also come out blurry.
And this will result in a bad experience if your followers are viewing the photo.
Just to make sure, when posting an image to your stories, let the photo be of high quality so as it won’t lower the post quality.
Posting an image that is too small, and has a low resolution will make Instagram stretch the photo to the end of your screen.
Which will cause the image to be blurry. Stretching the original picture you uploaded kills the quality.
4. Bad Internet Connection
If you have a slow connection, your Instagram Stories may appear blurry because of your network connection.
Instagram will reduce the quality of the image when trying to load Stories, so that it can load faster and for a better experience.
But if your connection comes up immediately, this should eradicate the problem.
If you have a bad internet connection, Instagram will make the story blurry for you to see, this is to help speed up the load time.
5. Data Saver Turns On
Using Data Saving mode on your device or the Instagram app may lower the quality of the photo.
Using this mode reduces how data is consumed on your apps, entirely. So if you want to stop the Instagram Stories blurry, you will have to turn it off.
How To Fix Blurry Instagram Stories
There are different ways to fix blurry Instagram Stories on your device.
If you have been using Stories and it just suddenly give you a blurry view, here is how to fix the problem.
This is the same solution, I use for my friend. One of these can help you too.
Fix 1: Use The Correct Aspect Ratio And Size For Your Photos
The aspect ratio is one of the key factors that determine why your Instagram Stories are blurry.
To avoid Instagram lowering the quality of your image, you will have to use an aspect ratio of 9:16, and size of 1080px by 1920px.
This alone will make the photo appear fit on the screen, and won’t stretch or be larger than the screen.
When you do this, Instagram will use the original photo and just compress it a little for your Stories.
And don’t forget to always keep to the image size, if it’s more than or less, Instagram will reduce the quality of the photo by extra large or by stretching it.
To set your photo size to 1080px by 1920px, you can use photo editing apps like Lightroom, Snapseed, etc.
These apps can help you set an aspect ratio to your picture, or you can use the 1080px by 1920px size.
Fix 2: Post-High-quality Image
Most people uploading photos on their Instagram Stories are not using a high-quality image.
And when it is posted, Instagram will compress it, and the quality of the photo goes down.
If you want to stop the blurry Instagram Stories you need to use a higher-quality image.
Use high-quality images on your Instagram Stories, with photos that are not up to 1MB in size.
This will allow Instagram to upload the photos with a higher resolution even if it’s still compressed, and you won’t even know. High-quality images don’t get blurred when uploaded to the app.
Fix 3: Check Your Internet Connection.
Another way you can use to fix this problem is by checking your internet connection.
If you are looking at a photo on Instagram Stories and it’s blurry, it means that you may have a bad internet connection.
And thus, Instagram will reduce the image quality to enable your network to load it faster.
If you upload a photo and it later turns out blurry, it may also be because of your internet connection.
But this is not quite the case, but it happens. When uploading and your internet connection fluctuate, the lower version of the image will be posted.
So to have this stop, you should use a good internet connection or just pass the time out for your connection to return.
If your mobile network isn’t as stable during that time, instead, you can use a Wi-Fi connection.
Fix 4: Adjust Your Phones Camera Settings
If you have a device that when you take a photo it will be over 3 to 5MB, you need to change the camera settings so that when you post on your Instagram Stories, the image won’t lose much quality.
Instagram will compress the image more if the size is too high. Whereas you can also get good image quality for less than 1MB.
Once you adjust your phone camera settings, you will have a better photo experience when viewing it, even if Instagram still compresses it.
And the image won’t be as blurry as when the size is too high.
To reduce the size or quality of the picture, you can use an online tool to drop the file size. Or reduce the picture quality when you take a photo with your phone.
Go to Camera app > Tap Settings icon > Picture quality > choose the medium or lowest quality.
Fix 5: Use Instagram’s Camera
Using the Instagram camera can also be a great way to avoid your photo being blurry, this is if you are just sharing a photo of yourself.
The Instagram camera can’t be your normal daily drive, but if you want to post a photo of a landscape or something natural, you can use the camera on the app.
If you are not up for this, you can still take a good photo on your phone camera.
Fix 6: Turn Off Data Saver On Instagram
Turning on Data Saver lower the quality of the photo you view on the feed and Story.
And sometimes with a bad connection, it can be blurry.
This Data Saver will make your photos and videos take a longer time to load on the app.
Even on your phone settings, Data Saver may be a great way to monitor your data cycle, but it reduces the quality of the photos which helps consume less data on your device.
To turn off Data Saver, go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced > Data Saver.
To turn off Data Saver on your Instagram settings.
Open the Instagram app, and go to your profile. Tap the 3-line at the top right > Settings >Account > Cellular data use > Turn off Data Saver.
Fix 7: Don’t Share The Photo You Receive On Social Networks
If you are a fan of uploading photos you receive from WhatsApp or other social media, you will see that there is a little bit of quality drop. But that is not the problem.
If the photo is shared multiple times before you upload it, the image will be compressed and it becomes blurry for anyone to view.
Fix 8: Update Your Instagram App
If your Instagram Story is misbehaving and doesn’t even allow you to post, and when you finally do, the images look all blurry.
Well, you can try updating the Instagram app, you don’t know if the app could have issues that aren’t widespread especially if you are using an outed version.
Go to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to update the Instagram app to the latest version.
Always do the habit of updating your apps at least once a month to get the latest app feature, it’s a way of securing your device so you don’t fall victim to hackers.
Fix 9: Uninstall And Reinstall Instagram
You have updated the app, and nothing seems to be working, well the solution you have now is to remove the app from your device.
Wait for a few minutes and download it back to your phone. This will fix the blurry Instagram Stories on your device.
You sure do know how to uninstall and install an app on your Android and iPhone.
But for context: Hold the Instagram app and drag to the top to uninstall, or tap on Delete, then confirm. Visit your phone app store to download the app.
Fix 10: Reset Network Settings
If your Instagram story is still blurring, you might as well reset your phone network settings.
This might give way to the bad network problem that is causing the image to be blurry.
Resetting the network settings will fix network problems that are causing the issues to blur your stories.
To reset your network setting on an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
If you are using an Android device, go to your phone Settings > System > Advance > Reset Options > Reset Network Settings or Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth.
Fix 11: Reboot Your Device
By just rebooting your device you might solve the problem without doing much. Restart your Android or iPhone device and check if the issue is still there.
If it’s not, you can try force-stopping the Instagram app and force restarting your iPhone. After that check your Instagram Stories if it is still blurry.
Conclusion
If you upload photos on social media, you will know that Instagram is no exception to compressing photos.
This is done for a better experience, you cannot post the full quality of a photo on the app. But it will look as if nothing happen, but it did happen.
But it doesn’t justify if you have blurry Instagram Stories, doing the right thing can help you fix the problem.
This may be a bug, a server downtime, or the app just doing the usual. Updating and following some of the fixes above will remove the problem.
READ ALSO: How To Stop Instagram From Auto-saving Photos To Camera Roll
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Instagram compress photos over 1MB?
Yes, Instagram will compress your photos if the file size is over 1MB, and If your aspect ratio isn’t correct, then Instagram will crop it and compress your image.
Can a picture be 1MB?
Yes, a picture can be 1MB or less than if you resize the photo and the image quality won’t be reduced. You can use 1080px by 1920px to get a better resolution and still keep it under 1MB.
How do I make my picture fit in 1MB?
To reduce the size or quality of the picture, you can use an online tool to drop the quality. Or reduce the picture quality when you take a photo with your phone. Go to Camera app > Tap Settings icon > Picture quality > choose the medium or lowest quality.
Is it true that Instagram compresses images during the upload?
Yes, Instagram compresses images of anything you make and upload. This applies to all social media. This reduces the quality a bit, but not so much.
Does Instagram compress photos in DMs
Yes, Instagram compresses your photos in DMs. If you send an image to anyone, Instagram will compress the image.
How do I stop Instagram from making my stories blurry?
Upload high-quality images that the file size is not up to 1MB. If you have a photo that is not up to 1MB, you will hardly know the image is blurry.
Why is my Instagram story getting blurry?
There are different reasons, this may be because of some downtime, not so common, a bad internet connection, you upload a poor quality image, etc.
What is the maximum quality of an Instagram story?
The dimensions for Instagram Stories are 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels tall (1080 x 1920, or 1080p resolution). Your Instagram Story size should have an aspect ratio of 9:16.
The minimum width is 500 pixels, the maximum video length is 15 seconds, and the accepted video file types are MP4, MOV, or GIF.
Why can’t I post a 1-minute video on the Instagram story?
Because Instagram divided the video into four 15-second smaller parts, which is 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 = 60 seconds or 1 minute only. The video is divided into four parts.
Why can’t I upload the full video on my Instagram story?
Because you can only upload 15-seconds part by part of the video on your Instagram stories. You cannot upload the full video at once on your Instagram story.
Why my Instagram story is getting stretched?
Because you have uploaded a larger or smaller image on your Instagram story. If you don’t have the right image size it will zoom or stretch the size to fit its requirement which will reduce the picture quality.
Why does Instagram lower photo quality on story
For a smooth experience, you can expect them to upload the original size of the photo. This will also save your data when viewing the photo. This will not make you have a blurry Instagram Stories.
