How to save Instagram Stories in Chrome
Joseph HuLast reviewed September 14, 2026
Quick answer
Install Save Story for Instagram for one-click saving with no paid tier. If you also save Facebook Stories and videos, Story Saver covers both.
Instagram lets you download your own Stories from the Story menu and nothing else. Anyone else's Story is gone after 24 hours unless you keep a copy yourself. "Story saver" is the most searched phrase in this category, and the extension that owned that name for years, IG Story Downloader, left the Chrome Web Store in the summer of 2026. The four options below are listed as of September 2026; two of them also cover Facebook Stories.
Screenshot a photo Story, record a video Story
Without an extension, a photo Story is a screenshot and a video Story is a screen recording. Both work for a Story you need to keep today; neither gives you the original file, and the recording takes as long as the Story.
- 1Open the Story on instagram.com in a normal browser window and let it load fully.
- 2For a photo, take a screenshot of the Story area (Shift+Command+4 on macOS, Windows+Shift+S on Windows).
- 3For a video, start the screen recorder (Shift+Command+5 on macOS, Windows+G on Windows), select the Story area and play it from the start.
- 4Crop the screenshot or trim the recording, then save it with the account name and date in the file name so you can find it later.
Screenshots lose resolution and recordings lose quality and time. An extension saves the original file from the Story viewer in one click, and the better ones also handle Highlights and whole accounts.
Save a Story with one click
For the occasional Story, you want a button on the Story viewer, the original file, and no settings. Two extensions do exactly that; one is Instagram-only and free of paid tiers, the other also handles Facebook.
Save Story for Instagram
Save Story for Instagram saves any Story, Highlight, photo or video from a toolbar button, declares no in-app purchases, and was updated in August 2026. It is the default because it does the one job without a quota and without a settings page.
- Users
- 100K
- Rating
- 4.3★
- Reviews
- 982
The listing describes a toolbar button that opens the functions of the Instagram mobile app on a computer, with one-click downloads of Stories, videos and photos from Instagram and Facebook, full HD viewing, direct messages and uploads from the same window.
- Saves Stories, Highlights, photos and videos with one click from a toolbar button.
- Also downloads videos and Stories from Facebook.
- Opens Instagram's mobile view on a computer, including direct messages and uploads.
Trade-offs
- Public accounts only.
- No bulk or whole-account download.
- The mobile-view window is more than you need if you only want the download button.
IMDownloader
IMDownloader puts the button in the top-right corner of the Story viewer, where you would look for it, and does the same on posts and Reels. It has the most users of the Instagram-only options here.
- Users
- 30K
- Rating
- 4.4★
- Reviews
- 157
The listing describes a download button under posts on the home feed, in the top-right corner of a Story or Highlight, on hover in a profile grid, under the comments on a post page and beside a Reel, plus a right-click "Download" menu item on any image or video.
- A download button in the top-right corner of every Story and Highlight.
- Original-resolution images, videos and Reels from the same extension.
- No account, no limits, no settings to learn.
Trade-offs
- Instagram only; no Facebook Stories.
- No bulk or whole-account download.
- Multi-image posts download as a complete set.
Facebook and Instagram Stories from one extension
If your Stories live on both networks, the extension with the largest user base in this category saves photos, videos and Stories from Facebook as well as Instagram. Read its recent reviews before relying on it; they describe a rough summer.
Story Saver
Story Saver has the largest user base and the most reviews in this category, and it is the option that treats Facebook as a first-class source. Its recent reviews are the reason it is not the default: the summer of 2026 brought failed downloads and files saved with the wrong extension, and a July update says it fixed lag.
- Users
- 200K
- Rating
- 4.6★
- Reviews
- 14.2K
The listing describes one-click downloads of videos, Stories and photos from Facebook and Instagram, with a note that a 7 July 2026 update improved performance and fixed lag on both sites. It declares in-app purchases.
- Downloads Stories, videos and photos from both Facebook and Instagram.
- 200,000 users and 14,200 reviews, the largest record on this page.
- Updated 10 July 2026, with a changelog note on the listing.
Trade-offs
- Recent reviews report the download button loading without result and videos saved as .txt or without audio.
- Declares in-app purchases; the listing does not say where the free tier stops.
- Offered in one language.
Every Story and Highlight from an account
Saving one Story at a time does not scale to an account with dozens of Highlights. The all-in-one downloader offers bulk Story downloads and a profile Download All with pause and resume.
Media Downloader for Instagram
Media Downloader for Instagram is the option when one Story at a time is not enough: it offers bulk Story downloads, a profile Download All with pause and resume, and folders that keep a large run sorted. It was updated on 9 September 2026.
- Users
- 20K
- Rating
- 4.8★
- Reviews
- 222
The listing describes one-click downloads of Stories and Highlights with bulk Story download, a Download All action on profile pages with pause and resume, and up to three levels of folders named by account, date and media type. It works without an Instagram login.
- Bulk Story and Highlight downloads, not only one at a time.
- Profile Download All with pause and resume for large backups.
- Folder and file naming rules by account, date and media type.
Trade-offs
- Bulk download is the feature reviewers report failing; try a small account first.
- Stories from private accounts you do not follow cannot be downloaded.
- Instagram only.
Compare the solutions
Need
One Story, one click
- Recommendation
- Save Story for Instagram
- Why
- A toolbar button saves any Story or Highlight; 100,000 users, no paid tier, updated 12 August 2026.
- Keep in mind
- Public accounts only; no bulk mode.
Need
Facebook Stories too
- Recommendation
- Story Saver
- Why
- Saves Facebook and Instagram Stories, videos and photos; 200,000 users and a 4.6 rating from 14,200 reviews.
- Keep in mind
- Recent reviews report failures and wrongly named files; it declares in-app purchases.
Need
A plain button, nothing to set up
- Recommendation
- IMDownloader
- Why
- A download button in the top-right corner of every Story and Highlight, plus a right-click menu.
- Keep in mind
- Instagram only; no bulk mode.
Need
All Highlights from an account
- Recommendation
- Media Downloader for Instagram
- Why
- Bulk Story download and a profile Download All with pause and resume, updated 9 September 2026.
- Keep in mind
- Bulk download is what fails when something fails; test on a small account.
Store data comes from a daily crawl of the Chrome Web Store; rating trends are computed from the public review history. Recommendations are editorial judgements, last reviewed on , with store figures from .
Sources & verification
Product details and availability are checked against the linked official websites and Chrome Web Store listings. These sources support factual product information; the recommendation itself is an editorial judgement.
- Save Story for Instagram — Chrome Web Store listing · Checked September 14, 2026
- IMDownloader — Chrome Web Store listing · Checked September 14, 2026
- IMDownloader — Official website · Checked September 14, 2026
- Story Saver — Chrome Web Store listing · Checked September 14, 2026
- Story Saver — Official website · Checked September 14, 2026
- Media Downloader for Instagram — Chrome Web Store listing · Checked September 14, 2026
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