Facebook is the dominating player in the social networking ecosystem, with an unprecedented number of users globally, but not all of its success comes from innovation, some of it is borrowed. The Stories feature was first introduced and popularised in the market by Snapchat, which was then replicated across several social networks, including three of Facebook’s own — Instagram and Whatsapp being the other two.
While Facebook-owned social networks were late to the party, they always had the upper hand due to north of a billion monthly active users on each of its platforms, which dwarfed the — not so insignificant but relatively petty — few hundred million users that Snapchat boasted.
Facebook was losing touch with dwindling engagement rates and needed a boost with a new feature and Stories provided the platform just that, though it gained even more popularity on Instagram.
Facebook Stories are one of the most interactive and engaging features of the platform today. Still, slip-ups on social media are common, and with several hundred to thousands to even millions of eyeballs watching your every move, it’s best to get rid of the evidence before it becomes a social scare and possibly a meme.
To help you get rid of anything that you’ve put on your Stories by mistake or in retrospect shouldn’t have, here we’ve explained how you can delete your Facebook story on the website, app and via archive on the app in four easy steps.
Stories on Facebook remain on your wall for only 24hrs and once the time lapses, they automatically go in archive (if enabled) where you can access your previous stories anytime.
Also read: How to delete a Facebook group?
How to delete your Facebook Story via PC?
Step 1: Go to the Facebook home page and tap on Your Story under Stories (refer to the screenshot below).
Step 2: Your latest story will open on the next page, swipe to get to the Facebook story you wish to delete and then tap on the horizontal three-dot or Meatball menu icon on the top right of your story.
Step 4: A pop-up will appear to confirm your deletion process. Click on the Delete button, and the selected Facebook story will be deleted immediately.
Also read: How to change the language on Facebook?How to delete your Facebook Story via the app?
- On your Facebook homepage and tap on the Your Story button below the Write something here… box.
- On the next page, swipe to the Facebook story you want to delete and tap on the Meatball menu icon that appears at the top-right.
- From the menu that appears at the bottom of the app display, tap on Delete photo option.
- Then press the Delete button to confirm the removal of your story.
Every photo or video has to be deleted individually as the entire past 24 hours of Facebook Story updates on your timeline can’t be deleted at once.
Also read: How to permanently delete your Facebook page?
How to delete your Facebook story from Archives on the app?
As mentioned earlier, your story will automatically be saved to archives after 24 hours. Although stories in archives aren’t visible to anyone else, nevertheless if you wish to delete them follow the instructions below.
- Open your profile page by tapping on the profile icon on the toolbar at the top.
- On your profile page, tap on the Meatballs menu icon next to the Add to Story button.
- On the Profile Settings page tap on the Story Archive option.
- All the earlier posted stories will appear on Your Story Archive page. Tap on the Facebook Story you wish to delete.
- Then on the story page, press on the Meatball menu icon located at the top right.
- Then tap on the Delete Photo option from the menu at the bottom and then confirm the removal by tapping on Delete.
Also read: How to add a link to Instagram stories and posts?
