Instagram Stories 101: How to Watch and Create Your Own

Instagram Stories appear at the top of your home screen. You'll find stories from people you know as well as from public accounts you follow. You may also bump into sponsored stories from commercial accounts. Any account with a new story that's ready for you to watch displays a pink ring around it. Tap the circle to view that account's latest story.

For stories that contains more than one segment, each segment automatically segues to the next one until the story finishes. To jump to the next segment more quickly, just tap the right side of the screen. Go back to a previous story by tapping the left side of the screen. The white lines at the top of the screen indicate where you are in a person's story.

After an entire story concludes, stories from the next account begin. But if you don't want to sit through a particularly long-winded story, just swipe left to see the next person's story. To go back, swipe right. Swipe down to exit Stories.

At times, people will post stories with text or information that takes longer than 15 seconds to read. Just place your finger on the screen to pause and take more time with a particular segment. You can also replay any story you've already watched by tapping its circle again up top.

If you're curious about an account, you can view their stories without giving them a follow. Navigate to the account in question; if there are any stories to view, the account's profile photo will feature a pink ring. No stories, no ring (like on PCMag's account on the right). Tap it to view.

You can creep on someone's Instagram feed to your heart's content, scrolling and scrolling as far back as you'd like without them knowing you've been poking around. Not so for stories. If someone posts a story, they can see who has viewed it. There's no way to turn this off, but you can stop someone's story from appearing on your account. Go to their page, click the ellipsis icon on the top-right, select Mute, and tap Mute story.

Want to message someone about a particular section in their story? If the account allows it, tap the "send message" field at the bottom of a story, and an on-screen keyboard will appear. Type your message and it will be delivered to the person's Instagram inbox.

Certain stories may also sport a "See more" option, which takes you a linked page with further details (or something you can buy).

Some accounts allow you to share stories with other people. On accounts that have it activated, you'll see a Share icon in the lower-right (). Tap it, choose your desired recipient, and hit send.

To report a story for inappropriate content, tap the ellipsis icon () in the lower-right and select Report. If the item is a sponsored story, you can hide or report the ad.

If you're looking to create your own Instagram Story, you can snap a live photo or video, or retrieve media already saved on your phone.

Let's try a live photo or video first. At your feed page, tap the camera icon in the upper-left or just swipe right. Tap the white circle to take a still photo. Hold down the same circle to shoot a video.

As you hold down the circle, notice the red gauge encircling the circle. Release the circle when you want to finish the video. Otherwise, hold down the circle to continue. After you pass the 15-second mark, Instagram places your video into one segment and then starts another segment.

There are an array of camera modes, effects, and options you can apply to your story before you post it. Tap the two round arrows to bounce between your front and rear camera. Tap the flash icon to switch between Flash On, Flash Off, Flash Auto, and Low Light mode. Next, tap the smiley face icon to apply a frame to your photo or video. Try out the different frames to find one you like. Tap the smiley face icon again to turn off the frame gallery.

Your camera format is set to Normal by default, but you can swipe back and forth or tap the different modes: Type, Music, Live, Boomerang, Superzoom, Focus, Rewind, and Hands-Free.

Tap or scroll to Type. Tap the screen and type a title or other text that you want to appear on your story. As you type, the text shrinks to fit. Tap the font name at the top to change among different fonts. With certain fonts, you can adjust the alignment and add a background to the text by tapping the icons in the upper-left. Tap the circle icon to change the overall color.

Tap the option for Music to add a tune to your story. You can browse music by popularity, mood, and genre. You can also search for a specific song or artist. Tap the play button to listen to a song and then tap the song to add it to your photo or video.

If you need more than 15-second increments to get your point across, Instagram's Live feature allows you to speak to followers for up to an hour. Other Instagram users can join the discussion and add comments or questions, and you can save the chat for people to watch later. In camera view, tap the option for Live and then tap the Go Live button.

The Boomerang feature takes a burst of photos and then speeds them up and plays them forward and backward to create a short video. To create one of these videos, select Boomerang and then tap the camera button.

The Superzoom option allows you to add different filtered zoom effects into the video you plan to capture. Tap the Superzoom option and choose one of the different effects available to you. When you make a selection and hold down the record button, the effect will play. This feature zooms in on your subject with cool visual and audio effects.

Get close to someone's face. Tap the Focus option and then tap the camera button to shoot a close-up.

Tap the Rewind option and then tap the camera button to create a video that plays in reverse.

Tap the Hands-Free option to shoot a video without having to keep your finger on the button.

Now, let's say there's an existing photo or video in your mobile device library you want to share. At your Instagram feed page, tap the Camera icon. Tap the first icon on the photo toolbar or just swipe up on the screen. Instagram displays your photos and videos, starting with the most recent ones. To use a single image, just tap it. To use multiple images, tap the Select Multiple button. Instagram numbers each image you choose so you can remember the order in which they'll appear. Tap Next.

At the preview screen, tap the thumbnail of each photo or video to view or play it. Next, experiment with different filters. Swipe to the left and right to cycle through the different filters. The filter you choose applies only to your current photo or video, so you can apply a different filter to each image.

Before you publish a story, there are other changes you can make with the toolbar in the top-right corner. From left to right, the first icon allows you to save your progress as a draft. The next icon allow you to add symbols. You can add written words to your story by selecting the pen tool or typed words by selecting the lettered icon.

You can spice up your story with emoji, phrases, and other symbols. Choose the photo or video in your story on which you want to place a symbol. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the smiley icon on the toolbar in the upper-right. Swipe down the gallery to view all the symbols.

Tap the symbol you want to use in your story. Tap the symbol to change its color or style. You can move the symbol around the screen by dragging and dropping it. If you don't want to keep the symbol, press down on it and move it to the trash can icon at the bottom of the screen.

You draw on an image by selecting the pencil tool in the upper-right corner. Once inside the drawing tool, select the type of pen or pencil you want to use and select the thickness of the pen. Choose the palette on the bottom of the screen, then use your finger to write on the screen. If you don't like what you've drawn, remove it with the Undo button or the Eraser tool. Tap Done once you have finished.

You can also add typed text into your story. Again, choose a specific photo or video in your story. Tap the right-most icon on the toolbar. Start typing. As you type, the font size shrinks to accommodate your text. To change the font itself, tap the font name at the top of the screen. Choose a color for your text from the palette. Tap Done when ready to place the text on the image.

Once you have made your changes, tap next to view the Share screen. You can share your slideshow as either a story or a message sent directly to specific accounts. To share it as an Instagram story, tap the Share icon for Your Story. Once the story has been shared, you will be returned to your Instagram feed, and the story will be at the top of the page.

Want to manage your existing story? Tap More. You can now delete the story, save it, share it as a regular post, and send it to a specific person. From the More menu, tap the option for Story Settings. You can now hide the story from certain people, allow replies, allow sharing, save it to your camera roll, save it to an archive, and share your story on Facebook.

Though stories expire after 24 hours, you can save them to your account as Highlights, which will appear in a row on your profile, atop your photos. To save stories to a Highlight, tap the "+ Highlight" button on your profile. Tap the photos or videos you'd like to add and select Next. Create a name for your Highlight and tap Add. It'll remain on your feed until you delete it.