Maybe you want that generic boozy boomerang shot or to show a quick glimpse of an exotic trip away?
But regardless of what image you’re trying to share it’s not going to create a memory you can cherish forever if it’s blurry and undetectable from poor quality.

There’s nothing worse than capturing the moment, posting it, and then finding out that the image is all blurred and distorted.
Yet this is the case for many of Instagram’s users. They upload that pic and instead of crystal clarity, they get an unrecognizable fuzzy-shaped image.
But why? What’s causing the issue and how do we fix it?
Let’s find out.
Why IG Stories Turn Out Blurry
Okay, so, when you post your amazing selfie, or whatever it is, onto your story, Instagram tends to compress the image quality before uploading it.
If you tend to use a lot of gifs, music, stickers, or any other story features the app offers, this can then even further reduce the quality of your chosen image.
There are a few other things that can also impact the quality of your image but never fear, as down below you’ll find all the best tips and tricks to ensure that you get that Insta-worthy story that is crystal clear.
How To Fix Blurry Instagram Stories
1. Check Your Internet Connection
I know this one sounds a little simplistic, but you don’t want to spend too much time trying to figure out the problem to realize it was your internet all along.
So many failed and partially uploaded stories are caused by poor-quality internet connection.
So, before click upload, just do the necessary checks to ensure that your internet connection is running at optimal speed.
This will help to prevent pictures with a significant decrease in quality from being uploaded to your story.
2. Check If Instagram Is Down
Another fairly obvious yet important step to check. There’s been several times in the past where users have believed that their phone has been broken to some degree simply because the app itself is down.
The best way to check if this is the case is to take a stroll through your other social media platforms. Through places such as Twitter and Facebook, you’ll find out pretty quickly if the app is unavailable to the masses.
3. Clear Instagram Cache On Android
This is where things get a little more complicated. For those that don’t know a cache is simply a form of temporary data that every app on your device will store in your local storage.
This basically makes life easier for the app as they don’t then have to download all that data again every time you open the app.
So, it some ways it’s pretty useful. In others…not so much. An accumulation of of cache can actually be what causes your Insta stories to come out so blurry. Clearing your cache fairly regularly can help stop this from happening (see also “How To Clear Instagram Cache“).
Note – Clearing cache is not possible for Apple users
4. Don’t Add Extra Media To Your Story
With options such as GIFs, stickers, music, and so much more it can be really tempting to use tons of media features on your story. However, this isn’t a great idea especially if your stories are already coming out blurry.
There is a size limit that Instagram has to maintain for said stories and when you start adding more media, your picture quality will immediately take a hit.
And if you can’t live without your multi-media then I would recommend doing so through a third-party application such as a video editor app instead. You should find you’ll have a much better picture quality this way.
5. Enable High-Quality Uploads On Instagram
I feel like not a lot of people actually know this secret but Instagram does have its own in-built toggle for high-quality uploads.
If yours isn’t turned on, chances are that is why your pictures are coming out more blurry and just generally a worse quality.
To enable this toggle make your way to the profile tab and click on the menu button.
From there you’ll want to go to ‘Settings.’ Then you’ll click ‘Account’ and from there select ‘Data Usage.’ From there you can then turn on the toggle button for ‘Upload at highest quality.’
6. Disable The Data Saving Option
So, you’ve just learned to turn one button on, and now you’re going to want to turn another one off.
Automatically, it is likely that the Data Saver toggle is turned on. But though this may save you data, it will certainly hinder the quality of your uploads.
To turn this button off, you’ll need to go to your profile tab and click the menu button.
From there you’ll want to go to ‘Settings.’ Then you’ll click ‘Account’ and then ‘Data Usage.’ There you should find the ‘Use Less Mobile Data’ option – you’ll want to turn this off.
7. Use the Right Format For The Best Quality
If all these tips and tricks have failed to get you that nice clear image you’re after, you might need to format your photo’s a little bit. Below is the perfect format for the best Instagram stories:
- Optimum Resolution – 1920 x 1080 (9:16 aspect ratio)
- Image Requirements – A minimum of 72ppi
- Steer Clear Of Zoom – Try to avoid zooming where possible and try to stick to vertical images over horizontal.
Final Thoughts
No one wants blurry indistinguishable photos. We are posting them for the world to see so it’s not like we want that image to be hidden by blur so it can be really frustrating when you upload your pic and that’s what you find.
Hopefully, by using these handy tips and tricks, this won’t have to be a problem for much longer. Try out all the advice given here and see the difference it makes during your next story-worthy moment.
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