How To
How to do a 2021 recap on Instagram
- January 7, 2022
- Updated: July 2, 2025 at 3:59 AM
More and more social media channels are adding features that allow you to take a glimpse back over the year that’s just passed. This is a great way to relive some of your best memories and achievements of the year. Instagram is one of the newest social media platforms to introduce their 2021 Playback feature.
In this article, we’ll show you how to do a 2021 recap on Instagram, even if you missed the feature.
What is Instagram’s Playback feature?
This new feature on Instagram lets users create a quick 2021 recap where Instagram automatically selects up to ten Stories you posted throughout the year. These Stories are then compiled into a memory reel. The memory reel also features a special 2021 frame and stickers that make it easily identifiable as a 2021 recap.
As if this wasn’t enough, the video reel also features the iconic trending remix of ‘Locked out of Heaven’ by Bruno Mars and ‘Easy on Me’ by Adele, making this feature easy to recognize in feeds of others.
The step-by-step approach to create your 2021 recap on Instagram
If you want in on this trend and look over your last year, this is how to do it on Instagram.
Tap on the ‘View Playback’ button
If you’re lucky, you may still have the ‘View 2021 Playback’ banner at the top of your Instagram page. If the banner is still there, you can click on the ‘View Playback’ button in this banner. You may have noticed this banner appearing early in December when this feature became available. However, the banner is no longer available for the most part, which means you’ll have to continue to step two to enable the feature.
Tap on the 2021 sticker in another user’s Playback Reel
If you no longer see the banner, your next option to see your 2021 Playback reel is by tapping on the 2021 sticker in another user’s recap reel. This may require some searching because although the recap is a popular trend, it may be challenging to find someone who still has the recap in their Story.
Unfortunately, if you can’t find someone with a recap where you can tap on the 2021 sticker, you’ve missed your chance to use Instagram’s built-in recap feature. However, you can still make your own by using video editing software such as KineMaster or InShot and manually adding videos and an audio backtrack.
Edit your 2021 Playback
If you can view your playback, you can also edit it. As mentioned, Instagram automatically selects up to ten videos to include in your recap. You can edit these by adding more videos from your Stories, removing videos, adding stickers and more.
Share your 2021 recap
Once you’re happy with your recap reel, you can share it to your Story and download a copy directly to your phone’s gallery. Once in your device’s gallery, you can also share it via messaging apps such as WhatsApp or on other social platforms such as Facebook.
Tips for using Instagram’s recap feature
Here are a few tips to help make your 2021 recap reel spectacular.
- Make sure that Story archiving is turned on
- Choose only positive emotion-evoking stories
- Keep it short and sweet – don’t use more than ten stories
- Don’t go crazy with the stickers; only use a few
- If you don’t like the video Instagram chose, replace it with a better one
- If you haven’t posted three or more stories before 15 November, you won’t be able to create a recap automatically
Celebrate the past year and share memories in style
Enjoying your memories from the past year is a great way to start the new chapter positively. This Instagram Playback feature, although only available for a few weeks, is a great way to relive some of your best programmable moments and share the year with other friends and family.
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