Like other social media platforms, Instagram has a round picture flashing on the top of your news feed called Stories. Indeed, it was among the early adopters of this feature. Nonetheless, the escalating number of users posting Instagram stories on it has reached a staggering 500 million.
After its introduction in 2016, this feature has become quite popular. It allows users to build and post slideshows of images and videos that usually last long for 24 hours. However, it can last longer than that in the Highlight mode.
Be it businesses or individuals, posting stories to connect with or impress followers is the trend. And why wouldn’t it be? After all, it’s an excellent marketing strategy. According to an online survey, 42 percent of users have followed a brand after eyeballing the Story. It is also a way to show your activeness to the followers. Additionally, you can also add hashtags to it for more reach.
Besides, it’s also important to upload in High-Quality to stop the thumb scroll of viewers. Undoubtedly, you have more probability of capturing the attention with that. Sidewise, it will showcase your professionalism. Most importantly, it will articulate your message perfectly to the audience.
However, an error that haunts many users while uploading them is blurry Stories. Well, multiple reasons can cause this problem. To fix this issue, you must understand them. Fortunately, most of the reasons are easy to understand and are not into many technicalities.
Cases for the blurriness of Instagram Stories
Sluggish Internet connection
Most of the time, the antagonist is none other than the internet connection. The Story may look blurry when your mobile data or Wi-Fi is slow. Instagram decreases the quality by default when the connection is slow. Hence, always try to upload the Stories on a fast connection. Also, you must switch to a different internet connection if the problem persists with a fast connection.
Instagram data settings in the app
Instagram has many unique features that can halt uploading high-quality content. One such feature is Data Saver, which, when turned on, restricts data usage. As the name sounds, it helps to save data. Of course, it’s a boon for users with limited Data plans.
But the biggest drawback is it can cause the Stories to upload in a bad quality. However, the good thing is you can change it in the settings. There are other features too that can cause disruptions, like High-Quality Uploads.
Outdated Instagram app
An outdated version of an Instagram app can also cause Instagram Stories to blur. The Instagram app automatically updates itself, though. However, it doesn’t sometimes work due to glitches or bugs. So, you must update the app to get the best results. It’s ideal for updating it from reputable app stores like Google Play.
Camera issues
Sometimes, using the default camera app can be problematic too. For example, the default camera app clicks pictures in the best resolutions and quality. Well, this sometimes exceeds Instagram’s limit on quality. No doubt, it lets you upload in high quality. However, there is a limit to crossing that can make your posts blurry. Hence, it’s ideal to use the Instagram camera as it’s set as per the requirement of the app.
The problem that arises in Instagram
Instagram sometimes faces outages, glitches, and bugs like other social media platforms. They can result in blurry Stories. Nevertheless, the company will announce it on its social media accounts. So before playing with settings, it would be best to check the official account of Instagram. You should also upload after waiting for a while in the hope that the developers resolve the problem.
Smart tricks to fix the issue
Wipe out the Cache memory
An Instagram cache is a type of data that the app stores temporarily on a phone. The app uses this data to instantly load some elements instead of downloading them. Sometimes, cache build-ups can make the app dysfunctional. Hence, clearing it at regular intervals is a good idea, and here is how you do it.
Step 1: Press the Instagram app on your Android phone for a while.
Step 2: A sub-menu will open, and you must tap on the App Info option.
Step 3: You’ll see many app details there, like Storage, Permissions, etc. You must find the Clear Data option on the page and proceed with it.
Note: After clearing the cache, you might have to re-login to your Instagram application. Also, only Android phones allow you to clear the cache memory. This option isn’t available for iPhone users, and one should go with other tricks.
Turn off the Data Saver
As you know, the Data Saver restricts data usage on mobile data. So, you must turn it off at least while uploading, and here is how to do that.
Step 1: In the Instagram app, tap on the bottom right icon representing your profile picture.
Step 2: Now, tap on the three horizontal lines on the top right.
Step 3: A new menu covering half of the screen will pop up on the right side. Tap on Settings, and a new window will come out.
Step 4: Tap on the Account option present on the sixth spot of the menu.
Step 5: A new menu will appear, and you have to choose the twelfth option called Cellular Data Use.
Step 6: Finally, turn off the Data Saver option using the toggle button located on the right.
Turn On High-Quality Uploads
As the name suggests, this option lets you upload images and videos in the best possible quality on Instagram. So, you must turn it on if that is your goal. Fortunately, turning it on is easy as a cakewalk. It’s similar to turning off the Data Saver option since both exist in Cellular Data Use.
Step 1: Explore the Account option presented in Instagram Settings. Thereby, go to the Cellular Data Use option at the twelfth spot.
Step 2: Finally, turn on the High-Quality Upload option via the toggle button on the right.
Resize the photos
The maximum size of photos one can upload on Instagram is 1080 pixels. Due to it, the app decreases the size of photos with more significant resolutions. Sometimes, this compression drastically lowers the quality and causes Story blurriness. They may appear good in the preview, but the final results can be disappointing. Instagram may stretch them to ideally fit the Instagram Stories, which can cause them to pixelated.
Hence, resizing your photos to 1080 pixels is best before uploading them. It will not just remove the blurriness but can also save your data and time.
Fix the incorrect aspect ratio and size
When you crop and save the image to the wrong size and format, the result could be disappointing on Stories. Overstretched or pixelated images often come out as an outcome. The ideal aspect ratio for Instagram videos should be 9:16. Besides, if your images are in low resolutions, Instagram would stretch and cause them to pixelated.
To enhance the resolutions of your images, you can take the help of various other applications. For example, many latest applications use AI to upgrade the resolutions and quality. However, you must ensure that the image size doesn’t exceed 1 megabyte.
Revise the Camera Settings
The problem may exist in Camera settings if you encounter this error with a recently-snapped photo. Nonetheless, you should check if the camera is set to function at the highest quality. Different camera models have different settings, and you have to play accordingly. You can ensure some basic settings are correct in them, though.
These setting includes using no filters, Camera mode, and so on. Most of all, you must not shake the camera while clicking the picture. In addition, various cameras come with auto image stabilization features. You can take the assistance of such features to get the best images.
Reinstall the App
Deleting and reinstalling an app can sometimes do wonders in eliminating such errors. This is because the app gets reset to the default settings. Also, it is the easiest method to clear the cache memory.
Report to the Instagram
After trying all the above methods, you should consider reporting to Instagram if things aren’t working.
Step 1: Tap on the profile picture and check out the Setting option.
Step 2: Afterwards, tap on the Help section and proceed with the directions. Also, you should mention the complete details of the problem in the Feedback box. Then, it is how to approach the developers, who will further inspect and resolve the problem.
Get rid of not just blurry Stories but other errors as well
Apart from blurriness, you may encounter some other errors as well. It includes stretched posts, upside-down, or otherwise damaged content. Nevertheless, these steps might fix them for you, so don’t hesitate with them.
