Here’s How To Find IG’s Debut Year-In-Review Feature For A 2021 Recap

There’s a new way to sum up your year in videos, thanks to Instagram’s latest feature. The social media platform launched its first-ever annual review of your Stories so that you can take a look back at all your ‘Grammable moments in 2021. However, before you head straight to the app to try to find it, you might want to check out how to get Instagram’s 2021 year in review feature, Playback, because it can be a little tricky to find.

Instagram launched the new year in review feature, Playback, on Dec. 9, and it works by rounding up some of your best moments in Stories posts. Available to users globally, the personalized 2021 Playback will include both big and small Instagrammable moments (like securing the Squishmallow du jour, which could be considered either of those, TBH) that you posted to your Stories. Although Instagram suggests which Playback posts to feature, you can also choose to customize it by adding videos and photos to share from your Stories Archive and removing any you don’t want in your Playback.

Without further ado, here’s how to get Instagram’s 2021 Playback feature and customize it to your liking.

How To Get Instagram’s 2021 Year In Review Playback:

1. Open the Instagram app and look near the top of your Instagram Stories.
2. You should see a notice with the 2021 Playback option on your Homepage. Tap on it.
3. If you don’t see the Playback prompt, you can also scroll through your friends’ Stories to see if anyone has posted theirs yet. If they have, tap on the “2021” sticker in their Story, and this will bring you to your personalized Playback.
4. Those who still can’t find the 2021 year in review Playback should head to Instagram’s official Creators account (@creators) and watch the “2021” Story highlight. There, tap on the 2021 sticker in the Story to find yours.

Once you find your Playback, you’ll want to know how to customize your video.

How To Customize Your 2021 Year In Review Playback:

Although Instagram suggests what to put in your Playback, the whole video is entirely editable, which means you can customize all the details.

1. Start by previewing Instagram’s suggested Playback.
2. After previewing your Playback, tap on the “Next” button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. From there, you’ll see a plus sign tile next to your current Playback Stories tiles. To add more Stories, tap on the plus tile to bring up the Stories Archive. You can choose which ones to include in your post, for a total of up to 10.
4. You can also delete Stories and replace them by deselecting them from the Stories gallery the same way you added them in.
5. Near the bottom of your Playback, you should notice the 2021 sticker. You can tap on the sticker to change how it looks.
6. Finally, you can add text and stickers. When selecting the stickers option, you can add music to go along with your Story and more.
7. Once you’re happy with your 2021 Playback, share it to your Stories or specific friends by tapping the arrow icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Then, choose how to share it from the share page, and you’re done!
8. If you'd like to save it, you can download each frame to save the 2021 Playback to your gallery, as you would with any other Story.

Instagram’s 2021 Playback will be available for several weeks, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see your wrap-up. Facebook also launched a similar end-of-year Story called “Year Together,” which will be available through Dec. 30.

If you’ve done everything you can but still don’t see your 2021 Playback, it might be because you didn’t post enough. To be eligible, you need to have posted at least three Stories from 2021 or have your Stories Archive turned on.

After you’ve found and customized your 2021 Playback on Instagram, sit back and enjoy some of your best memories of the year.