How to Change Background on Instagram Story Without Covering Photo

There are 8 methods to put a background image or color in the Instagram story without covering the picture. Let’s check them out.

1. Swipe to Change Background Color

When you are sharing a post to your story, simply swipe right or left on the background to change the background color variations. The drawback of this method is that you will not be able to select a custom color. You can only choose from the available list.

2. Using Traditional Method

This method covers the photo if you are adding a photo from your gallery. However, for shared posts, it works well. Follow these steps:

  1. Tap on the Send button under a post and select Add post to your story to get it to the story screen.
  2. Tap on the Doodle icon and choose a background color for the post from the list below.
  3. Touch and hold the screen to add the background color to the Instagram story. You will notice that the color doesn’t cover the shared post. Similarly, you can try different background colors. Tap on the checkmark icon to confirm the color. In case this method covers the shared post with a background color, use the eraser method mentioned below.

3. Using Eraser

Technically, this method doesn’t change the background color of the story but adds a foreground color. You need to erase the foreground color to reveal your shared post.

  1. Start by adding a photo or the shared post to the story so that you can edit it. Decrease the size of the post using the pinch-in gesture with your finger.
  2. Tap on the Doodle icon and select a color. Touch and hold the screen to fill up the screen with the same color.
  3. Tap on the Eraser pen under the Doodle option. Use the slider on the side to change the eraser size. Then drag your finger on the screen to erase the foreground color and to reveal the photo underneath. This is a tiresome method as you will have to carefully remove the color on the edges and borders. However, this method can be used for creating revealing effects. Tip: Find out what do various symbols and icons mean on Instagram.

If the above methods don’t get the desired results, you should use the Gallery sticker. Both Android and iPhone offer a gallery sticker for Instagram stories that lets you add multiple photos on top of the existing photo or video. Basically, you can layer pictures on Instagram stories. Here’s how to go about it:

  1. Launch the Instagram app and go to the screen where you can add a new story.
  2. Tap on the Gallery option at the bottom and select the picture that you want to use as a background. Yes. You need to select the background image first. Alternatively, if you want to use a solid color without covering the photo, capture a random photo or upload any picture in the Instagram story. Tap on the Doodle icon at the top and choose a background color of your choice from the list below. Touch and hold the screen until the selected color fills up the screen. Tap on the checkmark icon to go back.
  3. Once you have added the background photo or color, tap on the Sticker icon and choose the Gallery sticker. On iPhone, you might see the recent photo in the stickers. That is the sticker that you need to choose. Then select the photo that you want to put on the background picture. Tap on the photo if you want to change its style. You can choose between the regular style, star, heart, or circle. Use the gestures with your fingers to adjust the size and position of the foreground image. That’s how you can put a background image in an Instagram story. Interestingly, if you have added a solid color using this method, you can change the background color even after adding the image. For that, tap on the Doodle icon after adding the foreground image and select a new color. Touch and hold the screen as you would do normally for adding the background color.

5. Change Background Photo for Shared Post Using Sticker

You have to use the same Gallery sticker that you used above in this method as well. Here’s how to change the background on the Instagram story for shared posts.

  1. Add the post to your story screen.
  2. Tap on the Sticker icon on the story screen and select the Gallery sticker.
  3. Select the background photo for your story.
  4. Now you will have two items on the screen – the post and the background image. Drag the post outside of the screen to the extreme left edge in a way that you can still see it slightly.
  5. Use the pinch-out gesture to increase the size of the background photo such that it fits the screen. However, keep a small gap so that you can touch the shared post. Tap the shared post so that it comes over the background photo. Move it to your desired location. Your final image will have a shared post over a background picture.

6. Add Background Photo From Screenshot

In this method, you need to take a screenshot of the shared post, crop it, and use Gallery sticker to add both background and foreground pictures.

  1. Bring the shared post to your story screen.
  2. Take a screenshot of the screen where you see the shared post.
  3. Open the screenshot using a gallery app or any photo editor app. Crop it in a way that only the shared post is visible. Save the cropped photo on your phone.
  4. Go back to the Instagram story screen where you have added a shared post. Using the pinch-out gesture, increase the size of the shared post so that it fills almost the entire screen. Then tap on the Sticker icon and select the Gallery sticker.
  5. Add the image that you want to use as your background. Increase its size so that it fills the screen hiding the shared post underneath. Now add the screenshot that you saved in step 3 using the Gallery sticker (follow step 5) on your background. That’s it. If you tap the shared post now, it will change the style. However, when you make the story live, tapping on the background or the shared post will take you to the actual shared post. That’s because the actual shared post is still active even though you have covered it with background and screenshot.

7. Add Background Photo From Clipboard (iPhone)

On iPhone, you can take the help of the clipboard as well to add a background on Instagram stories.

  1. Add the shared post to the story preview screen. Minimize the Instagram app.
  2. Launch the Apple Photos app and open the photo that you want to set as a background picture. Tap on the Share icon and select Copy photo from the menu.
  3. Open the Instagram app again. You will get a message saying photo pasted. Tap on the Add sticker option. The copied image will appear on your screen along with the shared post.
  4. Increase the size of the background to fill the screen. Tap on the area where your shared post is to bring it forward.

8. Add Background Photo From Clipboard (Android)

On Android, you cannot directly add a background image to the Instagram story from the clipboard. However, you can take the help of SwiftKey for the same.

  1. Install SwiftKey keyboard on your Android phone and make it your default keyboard.
  2. Get the shared post to the Instagram story preview screen.
  3. Tap on the Aa icon to show the keyboard. On the SwiftKey keyboard, tap on the Sticker icon.
  4. Tap on the star or pin icon followed by the Camera icon to add image from Gallery. Choose the background image for your story. Tap on the Send button on the keyboard to insert the image in the story.
  5. Now you need to follow steps 4 and 5 of method 5. That is, hide the shared post and increase the size of the background. Then drag the shared post to the center. 

Wrap Up: Change Background on Instagram Story

Changing the background on an Instagram story is one of the ways to make your stories look better. You can download interesting backgrounds from Pinterest or from wallpaper websites. To further enhance your stories, you can use stickers to create eye-catching stories.