Remember when you first started using Instagram?

You probably loved to play around with several filters, maybe add a border, then sprinkle in a vignette effect, and top the whole thing off with a dozen hashtags before pushing out your photo for all to see. Now, five years later, you think that creation is anything but pretty. Most of us prefer little to no filter. Sometimes we'll use tools like Boomerang. But that's it. Instagram even ditched borders a while back.

If you're anything like us, you regret those old 'grams. But it's not like you want to permanently delete them. So, what are you going to do? Well, Instagram has finally introduced a simple solution for us all: Archive. It essentially lets you hide old photos - whether they're ugly, embarrassing, or whatever. Here's everything you need to know about Instagram's archiving feature, including how it works.

What is Instagram Archive?

In May, Instagram began trying out a new feature that allows users to hide old photos. Then, in June, it rolled out that feature to all Instagram users. Called Archive, Instagram described it as a tool that lets you "move posts you’ve previously shared into a space that’s visible only to you".Your profile is a representation of who you are, Instagram explained, and it should evolve with you over time.

Now, with Archive, you should have more flexibility and control over your profile. You can remove unsightly memories so that they're not sitting on your profile, mucking up your theme or online vibe, while also still preserving those moments for the future. Think of archive as a sweet spot between leaving those photos on your profile for everyone to see and deleting them from your life forever.

It allows you archive photos that you don't want on public display, but it will retain all likes and comments and still make the photos available for you - and only you - to access. You also can restore archived photos back to your public profile, if you want. The Washington Post said that teens are regularly deleting their old Instagrams in bulk, so we're assuming this feature has been released for them.

How do you hide or archive photos?

Archive a photo

To archive a post you've shared, tap the “…” icon at the top of the post and choose “Archive". Archived posts will retain their likes and comments from your followers.

View your archived photos

Tap the Archive icon in the top right corner of your profile to view all your archived photos.

Restore archived photos

If you change your mind about a post you’ve archived, tap “Show on Profile” to make it show up in its original spot.

When will archiving be available?

This new feature is apart of Instagram update 10.21. It is now available for both the iOS and Android versions of Instagram.

Want to know more?

Check out Instagram's blog post for more details.