Instagram now lets you archive old photos, hiding them from public view. You previously had to either keep your old, and potentially embarrassing, photos online for all the world to see, or delete them entirely. Now, you have a third option, and it's probably the most sensible one.

The Instagram userbase skews young. And younger people have grown up online, and are happy recording their every movement on the internet. With that in mind, the idea of deleting something probably fills the average Instagram user with dread. Cue the Instagram archive.

Disappearing From Public View

The option to archive photos is starting to show up under the "..." menu. You simply choose to archive an individual photo, and it will disappear from public view. However, unlike deleted photos, it will live on in a private folder only you can see, marked by the "Rewind Clock" icon.

You can still delete photos, but this is clearly Instagram's way of gently persuading you not to do so. Thus, it's the first option available. You can view your own archived photos, and restore them back to your public profile as and when you choose. Which makes this a no-brainer.

When asked to comment on the new archiving option, Instagram told TechCrunch, "We’re always testing new ways to improve the Instagram experience." However, this is clearly a very public test of a new feature, and the chances are Instagram will roll it out to everyone in the near future.

Archiving Offers Another Option

This may seem like a small change in the big scheme of things. However, hiding content from public view is important at a time when our whole lives are recorded online. There's a finality to deleting photos that most people will reject, but archiving offers another, better, option.

Do you have an active Instagram account? How long have you been posting to it? Have you looked back at old photos? Have you ever deleted any out of embarrassment? Do you think you'll start archiving old photos instead? Please let us know in the comments below!