To repost a story on Instagram, open the story, tap the Share icon (the paper airplane), then tap Add to story, Next and Share. It works on any public account that allows resharing, and you don’t need to be tagged anymore. Stories from private accounts can’t be reposted.
Key takeaways
- No tag needed. Any public story can go to your own story through Share → Add to story, unless the owner switched that off.
- Tagged in it. The Add to story button in your DMs still works, as it has since 2018.
- No button. The account is private, the owner limited resharing, or the story expired after 24 hours.
- Your own old stories wait in your Archive. Share them again or pin them to a Highlight any time.
- You decide for your stories. Settings → Sharing and reuse → Stories to stories controls who can repost yours.
How to repost a story on Instagram (no tag needed)
Instagram now lets you share someone else’s story even if you’re not tagged in it. There are just two conditions: their account is public, and they haven’t turned resharing off. Your own account can be public or private. That part doesn’t matter.
The Instagram Help Center puts the rule in one line: you can “only share someone’s Instagram story to your story if their account is public.” Public accounts allow it by default, so the button is there on most stories you’ll see from creators, brands and public friends.
- Open the story you want to repost.
- Tap the Share icon (the paper airplane) in the bottom right corner.
- Tap Add to story. Their story shows up as a sticker on a fresh story of yours.
- Edit it if you like: resize the sticker, add text, a GIF or music.
- Tap Next (the arrow in the bottom right), choose Your story or Close Friends, and tap Share.
That’s the whole thing. Five taps, maybe 15 seconds.
The first time I tried this with a public coffee shop I follow, I went digging through my DMs for a tag that was never coming. The button had been sitting under the story the whole time. Most older guides still say you need a tag, so a lot of people miss it.
What your followers see
A repost isn’t a copy. The original story sits inside yours as a sticker with the owner’s username on it. Anyone who views it can tap through to the original account, so the credit is built in. You don’t need to type their @ by hand, though adding a line like “this made my day” never hurts.
Make the repost look good
- Pinch the sticker to make it bigger. A small sticker floating in the middle looks lazy.
- Fill the empty space. Instagram picks a background color for you, but you can override it. Our guide on changing the background color on an Instagram story shows the Draw tool trick in 3 steps.
- Say why you’re sharing it. One short sentence turns a plain reshare into something your followers actually read.
How to repost a story you’re tagged in
When someone mentions you with @yourname in their story, Instagram sends a note to your DMs. Open it and tap Add to story. This is the oldest way to repost a story. Instagram launched it in June 2018, and it still works the same way.
- Open your DMs (the messages icon at the top right of your feed).
- Find the message that says the person mentioned you in their story.
- Tap Add to story. Older versions of the app call it “Add This to Your Story.”
- Edit and share the same way as above.
Two things trip people up here. First, timing: the button only works while their story is live, and stories disappear after 24 hours (here’s how long Instagram stories last and what happens after). If you wait until tomorrow, the mention is still in your DMs, but the story behind it is gone.
Second, “tagged” has to mean a real @mention. If they typed your first name without the @, or only added a location sticker, Instagram doesn’t link it to your account. No link means no DM, and no DM means no tagged button. If you’re not tagged at all, the no-tag route above still works on public accounts.
How to repost an Instagram story when you’re not tagged
Start with the normal route: open the story and look for Add to story under the Share icon. If it’s there, you’re done. No tag required. If it’s missing, the owner limited resharing or the account is private, and you have 3 honest options left.
1. Ask them to tag you
If you’re not tagged and the button is missing, this is the fastest fix. Send a quick DM: “Love this, mind tagging me so I can share it?” Once they add your @mention, the Add to story button lands in your DMs and you can repost a story the official way, with credit built in.
2. Ask for the photo or video
If tagging isn’t possible, ask them to send you the file. Post it from your camera roll and @mention them on it. You keep full quality, and they get the credit.
3. Screenshot or screen record it, with permission
You can take a screenshot of a photo story or use screen recording for a video, then post it to your story. It works, but it has real downsides:
- The quality drops, and Instagram’s interface (the progress bar, their name, the reply box) ends up in the frame unless you crop it.
- There’s no tappable link back to them, so you have to add the credit yourself.
- Instagram doesn’t send an alert for a screenshot of a regular story (more on that in our guide to whether Instagram notifies when you screenshot a story). But no alert isn’t the same as permission. Ask first.
What about repost apps from the App Store? Most of them do the same screenshot-and-upload job, often with their own watermark on top. If an app asks for your Instagram password, close it. You don’t need to log in anywhere to share a story you can already see.
Why can’t I repost someone’s Instagram story?
There are 7 usual reasons. The account is private, the owner turned resharing off or limited it, it’s a teen account, it’s a Close Friends story, it already expired, or your app is behind. Find your case below.
| Cause | Fix |
| Private account | Ask them to send you the file |
| Resharing turned off | Ask for a tag or the file |
| Only “followers you follow back” | Nothing to fix. It’s their setting |
| Teen account | Off by default. Leave it |
| Close Friends story | Ask before sharing |
| Story older than 24 hours | Ask if it’s in a Highlight |
| Old app version | Update and restart |
How to tell which one you’ve hit: on a private account there’s no Add to story option even if you follow them. If resharing is off, the Share icon only offers to send the story in a chat. If it’s limited to people they follow back, their mutual friends can repost and you can’t. Close Friends stories (the green ring) normally don’t show the option at all.
The last row explains the classic “half my friends can do it and half can’t” question. Instagram rolls features out in stages, and its help page on sharing posts to stories says plainly that it “isn’t available to everyone.” Updating the app from the App Store or Google Play fixes it more often than you’d think.
How to repost a post or Reel to your Instagram story
Feed posts and Reels use the same button. Tap Share under the post, then Add to story, then Next and Share. It only works if the account is public and the owner allows resharing, per Instagram’s guide to sharing posts to your story.
- Tap the Share icon under the photo, carousel or Reel.
- Tap Add to story.
- Tap the post card to switch its style, or pinch to resize it.
- Tap Next, then Share.
Your followers can tap the card to open the original post, so it sends people to the creator instead of keeping them on your story.
Add to story vs the new Repost button
Instagram now has two different features that both feel like “reposting.” They’re not the same thing.
| Add to story | Repost button |
| Goes to your story, gone after 24 hours | Goes to the Reposts tab on your profile and stays |
| Works on public stories, posts and Reels | Works on public posts and Reels, not stories |
| Add text, stickers, music, a background | Add a short note |
| Undo: delete the story | Undo: tap the Repost icon again |
One rule from the Repost help page is good to know: you can only repost content from the original creator. A repost of a repost won’t work.
How to repost your own Instagram story from your archive
Your expired stories aren’t gone. If Save story to archive is on, which it is by default, every story you post waits in your Stories archive. You can share any of them again in about 30 seconds.
- Go to your profile and tap the menu (three lines) in the top right.
- Tap Archive. Check that the top says Stories archive.
- Open the story you want to bring back.
- Tap Share at the bottom, edit if you like, and post it to Your story.
Want it to stay on your profile instead of disappearing again? Tap Highlight on the same screen. For the full walk-through, including the “where did my story go” cases, see how to unarchive a story on Instagram.
Can you repost a story on Instagram from a computer?
Not directly. Instagram.com lets you watch stories in a browser, but there’s no Add to story option on the web, and Instagram says its Repost feature isn’t available on computers either. For now, reposting is a phone thing. So if you’re looking up how to repost a story on Instagram from a laptop, the honest answer is: grab your phone.
If you run a business or creator account, Meta Business Suite can publish stories from a computer. It only posts your own files, though, so for someone else’s content you’d need the original file and their okay first.
How to stop people from reposting your stories
Public accounts let anyone reshare their stories by default. To change that, open Settings → Sharing and reuse → Stories to stories and choose Everyone, Followers you follow back, or Off. It takes 10 seconds.
- Everyone: the default. Anyone who sees your public story can add it to theirs.
- Followers you follow back: only your mutuals can repost.
- Off: nobody can add your stories to theirs.
The same Sharing and reuse screen has separate switches for posts and Reels. A private account doesn’t need any of this, because only public stories can be reposted in the first place. One honest limit: turning resharing off doesn’t stop screenshots.
Repost etiquette and Instagram’s 2026 originality rules
Built-in reposts credit the creator automatically, and that’s the kind of reposting Instagram wants. On April 30, 2026, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said accounts that mostly post other people’s content stop being recommended to non-followers, as PetaPixel reported. The change covers posts, carousels and Reels. Reach among your current followers stays the same.
Stories go to people who already follow you, so a story reshare isn’t the main target. Still, the same habits make your reposts better:
- Use the native button over screenshots. Credit is automatic, and Mosseri pointed creators to the Repost button for exactly that reason.
- Ask permission for anything personal. Kids, homes, private moments: get a yes first, even if the account is public.
- Add something of your own. A line of context, a reaction, a tip. That’s what your followers came for.
- Remove it if they ask. Open your story, tap More (the three dots) and Delete. No debate needed.
Watching a story before you repost it
To tap Share, you have to open the story first, so your name lands in that person’s viewer list. That’s normal when you’re about to repost them anyway. If you only want to preview a public story first, you can watch it without logging in.
Say a brand posts a giveaway story and you’re not sure it’s worth sharing. An anonymous Instagram story viewer like IGWatcher shows public stories in your browser with no account and no app, so you can check it before you open Instagram and hit Share. If the creator has agreed to let you reuse a story, IGWatcher can also save a public story in original quality, which looks far better than a screen recording. It works for public accounts only. Nothing can open a private story, and any site that says it can is a scam. Our guide on how to watch Instagram stories without being seen covers the rest.
Paste a username or profile link and watch stories, reels and highlights — no login, no app, no trace.
View any profileFAQ
Can you repost someone’s Instagram story if you aren’t tagged?
Yes, if their account is public and they allow resharing. Open the story, tap Share, then Add to story. If the option isn’t there, ask them to tag you or send you the file.
Why don’t I have the Add to story option on Instagram?
The account is private, the owner turned resharing off or limited it to people they follow back, it’s a teen account or a Close Friends story, the story expired, or your app needs an update.
How do I repost an entire Instagram story with several slides?
Each slide is a separate story. Open each one and repeat Share, then Add to story. They’ll appear in your story in the order you share them.
Can I repost a story from a private account?
No. Instagram only allows story-to-story sharing for public accounts, even if you follow the private one. You’d need the owner to send you the file.
How do I undo a story repost?
Open your story, tap More (the three dots) and choose Delete. For a post or Reel you reposted with the Repost button, tap the Repost icon again.
Does a story repost look worse than the original?
Not with Add to story, because Instagram uses the original story. Screenshots and screen recordings capture your screen instead, so they’re softer and include the app’s interface.