Since August 2025, Instagram has had its own Repost button. Tap it under a public Reel and the Reel goes to a Reposts tab on your profile, credited to the person who made it. Instagram can also recommend your repost to your followers and friends in their feeds.
Reposting is one of four ways to pass a Reel on. You can also send it in a Direct message, add it to your Story, or make a Remix of it. The four end up in different places and reach different people, so it helps to know which one you are using. This guide walks through each of them, then covers what to do when a button is missing.
Four ways to reshare an Instagram Reel
| Method | Where it appears | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Repost | The Reposts tab on your profile, and possibly your followers’ and friends’ feeds | The people Instagram recommends it to, starting with your followers and friends |
| Direct message | A private chat or group chat | Only the people in that chat |
| Share to Story | Your Story, for 24 hours | Anyone who can see your Stories |
| Remix | A new Reel on your own profile | Anyone who can see your Reels |
In all four cases the creator stays attached to the Reel. A repost is credited to the original poster, a message and a Story both open the original Reel, and a Remix plays the original inside your own video.
How to repost a Reel with the Repost button
- Open the Reel or feed post you want to repost. It has to come from a public account.
- Tap the repost icon, the two arrows that form a loop, next to the like, comment and share icons.
- If you want to add a comment of your own, type it into the thought bubble that appears and tap Save. The note is optional.
The Reel now sits in the Reposts tab on your profile, and Instagram can show it to your followers and friends in their feeds. Meta describes the feature in its official announcement from August 6, 2025, and Instagram’s help center has a page on how to repost a reel or a post.
To take a repost back, open the Reel and tap the repost icon again. Everything you have reposted is listed in the Reposts tab on your own profile.
What a repost does for the creator
Instagram credits every repost to the original poster. It also says a reposted Reel may be recommended to the reposter’s followers even if those people don’t follow the creator. For a creator, that makes each repost a chance to reach a new audience. Instagram still decides who actually sees it, so a repost opens a door to extra distribution. It doesn’t come with a guaranteed number of views.
How to send a Reel in a Direct message
- Tap the share icon (the paper plane) on the Reel.
- Pick one or more people, or a group chat. You can add a message if you like.
- Tap Send.
Only the people in that chat see it. Nothing appears on your profile. This is the right choice when a Reel is meant for one friend or a small group rather than for everyone who follows you.
How to share a Reel to your Story
- Tap the share icon (the paper plane) on the Reel.
- Choose Add to story.
- Move or resize the Reel, add text, stickers or a mention of the creator, and share it.
The Reel stays in your Story for 24 hours, like any other Story, and people who watch it can tap through to the original. To keep it on your profile for longer, add that Story to a Highlight.
If Add to story isn’t there, the Reel comes from a private account or the creator has turned off sharing to Stories. You can usually still send it in a message.
How to remix a Reel
A Remix is a new Reel of your own built around someone else’s Reel. You can record your part next to the original in a split screen, put yourself in front of it with a green screen, react to it in a small picture-in-picture window, or add a clip that plays right after it. Meta listed these layouts when it expanded Remix in 2022, and public photos can be remixed too (Meta’s announcement).
- Open the Reel and tap the three dots or the share icon, depending on your version of the app.
- Choose Remix.
- Pick a layout, record or add your clip, then post it as a new Reel.
Remix suits reactions, duets, answers to another creator’s tutorial and trend formats. If you can’t find the option, the account is private or the creator has switched off remixing for that Reel.
Repost or share: which one do you need?
Instagram treats them as separate actions. A repost is public. It stays connected to the original post, sits on your profile and can be recommended to your followers. A share sends the Reel somewhere specific: a chat, a group or your Story.
So choose by audience. If you want your followers to see that you recommend something, repost it. If you want one person to see it, send it in a message. If you want to put your own text on top of it for a day, add it to your Story.
Businesses sometimes want more of one of these actions on a particular post. We sell Instagram reposts and Instagram shares as two separate services, so an order always matches the action you are after.
How to bring your own Reel back
To put an older Reel of yours in front of people again:
- Share it to your Story. Followers see it again and can tap through to the Reel.
- Pin it to the top of your profile grid, so new visitors see it first.
- If you archived it, open your Archive and choose Show on profile. It goes back to its original place in your grid, not to the top.
Downloading and re-uploading someone else’s Reel
Before the Repost button existed, people used repost apps or screen recordings and uploaded the video again as their own post. You can still do that, but it has two problems. The copy isn’t connected to the creator, so the credit depends entirely on what you write in the caption. And Instagram limits accounts built on other people’s content: since April 2026, accounts that regularly post content they didn’t create can lose eligibility for recommendations, and the rule now covers photos and carousels as well as Reels (TechCrunch). Edits that add something of your own, such as commentary or a voiceover, count as original. A watermark or a speed change doesn’t.
If you do re-upload a Reel, ask the creator first, tag them in the caption and in the video, and add something of your own. And never give a repost app your Instagram password.
When a button is missing
There is no repost icon
The account is private, the creator has turned reposts off, or your app needs an update. Only public Reels and feed posts can be reposted.
There is no Add to story option
The account is private or the creator has turned off sharing to Stories. Sending the Reel in a message usually still works.
There is no Remix option
Remixing is switched off for that Reel, or the account is private.
You reposted something by mistake
Open the Reel and tap the repost icon again. The repost disappears from your Reposts tab.
Frequently asked questions
Can you repost a Reel to your profile now?
Yes. Since August 2025 the repost icon puts a public Reel in the Reposts tab on your profile. Reposts have their own tab, so they don’t mix with your own posts in the main grid.
Does the creator get credit when you repost?
Yes. Instagram credits reposts to the original poster, and the repost stays connected to the original Reel.
Can you repost a Reel from a private account?
No. The Repost button works on public Reels and feed posts only.
What’s the difference between a repost and a remix?
A repost passes the original along unchanged. A remix is a new Reel that you record yourself, with the original playing alongside your part or right before it.
How do I undo a repost?
Open the Reel and tap the repost icon again. You can find all your reposts in the Reposts tab on your profile.
Do I need permission to repost a Reel?
The built-in Repost, Share and Remix tools only work when the creator allows them, and they keep the creator’s name attached to the Reel. Re-uploading a copy of someone’s video is a different matter: ask for permission first and credit them clearly.