How to Repost a Story on Instagram (2026 Guide)

You want to reshare a story — maybe a friend tagged your brand, maybe you loved a creator's post, maybe you're digging up one of your own archived stories for a throwback. The frustrating part is that Instagram doesn't have a single "repost" button the way Twitter has retweet. What you can do depends on who posted the story, whether you were tagged or mentioned, and what device you're on.

The good news: for most real-world cases there is a clean, native way to do it. For the one case there isn't — reposting someone's story when they didn't tag you — there's a polite, ethical workaround that keeps you on the right side of Instagram's content rules.

This guide walks through every scenario: tagged mentions, feed posts shared as stories, untagged reposts, reposting your own archive, and Reels. If you're still new to the format itself, start with our primer on how to create killer Instagram stories and then come back.

Quick answer

• Tagged in someone's story? Open the DM Instagram sends you and tap Add to your story. Native, one tap.
• Want to share a feed post as a story? Tap the paper-airplane icon under the post and choose Add post to your story. Native.
• Want to share someone's story and they didn't tag you? Instagram has no native button. Ask them to tag you, or screenshot and credit the creator clearly.
• Reposting your own past story? Profile → menu → Archive → pick the story → three-dot menu → Share as post or Share to story. Native.
• Reels? Tap the share arrow on the Reel and choose Add Reel to your story. Native.
• Always credit the original creator. Don't crop out their @mention. Don't monetize someone else's content without written permission.

1. Reposting a story you were tagged or mentioned in

This is the cleanest case, and it's fully native on iOS, Android, and the mobile web.

When another account mentions your handle inside their story — either with the @mention sticker or by typing @yourhandle as text — Instagram automatically sends you a DM that says something like "[username] mentioned you in their story." Inside that DM you'll see a preview of the story and a button labelled Add to your story.

Steps on iOS and Android:

1. Open your DMs (the paper-plane icon, top right).
2. Look for the mention notification. It's a separate thread from normal messages.
3. Tap the preview.
4. Tap Add to your story.
5. The story opens in the editor with the original frame as a layered sticker and an @mention back to the original poster baked in.
6. Add a reaction, sticker, or line of text if you want — or just tap Your story to publish as-is.

A few things worth knowing:

• The mention DM expires when the original story expires (24 hours). If you wait until the story is gone, the repost option vanishes too.
• The repost keeps a visible credit link back to the original poster. Do not cover it with a sticker.
• If the original poster has a private account, your repost will only be visible to people who also follow them. Instagram does this on purpose.
• Web Instagram shows you the mention notification but the Add to your story button is mobile-only — you'll need to open the app.

2. Reposting a feed post as a story

If you see a feed post (a photo, carousel, or Reel in the main grid) that you want on your story, Instagram has a native share option — assuming the original author hasn't disabled resharing.

Steps:

1. Open the post.
2. Tap the paper-airplane icon underneath it (the same one you'd use to DM a post).
3. Choose Add post to your story at the top of the share sheet.
4. The post appears as a layered, tappable sticker inside the story editor.
5. Move, scale, or rotate the sticker. Add a sentence explaining why you're sharing. Consider a poll or question sticker to drive replies — good caption ideas live in our guide on writing captions for more shareable Instagram content.
6. Publish to your story, your close friends list, or both.

If the Add post to your story option isn't visible, the original account has turned off resharing in their privacy settings. There is no workaround for that — respect it.

Two platform notes:

• On the mobile web, the paper-airplane icon exists but leads to a stripped-down share sheet; the Add post to your story option is only reliable inside the native app on iOS and Android.
• The resulting sticker links back to the original post. Viewers can tap it to visit the source, which is exactly what Instagram wants — and exactly why this flow is always preferred over screenshotting.

3. Reposting someone's story when you were NOT tagged

This is the hard case. Instagram does not provide a native button to repost an arbitrary story from another account to your own. If a tutorial claims otherwise, it's either out of date or talking about a third-party app — more on those below.

Realistic options, in descending order of ethics:

Option A — Ask the original poster to mention you. The cleanest path. Send them a quick DM: "Loved this — would you mind tagging me so I can reshare?" When they edit the story (or post a new one) with your @mention, scenario 1 applies and you repost with one tap. Creators generally say yes, because the repost drives traffic back to them.

Option B — Send it to yourself in a DM, then screenshot. Open the story, tap the paper-airplane, send it to your own account (or to a close friend you trust), and screenshot the preview. Then upload the screenshot to your own story with a prominent @mention sticker crediting the original creator.

This is the most common real-world workflow, and Instagram tolerates it only if you credit clearly. Their community guidelines treat uncredited reposting as content theft, which can get your account rate-limited, shadowbanned, or removed depending on scale.

When you publish the screenshot:

• Add the @mention sticker with the creator's handle — not just text in the caption.
• Don't crop out their visible username or watermark from the original frame.
• Don't run their content through a filter that makes it look like yours.
• If the story was paid, branded, or gated behind a Close Friends list, don't repost it at all.

Option C — Share inside a DM only. If what you actually want is to send the story to one friend, skip the repost entirely. Use the paper-airplane inside the story and send it as a DM. The original creator is notified, credit is automatic, and the content doesn't live on your public profile.

Option D — Use Instagram's native "Share to" when a brand messages you. If a brand or creator sent you a story directly (for example, a collab or UGC review), the DM itself sometimes includes a Share to your story button inside the message. Use it. This is native, credited, and fully within the rules.

4. Reposting your own past story from the archive

Every story you publish is saved by default in your personal archive (unless you turned that setting off). This means you can resurface any of your past stories as new content — a throwback, a launch anniversary, a milestone, or just a good frame you want back in rotation.

Steps on iOS and Android:

1. Open your profile.
2. Tap the hamburger menu (three lines, top right).
3. Choose Archive. It defaults to Stories archive.
4. Scroll or use the calendar view to find the frame you want.
5. Tap the story to open it.
6. Tap the three-dot menu (More) in the bottom right.
7. Choose Share as post (publishes it to your main feed with an auto-generated square crop) or Share to story (reposts it as a new 24-hour story).

Choosing Share to story opens the full story editor so you can add stickers, a caption, or music before publishing. It behaves exactly like a brand-new story — followers see it as fresh in their tray, and it counts toward your story highlights eligibility.

A few practical uses:

• Anniversary content. Repost your launch-day story a year later with a reflection caption.
• Proof and social proof. If a customer tagged you six months ago and you archived the repost, you can bring it back.
• Fill a quiet day. If you didn't have time to shoot today, reposting a strong past frame beats posting nothing.

If you don't see an archive at all, check Settings → Privacy → Story → Save to Archive and turn it on. New stories save from that moment forward; anything you posted before the toggle flipped is gone.

For ideas on what actually earns engagement when you resurface old content, see our breakdown of Instagram strategies to get more likes and how to get more comments on Instagram.

5. Reposting a Reel to your story

Reels are the most reshared format on Instagram, and the flow mirrors feed posts.

1. Open the Reel.
2. Tap the paper-airplane share icon on the right side of the screen.
3. Choose Add Reel to your story.
4. The Reel appears as a looping, tappable sticker. Resize or reposition it.
5. Add a caption or a poll and publish.

Same caveats as feed posts: if the creator disabled resharing, the option won't appear. If a Reel is marked as a branded content ad, the repost option is usually stripped. Viewers who tap your story go straight to the source Reel, which is why Reels often outperform ordinary story reposts for reach — the format favors creators who share what they discover. For deeper mechanics on why that is, see our guide to Instagram Reels hacks.

Scenario summary

The pattern: if the platform wants you to reshare, there's a one-tap button. If there isn't one, the default answer is credit and consent.

Ethics of reposting

Reposting is social currency. Done well, it builds goodwill with creators and looks generous to your audience. Done badly, it looks like theft — and Instagram's rules are clearer than people think.

• Credit is mandatory. If you use content you didn't create, the original creator must be visibly credited in the share. Use the @mention sticker, not just a text caption — stickers are tappable.
• Don't crop out watermarks or handles. If the creator put their name on the frame, leaving it in place is the minimum. Erasing it is a fast way to get reported.
• Don't monetize someone else's content without permission. Reposting a photographer's image to a product promo story without a written OK is a copyright problem, not an Instagram problem — it can end in a takedown notice or worse.
• Close Friends content is off-limits. If someone shared a story to a limited list, it was limited on purpose. Don't forward it, don't screenshot it, don't quote it.
• Branded content needs explicit sign-off. Brand collabs and paid partnerships are contracts. Reposting someone else's paid placement can breach that contract even if they tagged you.

The simple test: if the creator saw your repost, would they thank you or feel stolen from? If you're not sure, ask.

Myths and third-party "repost apps"

Search the app store for "repost" and you'll find dozens of results promising to give Instagram the retweet button it's missing. A few things to know before you install any of them.

• None of them unlock a native repost button. Instagram's API doesn't allow it. Whatever a third-party app does, it's doing it by screenshotting, scraping, or copy-pasting — which you can do yourself without handing over your login.
• The ones that ask for your Instagram password are the most dangerous. That login is now on a server you don't control. Instagram will flag the login location and may lock your account; malicious operators will use the session token to spam your followers or DM your contacts.
• The ones that don't ask for your password are mostly watermark generators. They add a small credit line to a screenshot. You can do that in seconds with the @mention sticker instead, for free, without a third-party app in the loop.
• "Repost without credit" apps are a red flag. Stripping attribution isn't a feature, it's a content-theft pitch. Accounts built on uncredited repost loops get mass-reported and eventually removed.

If you want to build a feed where reposts are a legitimate part of your strategy — curated discovery, user-generated content, community spotlights — do it natively with consent and tags. Combined with strong Instagram hashtags that grow your business, credited reposts are a compounding engine. Uncredited ones are a one-way ticket to a warning email.

FAQ

Can I repost a story if I'm not tagged in it, without screenshotting? No. Instagram offers no native path for that. Your options are to ask the creator to mention you, or to screenshot with a visible @mention credit. There is no third way that stays on the right side of the rules.

Does the original poster get notified when I repost their story? Yes, if you used the native Add to your story flow from a tagged mention — the mention sticker links back and shows up in their notifications. A screenshot repost does not notify automatically, which is exactly why manual credit matters.

Why is the "Add post to your story" option missing on some posts? The original poster turned off resharing in Settings → Privacy → Allow sharing to Stories. It's a per-account switch. You can't override it.

Can I repost from the Instagram web app? Partly. The web shows story mentions and lets you view shared content, but the actual Add to your story button and the archive flow are mobile-only in most regions. Expect to reach for your phone for the final step.

How do I repost my own story after the 24 hours are up? Open your profile, tap the menu, go to Archive → Stories archive, pick the frame, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Share to story or Share as post. Works for anything saved to your archive.

Can I repost a story to my close friends list only? Yes. In the story editor, tap Close Friends instead of Your story before publishing. The repost follows the same list visibility rules as any original story.

Does reposting hurt reach? Not by itself. What hurts reach is low-engagement reposts — screenshots with no caption, no sticker, no reason for viewers to stop. A reposted frame with a poll, a reaction, or a genuine comment performs about as well as an original story. For frames of your own, start from our guide on creating killer Instagram stories.

Final word

Reposting on Instagram is less about finding a secret button and more about picking the right native flow for the situation: tagged mentions for shared credit, post-to-story for feed content, archive for your own history, and an honest screenshot-with-credit when nothing else fits.

Treat every repost like a co-sign. The creators you credit today are the ones who will tag you back tomorrow — which is, conveniently, how you unlock the easiest repost flow of all. If you're ready to make more of your own shareable content, the next stops are our guides on how to create killer Instagram stories and Instagram Reels hacks that reach a new level.

Related Posts

• How to Create Killer Instagram Stories
• Tips To Make Creative Captions for Instagram Content
• Reach New Level Using These Instagram Reels Hacks