How to Share a Post on Instagram: All 4 Ways in 2026

To share a post on Instagram, tap the paper plane icon under the post or reel. You then get three options: Add to story, send it in a message to one or more people, or Copy link to paste it somewhere else. Since August 2025 there’s a fourth option, the Repost button, which puts the content in your followers’ feeds. Each method has its own conditions, and every share counts: to Instagram, a post that gets sent and reshared weighs more than one that’s only been liked, even if it has plenty of Instagram likes.

What are the ways to share a post?

The four methods don’t reach the same people and don’t leave the same traces. Here’s the summary, based on Instagram’s help pages as of September 2026.

A note on labels: depending on the help page and app version, the paper plane icon is called Share or Send. It’s the same button.

How to choose? To recommend a post to one or two specific people, a message does the job and stays private. To show it to your whole audience for a day, that’s what stories are for. To keep it on display next to your own content, with credit to the creator, Repost fits better. And to take it outside Instagram, the link is the only way.

How do you share a post to your story?

This is the most common move, for your own post as much as for someone else’s.

1. Under the photo or video, tap the Share icon (the paper plane).
2. Tap Add to story.
3. In the editor, resize the preview and add text, a sticker or music if you like.
4. Tap Next in the bottom right, then Share.

The preview stays clickable: viewers can see which account the content comes from and open it. On someone else’s post, the option only appears if their account is public and they’ve left resharing on. Instagram also notes the feature isn’t available to everyone.

Creator tip: putting your own post in your story a few hours after publishing often gives it a second wind. Instagram’s official Creators account shows a “new post” treatment that makes people want to tap:

For every other case (a friend’s story, a story you’re mentioned in, a story from an account that didn’t tag you), our guide on how to share a story on Instagram covers all six routes.

How do you send a post in a message?

Sending by message is discreet: nothing shows up in your feed, on your profile or in search results.

1. Tap the Share icon under the photo, reel or carousel.
2. Select one or more people from the list, or a group, or type a name into search.
3. Add a message in the field if you want, then tap Send.

Two rules worth knowing. If the post comes from a private account, only people who follow that account can open it; everyone else sees it as unavailable. And the person who posted it isn’t told you sent it. Instagram’s help says so plainly: the person who uploaded the post won’t be notified. At most they see the total number of shares in their insights, without names.

This gesture matters a lot for distribution. Metricool’s Reels guide from 21 September 2026 notes that sends per reach now weigh more than likes in how Instagram distributes a reel.

How do you copy the link to a post?

To share a post outside Instagram, in an email, a text or another app, the link is the answer.

1. Tap the Share icon under the post.
2. At the bottom of the sheet, tap Copy link.
3. Paste it wherever you want. The same row often has direct shortcuts to WhatsApp, Messenger or your phone’s share menu.

On a computer, the link is in the browser’s address bar when the post is open, or in the three-dot menu. Heads-up: if the account is private, the link only opens for its logged-in followers.

What about Facebook?

For your own content you don’t need to copy anything: if your Instagram and Facebook accounts are linked in Accounts Center, the posting screen offers to share the post or reel to Facebook as well. You can turn it on case by case or leave it on by default. For someone else’s post, use the link.

How do you use the Repost button?

Instagram launched it on 6 August 2025, alongside the map and the Friends tab in Reels. It works a bit like a retweet: the content stays credited to its creator, but your followers can see it in their feed.

1. On the public post or reel, tap the Repost icon (the two arrows, next to the comment button).
2. To add a comment, tap the small bubble next to your profile picture in the bottom left.
3. Type your note, then tap Save.

The content joins the Reposts tab on your profile. You can’t repost a repost, only the original. To undo it, tap Repost again. And to clean up in one go, go to your profile, menu, Your activity, then Reposts: select and delete.

Unlike a message, a repost is visible and the creator gets a notification. We go through the traces each kind of share leaves in our article on who shared your Instagram profile.

Here’s the process, step by step on screen:

Why can’t you share a post?

If Add to story or Repost doesn’t show up, these are the usual causes, in the order you should check them:

• The account is private. Its posts can’t go to stories or be reposted. Only messages work, and only for its followers.
• The creator turned sharing off. Any public account can disable these options in its settings.
• Your app is out of date, or the feature hasn’t reached your account yet: Instagram rolls out Repost gradually.
• You’re trying to repost a repost. Go back to the original post.

Controlling how your own posts get shared

Rather your posts didn’t travel? With a public account, go to your profile, tap the menu in the top right, then Sharing and reuse under How others can interact with you. Two toggles matter: Posts and reels to stories, and the one for reposts on your posts and reels. If you do want your content to travel, leave them on: every share puts your post in front of people who don’t follow you yet, which is often how accounts gain Instagram followers without ads.