How to repost on Instagram, and how to undo an accidental one

Instagram has a repost button, and it is easy to tap by accident. It is the small icon of two curved arrows under every post and reel, right after the heart and the comment bubble. One tap shares that content with all of your followers. If you did not mean to, you can take it back.

What reposting does

A repost lets you reshare a public post or reel from another account without copying it. The original creator stays credited, which can also bring them a bigger audience. Reposts appear in your followers' feeds and in the Friends tab within Reels. They also collect in their own tab on your profile.

Unlike a Story, which disappears after 24 hours, a repost stays up longer. It will never look like your own work.

How to repost

• Find a public post or reel you want to share.
• Tap the repost icon, the two curved arrows.
• Add a short note if you like, using the thought-bubble icon.
• Tap Save.

One catch: you can only repost content if its creator allows it. The same goes for your own posts.

How to let others repost you

Go to your profile and tap the menu button at the top. Choose Sharing and reuse. Under Allow people to share your posts and reels, switch on the toggle for Reposts on posts and reels.

How to undo an accidental repost

Because of where the button sits, accidental reposts are common. Several fixes work:

• Go back to the post and tap the repost icon again.
• Long-press the post and choose Delete repost.
• On a video, tap the bubble with your profile picture, then Delete.
• For a bigger cleanup, go to Profile, then Your activity, then Reposts. Tap Select, pick the posts and tap Delete.

The cleanup steps work much the same in a web browser as in the mobile app.

What to keep in mind

Every follower can see your reposts. Check which post you are tapping before you share it, especially if you scroll quickly. Your reposts tab is also visible on your profile, and it is the same on any profile you visit.