Instagram confirms it is testing a repost feature

A new feature may be coming to Instagram that lets users repost others’ posts or Reels. It was spotted by social media analyst Matt Navarra, who posted a screenshot to Twitter. It showed a mew profile tab called “Reposts”. Instagram later confirmed it was testing the feature in a statement to TechCrunch.

We’re exploring the ability to reshare posts in Feed – similar to how you can reshare in Stores – so people can share what resonates with them, and so original creators are credited for their work[…] We plan to test this soon with a small number of people.

Currently, the most common way for people to repost or share posts is by adding them to a story that expires in 24 hours. This new “Repost” feature would work by sending a reposted reel or post to a user’s followers’ main feeds rather than in stories. Both Twitter and TikTok each have their own similar feature.

This is what the new instagram repost feature intro screen looks like

h/t @alex193a pic.twitter.com/ldOX5PO4Eg

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 9, 2022

The published screenshots reveal that the repost feature is to “recommend a post your friends may enjoy by reposting it to a feed or story”. The Repost feature will be in the share menu of a post or reel and followers will be able to respond to the reposted content with a message to the reposter. Meanwhile, the reposts tab will be shown in a user’s profile, which followers can see. Users may also be able to add thoughts to a repost before sharing it.

In recent times, Instagram has made a major push with Reels and video content, and not long before that, it was pushing the shop feature - putting the social app’s original vision of a place for sharing photos on the backburner in efforts to compete with the intense popularity of short-video platform TikTok.

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