Does Instagram Notify When You Repost a Post?

You tap the Repost button under a reel or a feed post, and then a second thought arrives: do people get notified when you repost on Instagram? Instagram does not document any notification to the original creator when you repost their post or reel, but a repost is not private. It is credited to the creator, it sits in a dedicated Reposts tab on your profile, and Instagram may recommend it to your followers’ feeds.

That second part matters more than the alert question. Even without a documented notification, a repost is a public action that the creator and your followers can come across. This guide covers only the native Repost button for feed posts and reels: what it shows, who can see it, how to undo it, and how creators can turn reposts off. Sharing a post to your story or a DM is a different feature with different rules, and it has its own guides linked below.

Last checked: November 2026.

What the Instagram Repost button does

Instagram added reposts for public reels and feed posts in August 2025. The Instagram announcement from 6 August 2025 says: “Reposts will be recommended to your friends’ and followers’ feeds, and they’ll also be in a separate tab on your profile, so you can always go back to revisit your reposts.”

The Help Center page on reposting a reel or post describes the same feature from the user side. To repost, you tap Repost on a public reel or post. You can add a short note by tapping the bubble by your profile picture, typing your text, and tapping Save. The page also notes that “This feature may not be available to everyone,” so your app may not show the button yet.

A few limits apply to every Instagram repost:

• Public content only. The Help Center describes reposting for public reels and posts. It does not describe a way to repost content from a private account.
• The creator must allow it. The Help Center says “you can only repost reels or posts if the original creator allows reposts of their content.”
• No reposts of reposts. “Only content posted by the original creator can be reposted. You cannot repost a repost.”

Do people get notified when you repost on Instagram?

The honest answer is that Instagram does not say. No Help Center page and no Meta announcement states that the original creator receives a notification when you repost. No page states that they don’t, either. Instagram’s general page on how notifications work lists likes, comments, mentions, follows and tags, and reposts are not on that list. That list is short and old, though, so it is not proof that no repost alert exists.

What Instagram does document is that a repost is credited and visible. Meta’s newsroom post says: “Reposts are credited to the original poster. If you’re a creator, this means that if your content is reposted by someone else, it may be recommended to that person’s followers, even if those people don’t follow you.”

So the safe way to think about a repost is this: assume the creator can find out. Your repost carries their credit, it appears on your profile, and it can reach people in their audience and yours. If you want a share to stay quiet, a repost is the wrong tool.

Is a repost on Instagram anonymous?

No. An Instagram repost is tied to your account in several places that other people can see:

• Your profile. Reposts “will appear in a dedicated repost tab on your profile,” per the Help Center. Anyone who can view your profile can open that tab.
• Your followers’ feeds. “Your followers may see that you reposted in their feeds.”
• The content itself. The Help Center says your followers “may be able to see your repost if they come across that piece of content.” To report a repost, Instagram tells you to long-press “the profile picture of the repost on the bottom left of the reel or post,” which shows that the reposter’s picture appears on the content.
• The Reels Friends tab. Instagram’s announcement describes a “Friends” tab in Reels where you can see content “your friends have liked, created, reposted or commented on.”

“Other Instagram users can comment on your repost and these comments will appear as direct messages to you.” That is the opposite of anonymous.

Repost vs sharing to a story or a DM

People often mix up three different actions. The table shows how they differ, based on Instagram’s documentation.

The DM row comes from the Help Center page on sharing a post to a chat. For the story row, read whether Instagram notifies when you share a post to your story. For the general sharing picture, see if you share someone’s Instagram post, will they know.

If you repost and unrepost on Instagram, will they know?

You can undo a repost at any time. The Help Center says: “You can remove a repost by tapping Repost on the reel or post that you reposted.” You can also remove several at once: tap your profile picture, tap Menu, tap Your activity, tap Reposts, select the reels or posts, and tap Delete.

Instagram does not document what an undo removes on the creator’s side. Because no repost notification is documented in the first place, there is also no documented rule about whether an undo clears one. What is clear is the time factor. While the repost was live, it sat on your profile and could be recommended to feeds. Anyone who saw it in that window already saw it. Removing the repost stops future views; it cannot take back past ones.

This is similar to the documented rule for likes, where an alert that has already been sent stays sent. If you want to know how that works for likes, see whether unliking a post removes the notification.

Do you get notified if someone reposts your Instagram post?

From the creator’s side, Instagram again documents no specific repost alert. What creators get is reach: Meta says a repost “may be recommended to that person’s followers, even if those people don’t follow you.”

If you would rather not have your content reposted, you can turn the feature off. The Help Center path is: tap your profile picture, tap Menu, tap Sharing and reuse below How others can interact with you, then use the toggle next to Reposts on posts and reels. Menu names can differ by app version.

Note that this is a separate setting from the one that controls story reshares. The Help Center page on stopping others from sharing your posts describes a toggle called Posts and reels to stories. Turning that off stops reshares to stories. It is not described as affecting the Repost button. If you want to block both, check both toggles.

If you want to see who shared your content in other ways, this guide to seeing who shared your Instagram post explains what Instagram shows and what it keeps private.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you repost someone’s post on Instagram, will they know?

Instagram does not document a notification to the creator. But the repost is credited to them, it shows in your Reposts tab, and it may be recommended to your followers’ feeds. Treat it as something the creator can see if they or their audience come across it.

Can you repost on Instagram without anyone knowing?

No. A repost is visible on your profile and can appear in followers’ feeds and in the Reels Friends tab. If you want to pass a post to one person quietly, send it in a DM instead. Instagram’s Help Center says the person who uploaded the post won’t be notified when you share it to a chat.

Can you repost a post from a private account?

Instagram documents reposting for public reels and posts only, and only when the original creator allows reposts. It describes no option for private-account content. You also cannot repost a repost; only the original content can be reposted.

Does deleting a repost remove it everywhere?

Removing a repost takes it out of your Reposts tab, and you can delete reposts one by one or in bulk from Your activity. Instagram does not document what happens to any feed impressions or alerts that already happened before you removed it.

Can followers comment on your repost?

Yes. Instagram’s Help Center says other users can comment on your repost, and those comments arrive as direct messages to you.

Bottom line

Instagram does not document a notification to the creator when you repost their post or reel. What is documented is enough to make the decision: a repost is public, credited to the creator, and shown on your profile and in feeds. You can undo it by tapping Repost again or by bulk-deleting in Your activity, but views that already happened stay. If you need a share to stay private, send the post in a DM. If you are a creator, the Reposts on posts and reels toggle lets you turn reposting of your content off.