How to Turn Off Reposts on Instagram and Stop People Resharing Your Posts

How to turn off repost on Instagram

To turn off reposts on Instagram, open your profile menu, go to Sharing and reuse, and switch off Reposts on posts and reels. These steps come from Instagram's Help Center and work in the iPhone and Android apps.

1. Open the Instagram app and tap your profile photo at the bottom right.
2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) at the top right.
3. Scroll to How others can interact with you.
4. Tap Sharing and reuse.
5. Turn off the toggle next to Reposts on posts and reels.

The switch covers reposts of both your posts and your Reels. You can turn it back on at any time with the same steps.

Menu names can differ slightly between app versions. If you cannot find Sharing and reuse, update the app first, then look again under How others can interact with you.

What changes when you disable reposts on Instagram

When you disable reposts on Instagram, the repost button disappears from all your posts and Reels, so nobody can add them to their Reposts tab or push them into their followers' feeds.

Here is what the switch does and does not cover.

Turning off reposts also changes how far your content can travel. Meta says reposted content may be recommended to the reposter's followers, even if they do not follow you. With reposts off, you give up that extra reach.

What happens to reposts made before you switch it off?

Instagram's help pages do not clearly say whether reposts made before you switch the setting off are removed. The setting is described as stopping new reposts by removing the repost button.

For remixes and other reuse, Instagram's Help Center is clearer. Content that reused your media before you changed the setting stays visible until you delete your original post.

If you need an old repost gone, you have three options:

1. Ask the person. Send a polite message asking them to remove the repost.
2. Report it. If the repost breaks Instagram's rules, report it (steps below).
3. Delete your original. A repost shares your original post rather than a copy, so removing the original is the step fully in your control.

To check who has reposted your content, see our guide on how to see reposts on Instagram.

Stop people reposting your Instagram posts to their Stories

To stop people sharing your Instagram posts to their Stories, switch off Posts and reels to stories on the same Sharing and reuse screen. Instagram's Help Center offers this option to public accounts.

1. Tap your profile photo, then the menu icon at the top right.
2. Under How others can interact with you, tap Sharing and reuse.
3. Turn off the toggle next to Posts and reels to stories.

Once it is off, other people can no longer add your feed posts to their Story. A separate setting on the same screen, Stories to stories, controls who can reshare your Stories, with the choices Everyone, Followers you follow back, or Off.

Instagram's Help Center also notes that you cannot see who reshared your Reel or where they shared it, whether your account is public or private.

Turn off remix and other reuse of your content

Remixing is controlled separately from reposts. Instagram lets you turn off reuse of your Reels, feed videos and photos for your whole account, or for individual posts.

On a public account, any Instagram user can reuse all or part of your Reels, videos and photos in features such as Remix, Sequences, Templates and Stickers, unless you switch it off. Instagram notes that you cannot turn off reuse of your original audio, text or comments.

Turn off reuse for your whole account

1. Tap your profile photo, then the menu icon at the top right.
2. Under How others can interact with you, tap Sharing and reuse.
3. Under Allow people to create with and reuse your content, turn off the toggle next to Posts, Reels or both.

Turn off reuse on a single post

1. Go to your profile and tap the Reel or photo you want to manage.
2. Tap Options in the bottom right.
3. Tap Turn off reuse, then tap Turn off to confirm.

Account-level changes only affect reuse from that point on, and you can still adjust any single post afterwards.

For public accounts of people under 18, Instagram limits reuse to people they follow, and only if their settings allow it.

Instagram repost settings compared: which control to use

The right Instagram repost setting depends on how much sharing you want to stop. A private account is the strongest option, because Instagram only allows reposts of public content.

Instagram's Help Center adds one more rule for private accounts. If you switch from public to private and stay private for more than 24 hours, reels, posts and stories that reused your content are deleted.

If you want to tidy up the reposts you made yourself, see how to delete a repost on Instagram or how to hide reposts on Instagram.

How to report a repost of your content

If someone reposted your content in a harmful or abusive way, report the repost directly. Instagram's Help Center gives these steps.

1. Open the reposted post or Reel.
2. Press and hold the profile photo of the person who reposted it, at the bottom left.
3. Tap Report.
4. Follow the on-screen steps to choose a reason.

If someone downloaded your photo or video and posted it as their own, that is a copyright issue rather than a repost. Report the post itself and choose the option for intellectual property. Reposts credit you automatically, but re-uploads often do not.

Should you turn off reposts on Instagram?

Turn off reposts if you want tight control over where your posts appear, such as for personal photos or paid content. Leave them on if you want more people to discover your work.

• Keep reposts on if you are a creator or brand that wants reach. Reposts credit you and can put your post in front of people who do not follow you yet.
• Turn reposts off if your posts are personal, if you sell exclusive content, or if reposts are bringing unwanted attention.
• Use a mix by keeping reposts on but turning off remixing, so people can share your work without editing it.

Brands that want their posts shared more often sometimes buy Instagram reposts, which only works while reposts are switched on. Bought reposts add social proof to a post. They do not create real fans or sales by themselves. For the sharing side, see our guide on how to repost on Instagram.