7-min read
A feature that lets users reshare someone else’s Reel or post to their own profile feed, or basically a retweet. But unlike Stories, reposted content lives on your profile inside a “Repost” tab (until you manually remove it).
According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the goal is to “give more credit to original creators” and move the platform beyond passive scrolling into something more “participatory”.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNBCJoiOp9J/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=Y2QwNWJ6aGd2YzV3
Sounds simple, right? But in practice, a lot of users are still confused. Some tap the icon by accident, unsure what it even does. Others don’t realize it added something to their profile, until they stumble upon it later. What was meant to empower creators ends up creating subtle friction, not because the feature is bad, but because it clashes with how users understand what “Instagram is for.”
I was casually scrolling through Reels, double-tapping like usual, when I noticed something new.
Right under every Reel was a small icon between the Comment and Share buttons. At first I ignored it. But one day, I meant to open the comments, and instead, I tapped that icon without thinking.
Boom. I had just reposted someone’s Reel to my own profile.
Now, Instagram technically shows a one-time tooltip explaining Repost the first time you tap it. But let’s be real:
It’s easy to skip. Easy to forget. And it never appears again.
More importantly, from the next time, there’s no confirmation or undo. You tap once, and the post is immediately added to your profile silently.
And honestly? It felt weird.
Because on Instagram, I do care how I’m perceived. It’s like accidentally following your ex, you just go “oh sh*t” to fix it fast. So I scrambled to unrepost.
At first, I thought it was just me. But after talking to friends and scrolling Reddit, I realized: tons of people were reposting by accident, just because the button was awkwardly placed, unfamiliar, unlabeled, and unexpected. You might not even realize it happened, let alone how to undo it.
And a lot thought it was also a bad UX Design as well.
What started as a feature meant to give creators more credit…ended up quietly breaking years of user expectations.