How to Share an Instagram Post to Your Story
Tap Share below the post, tap Add to story, tap Next, then tap Share: that’s how to share an Instagram post to your story in the app. The catch is on the other side. The account that posted it has to be public and allow resharing, and Instagram says the feature isn’t available to everyone, so the option can simply be missing.
If you see Add to story, the steps below are all you need. If you don’t, go straight to why you can’t share a post. Other Instagram tasks are covered in our guide to using Instagram.
Table of Contents
- How to share an Instagram post to your story
- Why can’t I share a post to my story?
- How to share someone’s story to your story
- How to stop people sharing your posts to their stories
- Add to story vs Repost: what’s the difference?
- Can you see who shared your post?
- Frequently asked questions
How to share an Instagram post to your story
Tap Share below the photo or video in Feed, then Add to story, Next and Share. Your story then carries the post, and anyone who views it can see who originally posted it and open the original account. Reels fall under the same rules: the owner’s setting that controls resharing is called “Posts and reels to stories”. The steps, identical on iPhone and Android:
On iPhone:
- Tap Share below the photo or video in Feed.
- Tap Add to story.
- Tap Next in the bottom right.
- Tap Share.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's post from feed to your Instagram story.
On Instagram Lite for Android, the route is shorter: Share, then Add post/reel to your story, then Your story.
On a computer, Instagram documents no way to do this. The computer version of its help article on sharing posts to your story repeats the phone steps and gives no instagram.com route. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's post from feed to your Instagram story (computer version) Instagram’s sources also disagree about stories on a computer in general. Its Help Center article on sharing your own photo or video to a story says that isn’t available on computers. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a photo or video to your Instagram story (computer version) Its 2026 Stories guide says you can create a story at instagram.com by uploading a photo or video, but it doesn’t mention sharing a post that way. Checked against About Instagram: How to Use Instagram Stories: Complete 2026 Guide (2 July 2026)
Adding your own photo or video instead of someone’s post is a different flow: Create, then Story, then Your Story. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a photo or video to your Instagram story Our guide to adding multiple photos to an Instagram story walks through it, Layout included. Two related jobs have their own guides: adding a link to an Instagram story and sharing a Facebook post to Instagram.
Why can’t I share a post to my story?
Instagram gives three reasons the Add to story option is missing: the account is private, its owner has turned resharing off, or the feature isn’t available to you. The first two are the owner’s settings, so only the owner can change them. The three documented reasons, then one more thing to rule out:
- The account is private. You can only share someone’s feed post to your story if their account is public. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's post from feed to your Instagram story
- The owner turned resharing off. A public account can switch off “Posts and reels to stories”, and from then on no one can share its posts to their story. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Stop allowing others to share your posts on Instagram
- The feature isn’t available to you. Instagram says sharing posts from Feed to Stories isn’t available to everyone. Update the app and your phone’s operating system, restart the phone, and try both Wi-Fi and mobile data. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Troubleshooting
- You’re on a computer. Instagram documents the feature in the app only, as above.
Reels follow the same owner setting. For a private account, Instagram says only its approved followers can see and share its reels, and when someone shares one, only that account’s followers can see it. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Who can see and share your reels on Instagram
How to share someone’s story to your story
Tap Share in the bottom right of their story, then Add to story, Next and Share. It only works if their account is public, though yours can be public or private. Public accounts allow anyone to reshare their stories by default, while teen accounts have story-to-story sharing turned off by default. The steps, which match on Android:
On iPhone:
- Tap Share in the bottom right of the story you'd like to share.
- Tap Add to story.
- Tap Next in the bottom right.
- Tap Share.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's Instagram story to your own story.
Owners decide who can reshare their stories under Settings, then Sharing and reuse, then Stories to stories, with three choices: Everyone, Followers you follow back or Off. As with posts, anyone who views a reshared story can see who originally posted it and view their account.
How to stop people sharing your posts to their stories
Turn off “Posts and reels to stories” under Sharing and reuse. Instagram offers the switch to public accounts: “If you have a public account, you can turn off the ability for others to re-share your posts.” Once it’s off, people can’t share your future posts to their stories. The steps, the same on Android:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below How others can interact with you, tap Sharing and reuse.
- Tap Toggle off next to Posts and reels to stories.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Stop allowing others to share your posts on Instagram.
On Instagram Lite, the switch is Allow Resharing To Stories, under Menu, Settings, then Sharing and reuse. The same Sharing and reuse menu holds Stories to stories, covered above, and Reposts on posts and reels, which controls the Repost button.
Worth weighing before you leave resharing on: Instagram says content you let others reshare or remix may be indexed and shown in search engine results. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's post from feed to your Instagram story
Add to story vs Repost: what’s the difference?
Add to story puts a post in your story; Repost adds it to a Reposts tab on your profile, and your followers may see that you reposted it in their feeds. A story disappears after 24 hours unless you add it to a highlight. Checked against Instagram Help Center: How long Instagram stories remain visible To remove a repost, you tap Repost on that post again. Only original posts can be reposted, never reposts. Creators can turn reposts of their content off, and Instagram says Repost may not be available to everyone. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Repost a reel or a post on Instagram
Our explainer on what Repost means on Instagram covers the button in detail.
Can you see who shared your post?
Not for reels. Instagram says you won’t be able to see who has reshared your reel or where they shared it, whether your account is public or private. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share someone's post from feed to your Instagram story The same article says nothing either way about seeing who shared your photo posts. If you’d rather people didn’t reshare at all, turn resharing off.
Sharing someone’s post to your story happens in the Instagram app itself.
Try Outfeed AI for the feed posts and Reels worth sharing
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I share a post to my Instagram story?
Instagram documents three reasons: the account that posted it is private, its owner has turned off resharing of posts and reels to stories, or sharing posts from Feed to Stories isn’t available to you. The first two are the owner’s settings, so only the owner can change them.
How do I share someone else’s post to my story?
Tap Share below their photo or video in Feed, tap Add to story, tap Next, then tap Share. Their account has to be public with resharing allowed. Anyone who views your story can see who originally posted it and can view the original account.
Can I share a post to my story from a computer?
Instagram documents no way to do it. The computer version of its help article repeats the phone steps and gives no instagram.com route, so share the post from the Instagram app on your phone.
How do I stop people from sharing my posts to their stories?
If your account is public, go to your profile, tap Menu, tap Sharing and reuse below How others can interact with you, and turn off Posts and reels to stories. People then can’t share your future posts to their stories.
What’s the difference between Repost and Add to story?
Add to story puts the post in your story, which disappears after 24 hours unless you add it to a highlight. Repost adds it to a Reposts tab on your profile, and your followers may see that you reposted it in their feeds. Only original posts can be reposted, and creators can turn reposts off.