Why Can’t My Friends Repost My Instagram Story in 2024? Issues and Fixes

Over the last few years, Instagram has emerged as one of the most effective platforms for growing your personal and professional influence. Today, the platform boasts 2 billion monthly active users, and this number is only expected to grow with time. 

Within the platform, though posts and reels are popular tools, Instagram stories have raced ahead as a great vehicle to share experiences, showcase activities, and spotlight issues you care about.

Tagging your followers is one of the best ways to leverage Instagram Stories and create virality. You can inspire FOMO (Fear Of Losing Out) all around you, especially in your friends! When your friends see the tag, they will be nudged to repost your stories instantly. As your friends repost your stories, this action translates to greater reach and engagement for your story.

So, if you are looking to grow your Instagram profile, this is one of the easiest ways for friends to support you in your mission. However, sometimes things can go wrong. 

Say you posted that perfect story and tagged your friends. But you find that your friends are not sharing your Story as usual; maybe they are finding it difficult to share your Instagram story. So, you start wondering – why can’t my friends repost my Instagram story?

Instagram provides a host of tools – like your Instagram stories, that allow us to interact with other Instagram accounts. They may, however, not always function as expected. With 70% of the users watching stories regularly, many repost stories and face such issues.

If you’ve ever wondered why your friends can’t repost your Instagram story, you’ve come to the perfect place. There are several possible explanations for this issue. Here, we’ve covered nine issues, and outlined why your friends are unable to share, as well as the potential solutions.

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What Are the Steps to Repost an Instagram Story?

If you or your friends are tagged in an Instagram story, you can easily repost it on yours. There are two methods to do this. Both are very simple to follow, with minimal steps:

1. Method A:

1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. Tap on the “Heart” icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will open the “Notifications” menu.
3. Here, you can see if you’ve been mentioned (tagged) in a story. Tap on it.
4. Once the story opens, tap on the “Add to Your Story” option at the bottom of the screen to share it on your story.
5. You can also make edits and choose the option to share the story only with your close friends.

2. Method B:

1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. Tap on the “Messenger” icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will open your DMs.
3. Open your chats with the person who has tagged you in their story.
4. Click on the “Add to Your Story” option at the bottom of the screen to share it on your story.
5. You can also make edits and choose the option to share the story only with your close friends.

While reposting is a popular practice, users can also enhance the post by tagging more people and adding text, effects, audio, and emojis that can help amplify the post even further. Essentially, they can editorialize the post further.

For instance, they can tag a celebrity if the post is related to a cause that is close to their hearts. The best followers to do this are those you consider to be friends. Not only do they know you well, they have your best interests in mind. Hence, reposts by friends can play a key role in growing your Instagram footprint. 

How Do You Share an Instagram Story You Are Not Tagged In?

At times, users forget to tag people in their stories. This makes it challenging the directly repost a story. However, there are workarounds. Yes, even if you’re not tagged in a story, you can still share it with your friends and followers.

Here are a few tricks you and your friends can use to amplify stories even if you are not tagged on them: 

• Take a screenshot: If you’re not tagged in a story yet and want to repost it, one of the easiest workarounds is taking a screenshot. Once done, save it to your gallery and upload it from there as a fresh story. If it’s a video story, take a screen recording instead of a static screenshot.
• Share in DMs: To share a story with your friends that you’re not tagged in, simply DM it to them. You can do so by opening the story and tapping on the “Share” icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. You can also DM your story to multiple friends at once to expedite reposts.  
• Copy Story Link: Open the Instagram story to share it with your friends outside of the app. Once you’ve done this, tap on the “Share” icon at the bottom right corner of the screen and choose the “Copy Link” option. Now, you can paste the link and share it with your friends on messaging apps.

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Reasons and Solutions for Friends Unable to Repost Your Instagram Story

Now, let’s see what are the reasons and possible solutions to why your friends are unable to repost your Instagram story:

1. Private Instagram Profile: A Possible Reason for Reposting Issues

One common reason is that Instagram profiles are often set to private, which is why your friends can’t share your story with their stories or feed posts on Instagram. Users of Instagram have the option of making their profiles public or private.

To understand what is Public and Private accounts, refer to the following:

Private: The only people you approve can see the content you post, including any images or videos you post to the hashtag or location page, as well as a list of your followers and followers.

Public: Anyone, whether they have an Instagram account or not, can view your profile and posts.

To change the private account to Public, go through with the following procedure:

• Tap on or on your profile image in the lower right to access your profile.
• Select Settings by tapping the 3 lines icon in the top right.
• Click on Privacy.
• If your account is currently private, you can make it public by disabling the toggle.

If your Instagram profile is private and you haven’t tagged anyone, they can’t publish your feed posts and stories in their own stories unless they follow you and view your content.

2. Disabled Sharing: Why Friends Might Not Repost Your Instagram Story

The second reason you might not be able to share a post to your Story is that you have disabled sharing. Instagram account owners can stop their followers from sharing their content, so the Add Post to Story button won’t be visible if this is the situation.

To address this, the steps listed below can be used to stop posts from being shared, and you can follow the same to permit sharing.

• Open the Instagram app, then click on your profile icon.
• You have to click on the three lines there in the top right corner and then select Setting.
• Then you need to select Privacy, then Story under Interactions.
• Turn off the Allow sharing to Story setting.

3. Instagram Glitches: Potential Barriers to Reposting Your Story

The third reason could be that your account might not display the Add Posts to Story button if your Instagram app is not up to date. It’s also possible that the platform itself is experiencing some issues. Instagram releases different features for various regions.

Therefore, it’s possible that the Add Post to Story feature isn’t available on your account. You can fix it by,

• Updating the app to its latest version. Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to check for updates and update your app to the latest version.
• Uninstalling and then installing the app again: Uninstalling and reinstalling Instagram may resolve your issue when attempting to share posts on the platform.

Be sure to also encourage your friends to update their Instagram apps so they can repost stories properly. 

4. Missing Tags: Affecting Your Friends’ Ability to Repost Your Instagram Story

The fourth reason that your friends are unable to share your story is maybe that you haven’t tagged them in it. If you haven’t tagged your friend in the story, they won’t be able to share it directly with their story.

Regardless of whether you’ve tagged them or not, if your account is public, anyone may easily publish your Instagram feed updates to their story. With Instagram stories, however, this is not the case; you must tag your friend in order for them to be able to share it on their story.

To add your friend to the story,

• Choose a picture or a video to add to your story.
• Tap @, then instantly type your friend’s username.
• Choose the person you want to mention next.
• Click on Done.

5. Low Internet Connectivity: How It Can Impact Instagram Story Reposts

This is indeed one of the common reasons for Instagram app features working weirdly. Maybe you or your friend are in a location where the cellular connectivity is low; maybe the Wi-Fi has limited internet connectivity.

If you are using a cellular data connection, you can try switching on airplane mode and switching it off in a minute. This will restore your internet connectivity. On the other hand, if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, it’s a good idea to check your router’s connection. You can attempt to reboot the router to restore the internet connection.

6. Instagram Server Downtime: How It Affects Your Friends’ Story Reposts

The next reason could be if the Instagram servers are having a problem or are experiencing downtime; users may have various issues, such as being unable to post, share stories or posts, and so on.

So, it’s always a good idea to know whether the problem is on your end or the app itself. That being stated, we highly recommend visiting Instagram’s down detector website to check the status of its servers. Take a look at user reports and comments; if there is a significant volume of complaints, it indicates that Instagram’s servers are indeed experiencing difficulties.

In this instance, you and your friend should postpone sharing stories and postings until the servers return to normal.

7. Device Compatibility: Ensuring Smooth Instagram Story Reposting

Compatibility issues may arise­ on certain devices, hinde­ring access to specific feature­s on Instagram, such as reposting stories. If your friends are­ using older devices, the­y may not be able to utilize the­ reposting feature. This can be­ frustrating when you want your friends to share your story with the­ir followers.

To solve this issue­, simply encourage your friends to update­ their Instagram app to the latest ve­rsion. By doing so, they will have acce­ss to all the newest fe­atures and compatibility enhanceme­nts, allowing them to fully enjoy Instagram’s functionality, including the­ ability to repost stories.

You can also recomme­nd alternative methods for re­posting, such as using third-party applications or manually sharing the story to their own account. By informing your friends about the­ significance of updating their app, they can fully e­xperience Instagram and e­asily repost your stories.

8. Copyrighted Content: Reposting Challenges and Copyright Issues

One re­ason why your friends might not be able to re­post your Instagram story is because it contains copyrighted conte­nt. In order to adhere to copyright laws, Instagram has imple­mented strict regulations. If your story include­s copyrighted material like music or image­s, Instagram may block others from sharing it in order to avoid potential le­gal issues.

To avoid any issues, it is important to only use­ content in your stories that you have the­ appropriate rights to share. Consider utilizing royalty-fre­e music or images, or obtain permission from the­ copyright owner if you wish to include copyrighted mate­rial. By taking these precautions, you can pre­vent any restrictions on reposting and e­nable your friends to share­ your stories easily.

Respe­cting intellectual property rights is crucial whe­n utilizing social media platforms. By being mindful of copyrighted mate­rial, you can prevent any possible infringe­ment issues. This ensure­s that your friends are able to repost your Instagram stories without re­strictions fre­ely.

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9. Restricted Accounts: How They Affect Story Reposting

Your friends may also be­ unable to repost your Instagram story if their accounts have­ been flagged or re­ported for violating Instagram’s community guidelines. In the­se situations, their ability to repost storie­s can be restricted e­ither temporarily or permane­ntly. This means they won’t be able­ to repost any stories, including yours.

To tackle this issue­, it’s important to recommend that your friends review and abide by Instagram’s community guideline­s. Furthermore, they should ensure the­ir accounts align with the platform’s rules and regulations to avoid re­strictions. If their accounts have already be­en restricted, encourage them to appeal or addre­ss any violations and follow the necessary ste­ps to regain normal access.

To help your frie­nds maintain active and unrestricted acce­ss to repost your Instagram stories, it’s important to be mindful of the­ community guidelines and encourage­ them to do the same. This way, the­ir accounts can stay in good standing without any limitations or restrictions.

Summing Up the Instagram Story Reposting Challenges

In this blog, we have addressed the possible causes of not having the Re-share option on Instagram, as well as how to resolve the issues listed above by contacting the Instagram team or simply adjusting the settings. You’ve also seen what difficulties you might face. Most likely, it is one of the issues discussed; if your issue seems to persist, you should wait and try after some time.

Instagram stories are a powerful tool for growing your digital footprint, account engagement, and follower count. However, it can be challenging to continually come up with new ideas and keep your Story feed fresh. This is where AI-powered tech can make an impact. 

Consider signing up for Predis.ai today to create engaging Instagram Stories with the support of AI! Predis.ai’s superior AI-powered content generation capabilities and data-centric analytics engine enable you to keep your content fresh and exciting.

You can also run your social media account more efficiently and adopt a data-centric approach to grow your impact. 

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