You can repost someone's story to your own story in three ways, depending on what they shared and what permissions they gave
Instagram gives you three paths to add someone else's story to yours. The easiest is the Share to Story button that appears on stories the person who posted it has left open for resharing — you tap it and the story lands in your story with a label showing who created it. If that button is not there, you can take a screenshot and post it as a regular story, though the original creator will see a notification that you screenshotted. The third option is to save the story to your phone and upload it as your own, but this removes the original creator's name and is the least transparent choice.
Which path you take matters because it affects what the original poster sees and what your followers understand about where the content came from. The first method is the clearest — everyone knows you are reposting, not creating. The other two are grayer, and people often use them without thinking about whether the original creator would want that.
Key Takeaways
- The Share to Story button appears only if the person who posted the story allowed resharing, and it automatically credits them in your repost.
- Taking a screenshot of a story sends a notification to the original poster, so they will know you captured it even if you do not repost it when ready.
- Saving a story to your phone and uploading it removes the creator's name and makes it look like you made the content, which can damage trust if people find out.
- Some stories have text, stickers, or location tags that may not transfer cleanly if you screenshot or save them, so the repost may look different from the original.
Using the Share to Story button when it is available
Open the story you want to repost. Look at the bottom of the screen — if the creator allowed resharing, you will see a Share icon (it looks like a paper airplane or arrow) or a Send button. Tap it, then select Add to Your Story. Instagram will open your story editor with the content already placed on the slide.
From there, you can add your own text, stickers, or drawings before posting, or you can post it as-is. The original creator's name will appear on the repost automatically, usually in small text at the top or bottom. When you post, the original creator gets a notification that you shared their story, and your followers will see the credit label.
Not every story has this button. If you do not see it, the person who posted either turned off resharing in their privacy settings or they posted something (like a photo from their phone's camera roll) that Instagram does not allow to be reshared. In those cases, you have to choose between screenshotting or moving on.
Taking a screenshot and posting it as a story
Press the volume-down and power buttons at the same time (on most phones) or use whatever screenshot method your phone uses. The screenshot lands in your phone's photo library. Open Instagram, tap the camera icon to start a new story, then tap the gallery icon at the bottom left to select the screenshot you just took.
When you post this story, Instagram will notify the original creator that you took a screenshot of their story. They will see your username and the time you screenshotted, even if you do not repost it for hours or days. The notification appears in their story views, so they know you captured it.
The screenshot will not have the original creator's name attached unless you add it yourself with text. Your followers will see the content but may not know who made it. If the original story had interactive stickers (like polls or questions), those will not work in your repost — they will just be static images.
Saving a story to your phone and uploading it
Open the story, tap the three dots in the bottom right corner, and select Save. This downloads the image or video to your phone's library without notifying the original creator. Later, you can post it to your story the same way you would post a screenshot — open your story, tap the gallery icon, and select the saved file.
This method leaves no trace that you took the content. The original creator will not get a notification, and your followers will have no way to know who created it unless you add text crediting them. If the story had text, stickers, or filters, those are saved as part of the image, so they will appear in your repost.
This is the least transparent option. People often use it without thinking, but if the original creator finds out you reposted without credit, it can feel like you claimed their work as your own. It is worth considering whether you would want someone doing the same to your content.
What happens when you repost someone's story
If you use the Share to Story button, the original creator sees a notification that you shared their story, and they can tap it to see your repost. Your followers see the original creator's name on the content. This is the most straightforward path — everyone involved knows what happened.
If you screenshot, the original creator gets a notification that you screenshotted their story, but they do not automatically see your repost. They would have to visit your profile to find it. Your followers see the content but not the creator's name unless you add it. The original creator may feel their privacy was invaded, even though screenshotting a public story is not against Instagram's rules.
If you save without screenshotting, there is no notification at all. The original creator has no way to know you took their content unless they happen to see it on your story or someone tells them. This is why this method feels risky — you are using someone's work without their knowledge.
When the original creator might not want you to repost
Some people turn off resharing because they want their stories to stay private to their followers, or because they are sharing something personal that they do not want spread further. Respecting that choice means not screenshotting or saving their stories as a workaround. If the Share to Story button is not there, it is usually a signal that they prefer you not to repost.
Stories with sensitive content — like someone sharing about a loss, a health issue, or a difficult moment — are often posted without resharing enabled for this reason. Even if you could screenshot it, reposting it can feel like you are broadcasting someone's private moment to a wider audience than they intended.
The same goes for stories that are clearly meant to be temporary or fleeting. Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours by design. If someone did not enable resharing, they may have chosen that format specifically because they wanted the content to be temporary.
How to turn off resharing for your own stories
Open Instagram and tap your profile picture in the bottom right. Tap the three horizontal lines (menu), then Settings and privacy, then Privacy. Scroll down to Story and tap it. Toggle off Allow resharing. From that point on, the Share to Story button will not appear on your stories, and people will have to screenshot or save if they want to repost.
You can also control resharing on a per-story basis. When you are about to post a story, before you tap Share, look for Hide story from or Story controls (the exact wording varies by phone and Instagram version). Some of these settings let you turn off resharing just for that one story.
Turning off resharing does not prevent people from screenshotting, but it does remove the straightforward button and sends a signal that you prefer your stories not to be reposted. It also means you will not get notifications when people screenshot, so you will have less visibility into who is capturing your content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the original creator know if I screenshot their story?
Yes. Instagram sends them a notification with your username and the time you screenshotted. They can see this in their story views. The only way to capture a story without notifying the creator is to save it using the three-dot menu instead of taking a screenshot, but this is less common and many people do not realize it is possible.
Can I repost a story if the person blocked me?
No. If someone has blocked you, you cannot see their stories at all, so there is nothing to repost. If you were blocked after you already saw the story, you cannot access it anymore. You could theoretically repost a screenshot you took before being blocked, but doing so would likely damage the relationship further.
What if I repost someone's story and they ask me to take it down?
Take it down. You can delete a story by opening it, tapping the three dots, and selecting Delete. If someone asks you to remove a repost, honoring that request is the right move, even if they did not disable resharing. It shows respect for their content and their wishes.
Does reposting someone's story hurt their engagement?
Not directly. When you repost using the Share to Story button, it actually sends traffic back to their profile because your followers can tap the credit label to visit them. Screenshotting and reposting without credit does not help them, but it does not hurt their engagement numbers either — it just removes the connection between the content and the original creator.
Can I repost a story to my feed instead of my story?
Not directly through Instagram's tools. You would have to screenshot or save the story and then post it as a regular feed post, which removes the creator's name unless you add it yourself. Instagram's resharing tools are designed for stories only, not feed posts, so this is a less common use case.