Instagram is working on a 'Reshare' feature

Instagram is reportedly testing a feature that will allow users to reshare posts, and a separate tab on Profiles that would display those posts, confirmed by a Meta spokesperson.

Social Media Researcher Matt Navarra first spotted this development and

Instagram Reposts Tab on profiles?!

What’s dis Adam? pic.twitter.com/WayWCJGBfx

In a statement given to TechCrunch, a Meta Spokesperson confirmed this development and stated, "We’re exploring the ability to reshare posts in Feed, similar to how you can reshare in Stories, so people can share what resonates with them, and so original creators are credited for their work. We plan to test this soon with a small number of people".

The reason cited for this development is contradictory to the original vision which was shared in January 2020 by (then) Vishal Shah, VP of Product, Instagram. Commenting on reshares as a feature, he had then mentioned "we explicitly are not going to make those changes".

Also Read: Instagram is working on more features resembling TikTok

He explained that the feature changes the incentive of why people post and affects the dynamics of the platform. If a user reshares content from someone they follow, they’re sharing something they have not originally created, it changes the reason why their follower sees something in their feed.

The ability to reshare posts on Instagram had long been avoided by the platform, although users were able to do so through third-party tools such as Regram. Resharing posts had been kept out of the feed at a native level, but a common use inclination is reposting content on Stories.

A major impact that the feed may go through with the release of this feature would be duplication of content. A scroll through the feed may also look like a repetition of a content piece that is widely shared. Currently, the feature is being tested internally and will be selectively available to a small group of users for beta testing.

Screenshot Credits: Matt Navarra