Can you see if someone shares your instagram profile

Instagram has added a new notification which will alert users when they go to share a private post or story as to whether any of the people they're seeking to share that content with won't actually be able to see it, due to their settings.

As you can see here, now, when you go to share a private post, you'll see a note explaining that:

"The people may not be able to see this post unless they follow [originating account]"

And aside from being a generally helpful prompt, the functionality also has a very specific purpose.

Back in March, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri noted during one of his regular Q and A sessions that the platform was exploring options to address the rise in major meme profiles that have been switching their accounts to private in order to boost their follower counts.

As explained by Mosseri:

"Meme pages are great. People who love meme pages should be able to connect with meme pages and those who don't, don't need to, shouldn't have to. There is a thing, though, where a subset of large of accounts, meme pages and otherwise, go private and they go private essentially as a growth hack."

The way it works is, meme-sharing profiles with big audiences know that their content is going to see significant share activity via private messages within the app. By switching their profiles to private, that means that any recipient of said post via message will need to also follow their profile too, in order to view the content. That means that, in order to stay in the loop, more people end up following the profile because of these shares, thereby artificially inflating their following. 

Mosseri said that he was aware of this, that it was basically inauthentic engagement, and that he and his team were trying to "figure out how to adjust it."

This update likely does just that.

Now, when people go to share one of these memes, they'll see that some of their friends won't be able to view it because they don't follow the profile. Which will likely mean that they just won't share it, negating the value of this 'growth hack'. 

As an aside, what horrendous term 'growth hack' is. Like, you just worked out how to cheat the system a bit, through existing functionality. That's hardly a 'hack', which generally refers to something requiring a level of technical expertise. 

Either way, this new update seems to be a measure to tackle this type of usage. And it'll likely be effective, which could eliminate it as a viable option.

And as a bonus, it'll also help users better understand who can and can't see the content they go to share, before they do it.

The update is now available to all users.

You open Instagram to find you have a bazillion new followers and have no idea why. Did you just wake up famous? Are you making headlines somewhere? Or, perhaps more likely, did someone with a large following share one of your posts to their Instagram story and score you some new internet friends?

If you’re curious about your surprise fame or just how fire your followers actually think your Instagram posts are, there’s a hack that allows you to see who reshared your posts so you can keep tabs on who’s giving you free publicity. (Or just how proud your mother is of the latest portrait you posted of her granddog.) Whether you’re interested to know more about your engagement on Instagram, or just dying to know who finds your posts interesting, there’s a lot to learn from your post insights.

While anyone can reshare content by taking a screenshot of a post or story and uploading it to their stories from their camera roll, the original poster won’t be linked, notified, or credited. The only way to tell if a user reshared your post to their Instagram story is by using the in-app post sharing feature, which also gives viewers a chance to tap the original post and go to the poster’s page directly. It’s a more friendly and upfront way to share other users’ content than doing so without credit.

Here’s how to find out who has shared your posts to their stories — and why you should care.

The only way you can see who shared your Instagram post to their stories is if you have a business or creator account. These kinds of accounts give you access to content insights, which can tell you a lot about who is engaging with your Instagram posts, Reels, and stories. It’s free to convert your personal account to a creator version (and easy enough to switch back), but keep in mind that creator accounts can’t be private. Once you have your account in creator or business mode, follow the below steps to see who shared your posts to their Instagram stories.

1. Go to your profile and click on the post.

2. Click “View Insights” on your Instagram post. If your post was reshared, there will be a number directly underneath the paper airplane icon. This will tell you exactly how many people reshared your post.

3. Return to the photo and click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the post. There will be an option to “View Story Reshares.” Click on it. (Note: This option will only appear if your post was reshared at least once.)

5. You will be brought to a page titled “Current Public Reshares” where you can see exactly how many people reshared your Instagram post to their stories.

6. To see who shared the post, click on a reshared story in the grid, and it will take you directly to the user’s story.

7. From there, you can see the username and click on the account.

Why Does It Matter If Someone Reshared Your Instagram Post?

If engagement is important to you — think, if you’re trying to build your influencing empire — finding out who shared your Instagram post can be incredibly valuable information. By checking who reshares your posts, it can help you understand which demographic your post jives with. Is your new needlepoint hobby striking out with Gen Z? Are your social justice infographics getting circulation amongst respected Millennialpeers?

Reshare insights are also helpful if you just recently got a slew of new followers or likes on a post, but don’t know why. You can check your posts individually to see which ones might have been reshared, and then go through the users listed to see if any of them have big followings that could account for the influx of notifications.

While your friends and followers might like a post enough to double tap it, sharing a post to your story is a bit more of a commitment. Users generally don’t share posts to their stories unless they really connect with it, so it’s good to know who is spreading the love.

This article was originally published on May 10, 2021

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