Reposting on Instagram? New rules will slash your views
What's the story
Instagram has announced a major policy change aimed at content aggregators—accounts that frequently repost content they didn't create or primarily share other people's work as photos and carousels. The Meta-owned platform said these accounts will no longer be eligible for recommendations across the app. The move is designed to give credit and distribution to original content creators on the platform.
Original content
What does Instagram consider original content?
Instagram defines original content as anything that is wholly created by a user or reflects their unique perspective. This includes photos or videos they took themselves, or content they designed. The platform also considers materially edited third-party content as original. For example, using popular meme templates or clips is acceptable if users edit them by adding something that enhances the content.
Policy details
Low-effort edits won't be considered original
Instagram has clarified that low-effort edits such as adding watermarks or changing the speed of a video won't be considered original. Similarly, posting a screenshot of another person's post with their username visible for credit won't qualify either. The platform hopes this new policy will encourage more originality and creativity among its users, while also preventing the same posts from being shared repeatedly.
User experience
Impact on aggregator accounts
The new policy won't affect how Instagram displays content from aggregator accounts that users already follow. However, it will stop showing this kind of content in recommendations across the app, including users' feeds and the "Discover" tab. This way, Instagram hopes to maintain a balance between promoting original creators while also keeping user feeds diverse and interesting.