How to Add a Story in Instagram From Another Story
Resharing someone else's Instagram Story to your own is one of the platform's most useful social features — but it only works under specific conditions, and the experience varies depending on your account type, the original poster's privacy settings, and how you're tagged. Here's exactly how it works.
What "Adding a Story From Another Story" Actually Means
When someone posts an Instagram Story and either tags you in it or posts it publicly, Instagram may give you the option to reshare that content directly to your own Story. This isn't a download or a screenshot workaround — it's a built-in reshare function that credits the original creator automatically, displaying their username and a link back to their profile.
This feature is distinct from simply reposting a feed post to your Story, which works through the share icon on any public post. Story-to-Story resharing has its own set of rules.
The Core Requirement: You Must Be Tagged or Mentioned
The most important thing to understand is that you can only reshare someone's Story to your own Story if they've explicitly tagged or mentioned your account in that Story. Instagram doesn't allow open resharing of any Story you happen to view — that would bypass the creator's privacy controls entirely.
When someone tags you, Instagram sends you a direct message notification that includes a preview of their Story along with a prompt: "Add this to your Story." That's your entry point.
Step-by-Step: How to Reshare a Story You've Been Tagged In 📲
- Open your Instagram DMs — go to the paper airplane icon (or the chat bubble on newer app versions) in the top right of your home screen.
- Find the notification from the person who tagged you. It will appear as a message showing their Story content with the text "mentioned you in their story."
- Tap "Add This to Your Story" — this button appears directly within that DM thread.
- Customize if you want — before posting, you can add text, stickers, GIFs, or drawings on top of the reshared content, just like any original Story.
- Tap "Your Story" to publish, or send it as a Close Friends Story if you prefer a smaller audience.
The reshared Story will display the original creator's username as a sticker-style tag, which followers can tap to visit that person's profile.
What Happens If You Don't See the Option?
Several variables affect whether the reshare prompt appears:
| Factor | Effect on Resharing |
|---|---|
| Original poster's account is private | Resharing is disabled by default |
| Original poster has turned off resharing in their settings | Option won't appear even if you're tagged |
| Your app is outdated | Feature may not display correctly |
| Story has expired (24 hours) | Reshare option disappears with the Story |
| You're using a third-party Instagram client | Feature typically unavailable |
If you were tagged but don't see the prompt, check that your app is updated to the latest version. Instagram's interface updates frequently, and older builds sometimes hide or break this feature.
Resharing a Public Story You Weren't Tagged In
This is where many users hit a wall: Instagram does not natively allow you to reshare a Story you weren't tagged in, regardless of whether the account is public. The reshare-to-Story function is tied specifically to the mention/tag mechanic.
What you can do in this situation:
- Ask the person to tag you so the reshare option appears
- Use the share icon on their feed posts instead — that function is broader and doesn't require a tag
- Screenshot the content — though this notifies the creator on some account types and doesn't give the clean, credited reshare experience
Third-party apps claim to enable Story resharing without tags, but these violate Instagram's Terms of Service and carry real risks: account suspension, data exposure, and malware. Worth knowing before going that route.
Creator Settings That Control Resharing
Instagram gives every account holder control over whether their Stories can be reshared. Creators, brands, and private users often turn this off deliberately. You can find this toggle in your own settings under:
Settings → Privacy → Story → Allow Resharing to Stories
If this is turned off on your account, others won't be able to reshare your Stories even when you tag them. The same applies in reverse — if the person you're trying to reshare from has disabled this, no workaround exists within Instagram's official tools.
How the Reshared Story Appears to Your Followers 👀
When your followers see your Story, the reshared content appears with a semi-transparent attribution label showing the original poster's username. Tapping it takes them directly to that person's profile. You can reposition this label but not remove it — Instagram enforces attribution as part of the reshare mechanism.
The reshared Story follows your own Story's normal 24-hour lifespan, independent of when the original expires.
Variables That Shape the Experience
How smoothly this works — and what it looks like — depends on several factors that differ from one user to the next:
- Account type (personal vs. Creator vs. Business accounts sometimes see slightly different UI layouts)
- Follower count and engagement patterns of the original poster, which can affect how the attribution sticker renders
- Device and OS version, since Instagram's iOS and Android builds occasionally differ in feature rollout timing
- Region, as Instagram occasionally A/B tests features in select markets before global rollout
What works seamlessly for one person on an updated iPhone may behave differently for someone running an older Android build or a region that hasn't received the latest UI version. The underlying mechanic is the same — but the path to get there, and the exact interface you'll encounter, depends on your specific setup.