Instagram’s Sharing Settings: What Each Toggle Does and Which Ones I Keep On
Instagram has a LOT of different options for what can be shared, or not, from your profile. And most people don’t know what these are or how they impact your brand. So, we’re going to dive into each one and get you configured properly!
Remember the Meta AI blowup recently? Instagram quietly added a toggle that let other people use your content for Meta AI creations. People were furious. Like, everyone – even BAFTA and major organizations jumped in on the demand to remove this. Meta reversed it and cleaned up the language. But the whole mess exposed something: most people have no idea what their sharing settings actually do, or whether they’re even on.
So let’s fix that. Here’s a walkthrough of every toggle under Settings > Sharing and reuse, what each one means, and how I have mine set.
First, where to find it: go to your profile, tap the three-line button in the upper right, and scroll down to Sharing and reuse.
One important note: these toggles default to ON for public accounts. That means personal public accounts, creator accounts, and business accounts. If your account is private, people can’t use your content anyway, so this doesn’t apply to you.
Story shares. This controls who can send your stories in direct messages. Options: everyone, only mutual followers (people you follow who follow you back), or off entirely. I leave mine on for everyone. I make educational content and I want it shared. But if you’d rather keep it tighter, mutual followers is a good middle ground.
Posts and reels to stories. This lets people share your feed posts and reels to their stories. Again, mine stays on. But if you create proprietary content, behind-the-scenes stuff, or anything you want living only on your profile, turn it off.
Reposts. This is separate from story shares. Reposts go to the repost tab on someone’s profile, not their grid. You might turn off story shares but leave reposts on, since a repost still credits you as the original creator. Your call on each.
Create with and reuse your content. This is the big one, and it’s where the Meta AI toggle used to live. When it’s on, people can use your posts and reels in remixes, templates, stickers, and sequences, or download them as part of their own post or reel. It also covers mentions, letting people tag you in comments and captions.
A remix is like a duet: your video on one side, their reaction or take on the other. A template takes your reel’s structure, audio, and text and lets someone swap in their own clips. I keep this on for reels because I want the conversation. Someone disagrees with me? Please, remix it and tell me I’m wrong. I’d love that debate.
For single-photo posts, though, I turn it off. There’s no template or sticker use case for a static photo, so why leave it open? And here’s the useful part: you can set a default for everything and then override it per post from the post’s menu.
Reuse your original audio on Meta AI. This one’s reels-only and it’s specifically about your original audio, not library music. Think: you filmed something funny and that audio is yours. This toggle decides whether people (and Meta AI) can reuse it. I do a lot of talking-head videos, and honestly nobody’s grabbing that audio. But if you’re in comedy or entertainment and you make quotable bits, think carefully about this one.
Downloads. When this is on, anyone can download your public reels directly from Instagram. You can also toggle it per reel. Fair warning: turning it off doesn’t make your content theft-proof. Anyone can screen record. It just removes the easy download button. I leave it on because I’m literally in my videos. Download it all you want, it’s still me.
Website embeds. This lets people embed your posts on their websites, articles, and blogs. Mine stays on. I want my content referenced. Every embed is a link back to me.
Let businesses feature your content. When this is on, business accounts can request to feature your tagged products across Meta’s shops and ads. This only matters if you sell products and work with influencers or affiliates. If that’s not you, it doesn’t matter what it’s set to.
That’s the full tour. Go check yours, because the defaults might not match what you’d choose.
And if you’re in Profit Your Profile, bring your questions about this to Office Hours.
These new features often require strategic planning and organizational context.
If you’re looking to help your team and organization navigate Instagram strategy in a tactical way, I can help!
