The photo-sharing app is facing backlash for adding features that users claim are unoriginal saying the new updates for reposting and location tracking are direct copies of TikTok and Snapchat.
August 7, 2025: Meta has introduced a lot of new things to Instagram, like a tool for reposting, a map for sharing places, and a new “Friends” area.
The new features that users can now use are aimed to get people interested and connected by letting them share public reels and posts, see where their friends are, and find new content. But people are already very angry about the changes on social media. A lot of people are complaining that Instagram is merely “copying” other sites, such Snapchat and TikTok.
The option to repost
With the new repost function, people can simply share public reels and feed posts from other accounts with their own followers. With the new approach to share to an Instagram Story, content that has been reposted now appears in a distinct “Reposts” tab on a user’s profile and can be suggested to their followers’ feeds. This is a better way to show off things that a user enjoys for a longer time. Instagram’s creators think this will help producers because it will help their content reach new individuals who don’t already follow them. To share a post again, a user just clicks the repost button on a public reel or post, adds a comment if they want to, and saves the post.
The Instagram Map
A new interactive map that looks like Snapchat’s Snap Map has been added to Instagram. This feature lets users tell a select friends where they were last active. Based on that location, these friends may then see what the individual is doing and what they have posted. Some people are apprehensive about their privacy when they publish their location, even if it’s not required and gives them a new way to meet and talk to people. The map also displays you things that friends and artists have posted based on where they are, which is a new way to find new stuff.
Why the Backlash?
People on sites like X (formerly Twitter) are already unhappy with the new features because they don’t appear original. “First it was Stories (Snapchat), then Reels (TikTok), and now it’s reposts (Twitter),” someone commented.
Instagram takes a lot of its charm from other sites. Someone else wrote, “Instagram wants to be TikTok so much that you can now repost reels.” A lot of people have been saying for a long time that Meta’s goal to duplicate popular features from other platforms is a bad idea. Some people think that Instagram isn’t coming up with fresh ideas; instead, it’s just trying to mimic what other apps have done well, which makes the experience less real and more cluttered.
People have said that the reposting feature is like TikTok and X (Twitter), both of which have had options to share content for a long time. The “Reposts” option on a user’s Instagram profile is very different from TikTok, although the core idea is the similar. A lot of people think that the new features and the redesigned “Friends” tab in Reels, which shows content that friends have interacted with, are a clear attempt to change the platform’s focus from its original purpose as a curated photo-sharing app centered on friends to entertainment and algorithmic recommendations.