Instagram's Newest Update Can Make or Break Your Reach — Here's Everything You Need to Know
By Manu Muraro | Your Social Team | April 30, 2026
This morning, Adam Mosseri posted a video announcing a significant change to how Instagram handles unoriginal content. And this afternoon, I was invited onto a webinar hosted by Instagram and Meta where their team walked us through exactly what it means, what counts as original content, and what to do if your account is affected.
Here's everything you need to know.
What Changed
Instagram has been limiting the reach of unoriginal Reels for a while now. If an account was mostly reposting other people's video content without adding meaningful value, Instagram would stop recommending that account to people who don't already follow it.
As of today, that same policy now extends to feed posts and carousels too.
This rollout happens over the next month, so if you haven't seen any changes to your account yet, you likely will soon.
What This Actually Means For Your Account
If the majority of what you post is unoriginal content, Instagram will stop recommending your account to people who don't already follow you.
Two important things to note here:
This only affects your reach to non-followers — your existing audience will still see everything you post as normal.
This applies to accounts where the majority of content is unoriginal. One or two posts won't get you flagged.
What Does "Unoriginal" Actually Mean?
This is where a lot of people get confused — and where the Instagram team spent a significant amount of time during the webinar.
Instagram isn't asking whether you took the photo yourself or built the graphic from scratch. They're asking whether you added your spin or any meaningful value.
Here's what counts as unoriginal according to Instagram:
Re-uploading someone else's content without materially editing it
Sharing a meme photo with no original text or graphics overlay
Posting a carousel made up of other people's posts with nothing added in the caption
Reposting someone else's photo and crediting them in the caption — Instagram confirmed that credit alone is not enough
The key phrase from what the Instagram team shared: the bar isn't perfection. It's contribution.
What About Templates? Am I Affected from using them?
This was the question I know many of you will be asking, and the answer is much more reassuring than you might expect.
Instagram confirmed today that putting your own spin, even if just your own words, into a template (so it sounds like you) makes it original.
Here's how they broke it down:
✅ Putting your own spin on a meme makes it original.
✅ Using a trending format with your own take is also original.
✅ Changing even one word of a template to make it relevant to your brand? That’s also original.
❌ Posting a template exactly as-is with zero customisation — not even your own words inside the brackets? That's where we start to see a problem.
The bottom line: you don't need to start from scratch. You just need to make it yours.
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The Do's - Straight From Instagram's Team
Here's what Instagram explicitly said they want you to do:
✅ Add your own text overlay with commentary or context that goes beyond just describing what's happening
✅ Include creative narration, editing, or graphics that enhance the value of third-party content you're using
✅ Use Instagram's collaboration tools — Collabs, Remixes, or the paid partnership label — when sharing others' work
✅ Repost to Stories if you want to share someone else's content without editing it
✅ Put your own spin on trends, memes, and templates
The Don'ts — Also Straight From Instagram's Team
And here's what to avoid:
❌ Re-uploading content you didn't make without materially editing it
❌ Simply describing what's happening in a photo or video with no other meaningful additions
❌ Assuming that giving credit in the caption or adding a watermark is enough — Instagram was very clear that this does not count
❌ Posting a template with zero customisation — not even your own words inside it
How To Check If Your Account Is Already Affected
If you're worried your account might already be flagged, here's how to check:
Profile → Settings → Account Status
You'll be able to see whether your reach to non-followers has been limited. If it has, you have a few options:
Remove the flagged content — deleting it from your account removes the restriction
Request a review — if you think Instagram made a mistake, you can appeal and they'll take another look
Next time: Message the original creator to collaborate instead — you can request a Collab post to to share the content properly
Remember: this only affects your reach to new people. Your existing followers still see everything.
TL;DR: The Summary
Instagram announced today they will start limiting reach of all unoriginal content — not just Reels, but feed posts and carousels too
Templates are fine as long as you make them yours — even changing one word counts as original
Adding your own spin on memes and trends is considered original
This only affects reach to non-followers, not your existing audience
If the majority of your content is original, your account is fine
You can check and fix your account status at any time via Settings → Account Status
The Honest Truth
Most of you will be completely fine.
This update targets accounts that are mostly reposting other people's content with nothing added. If you're showing up as yourself — even imperfectly — you're already doing it right.
Instagram isn't punishing its users. They're protecting our content from being used by others without permission.
Want updates like this straight from the platforms? Follow us on Instagram at @yoursocialteam
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About Manu Muraro
Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, a content marketing brand helping small business owners grow through strategic email marketing and Instagram content.
She’s the creator of Your Template Club, one of the first Canva template subscriptions designed for Instagram, and the founder of Your Inbox Team, a weekly email marketing membership that helps entrepreneurs send consistent, high-converting emails in under 15 minutes.
Manu is also the creator of The Reelies Awards, the first award show celebrating Small Business Owners and Creators’ creativity and originality in Instagram Reels.
A former creative strategist at Cartoon Network, Manu brings award-winning experience to everything she creates — from viral Reels to done-for-you content that saves time and drives results.
👉 Follow Manu at Your Social Team on Instagram