Instagram's new update faces criticism for copying other social media platforms; users give shocking reactions!

Updates of versions on online applications help to keep the monotony at bay, by keeping pace with the ongoing trends on various social media platforms. Meta recently announced new features to Instagram that allow users to share public reels and posts, track friends’ locations, and discover content.

However, these features are facing backlash on social media with users alleging that Instagram is just trying to ‘copy TikTok’.

What is Reposting on Instagram?

Reposting lets you share public reels and feed posts from others directly to your own followers. When you repost something, it appears in a separate “Reposts” tab on your profile and can be recommended to your followers in their feeds. It’s a simple way to share what you like with your community.This feature is also advantageous for creators, if someone reposts their reel or post, it might reach new audiences, increase the reachability and popularity of the content, even if they don’t follow you.

How to repost on Instagram:

One can repost content to their stories by tapping the repost icon on any public post or reel and then hitting the “Save” option to share it.

The platform also introduced the Instagram Map, a feature allowing users to share their locations and explore content based on where friends or creators are posting from.

It's designed to encourage more real-time engagement and exploration among users.However, these updates are already facing backlash on social media. Users say that Instagram is straying too far from its original photo-sharing identity and is now just copying other platforms.

Why is Instagram facing backlash?

“First it was Stories which is similar to Snapchat, then Reels, which are similar to TikTok, now reposts, which had begun with Twitter. Instagram’s whole personality is borrowed,” one user saidd on X,“instagram wanna be tiktok so bad you can repost reels now ” another one added.

The TikTok Repost feature lets users share others’ videos with their followers, similar to a retweet on X. Reposted videos appear on followers' For You feeds, not on the user’s profile.Although many new features have been added to Instagram's new version, the platform is mainly being criticised for the Repost feature, which now lets users share public reels and posts just like retweeting on X or reposting on TikTok. On TikTok, when someone reposts a video, it shows up in their followers’ “For You” feed but not on their profile, similar to what Instagram is now doing.