How to get user generated content on Instagram comes down to three steps: give people an easy reason to post about you, ask the person who made a post for permission in writing before you reuse it, and keep their yes on file. A tag brings the post to you but it is not permission to reuse it.

Every Instagram rule and menu path below comes from Instagram's Help Center, its Terms of Use or Meta's newsroom, read on 23 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

What counts as user generated content on Instagram?

UGC is any photo, reel, story or comment about your business that a customer, fan or follower made and your team did not. Some arrives unasked, when someone tags you, and some because you invited it.

A post you paid for is a separate case. Instagram's Branded Content Policies define branded content as a creator's content that features or is influenced by a business partner "for an exchange of value, such as monetary payment or free gifts", and require the branded content tool. If you pay or send free product for a post, read Instagram affiliate disclosure first.

How do I get people to post about my business?

Give them a reason, a place and an easy way to tag you.

  • Let people tag you. Open your profile, tap Menu, then Tags and mentions. Under Who can @mention you choose Allow mentions from everyone, and under Who can tag you allow tags from everyone.
  • Start an Add Yours prompt. On a story or reel, tap Stickers, choose Add Yours, write a prompt and tap Done. People answer with their own story or reel, and Instagram notifies you unless you turn notifications off.
  • Allow remixes if you want them. On a public account, Instagram's default lets anyone remix your reels, feed videos and photos, and you are notified when a public account does. Switch it off under Sharing and reuse.

Where do I find the posts people make about me?

Start with three places: your Tagged tab, your Activity feed and your message inbox.

  • Tagged tab. Open your profile and tap Tagged. By default, a photo or video that tags you is added to your profile automatically. To approve each one first, turn on Manually approve tags under Tags and mentions.
  • Mentions. A business account gets an Activity feed notification when someone mentions the business in a story, comment or caption.
  • Story mentions. If someone you follow mentions you in a story, you get a direct message with a preview, and if you do not follow them it arrives as a message request. The story disappears after 24 hours unless the poster adds it to a highlight, so ask while it is up.

Instagram post tracking covers these places and the limits of tools that read them.

What are some Instagram UGC examples?

Five kinds of post count as UGC, and each reaches you a different way. They come from Instagram's own pages. We did not verify any named brand's campaign, so we name no brand and quote no results.

Post type How it reaches you What you can do
A photo or carousel that tags you Your Tagged tab Repost it if the creator allows. Ask before any other use
A reel that shows your product or remixes yours Your Tagged tab, or a remix notification Repost it if the creator allows. Ask before any other use
A story that mentions you A direct message with a preview, or a message request Add it to your story, unless the person turned off re-shares for mentions
A response to your Add Yours prompt A notification Tap the prompt to see responses. Ask before sharing one
A comment that praises your product Your post's comments Reply in public. We found no Instagram tool for reusing one, so ask before quoting it elsewhere

What are user generated content rights on Instagram?

In general, the person who made the photo or video owns the copyright, and posting it on Instagram does not change that. Instagram's Help Center says the creator of an original work owns the copyright, so whoever takes a photo likely owns it. The Terms of Use say Instagram claims no ownership of what people post, and the license they describe runs to Instagram, not to other businesses.

  • A tag is not a license. None of the Help Center pages we read says a tag, mention or hashtag lets a business reuse a post. The Terms bar violating someone else's rights, copyright infringement included.
  • Credit does not fix it. The Help Center lists giving credit, adding a disclaimer, not meaning to profit and finding the work online among things that do not prevent infringement. It recommends written permission from the author.
  • The person pictured may not be the owner. Appearing in a photo does not necessarily mean you hold the copyright in it. Ask the person who took it.
  • Exceptions exist and vary. The Terms allow use of a work under exceptions to copyright under applicable law, and the Help Center names fair use and the public domain. They differ by country, and Instagram says it cannot give legal advice.

How to ask permission to repost on Instagram

Inside Instagram you often need not ask: tap Repost on a public reel or post, and it works when the creator allows reposts. For any other use, send a message and keep the written yes.

What Repost does. Your followers may see your repost in their feeds, and it appears in a dedicated tab on your profile, credited to the original poster (Meta's newsroom, 6 August 2025). You cannot repost a repost. Creators control it under Menu, then Sharing and reuse, with a toggle for Reposts on posts and reels. Instagram's page on original content recommends reposting or sharing to your story rather than posting other accounts' content without material edits, because the creator then gets credit and reach. The Repost article describes an in-app feature and says nothing about using the post on your website, in an email or in an ad, so ask first for those.

What to put in the message. Four parts: the post link, where you will use it, for how long, and how you will credit the person. Ask for a written reply that includes the yes. A message that works:

Hi Maya, I run [shop name]. Your photo of the olive tote is lovely. May we share it on our Instagram, our website and our emails for the next 12 months, with a credit to @yourhandle? Reply yes to confirm, and tell me if there is anywhere you would prefer we did not use it.

The Instagram pages we read set no wording or length for a permission. The 12 months is our suggestion.

To send the ask the moment someone shows interest, post a call-out such as "Tagged us already? Comment FEATURE and we will message you." A comment-to-DM automation such as inDM replies in public and sends your message, which can ask for the post link and the yes, and you read the answers in your inbox.

Can I use someone's Instagram post in an ad?

Only with permission that names ads, and Instagram has a tool for it: the partnership ad code. A creator with a professional account can generate a code for a post, story or reel and send it to you. Instagram's Help Center says an advertiser with the code can create ads from that content whether or not it is branded content, up to two partners can use a code at a time, and the creator can revoke permission at any time.

A customer with a personal account cannot generate a code, because Instagram requires a professional account. For them, get a written yes that names ads.

How do I keep a record of permission?

Keep one row per post, outside Instagram, on the day the yes arrives. That is our suggestion, not an Instagram rule, and it is what you check before you reuse a post months later. Note the person's handle, the post link, the dates you asked and they agreed, where you may use it (Instagram, website, email, ads), until when, and a screenshot of their reply. If someone asks you to stop, take the post down and write the date in the same row.

Where this stops working

  • Not legal advice. Instagram says laws differ by country and that it cannot give legal advice.
  • No Instagram standard for a permission. We found no page that fixes a length, wording or form. The 12 months, the four parts and the record columns are our suggestions.
  • Repost has limits. Instagram says it may not be available to everyone, it covers public reels and posts, and creators can switch it off.
  • Automation has reach limits. It sends the ask only to people who commented, replied to a story or messaged you. Someone who only tagged you needs a message from you, sent by hand in the app.
  • We read pages and did not open a live account. Menu names can differ in your app.

This week, pick one tagged post you love, send its creator the four-part message, and write the yes in your sheet before you share it.

Sources

All read on 23 October 2026 unless noted:

What's ours and what isn't. The paths, rules and limits are Instagram's and Meta's own. The message, the 12 months, the record and the five kinds of post are ours.