Close Friends, Private moments, and other situations where sharing is blocked.
Sharing is permission-based
Currently respects the poster's privacy choices. If they marked their moment as Close Friends or Private, you can't share it externally — even if you can see it. This is a design decision to protect them.
Three sharing tiers
| Moment type | Can share to chat? | Can share to Story? | Can share externally? | Can save? | Can download? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Close Friends | No | No | No | Yes (private) | No |
| Private | No | No | No | Yes (private) | No |
What happens if you try to share a restricted moment
If you tap the share icon on a Close Friends or Private moment, the share sheet still opens but with most options disabled or hidden. If you try to use a blocked option, you'll see this dialog:
YOU CANNOT SHARE THIS MOMENT. Only people added by @{poster} to their Close Friends list can see this moment, but no one can share it. Buttons: Add @{poster} to your list / OK.
For Private moments, the dialog reads:
YOU CANNOT SHARE THIS MOMENT. Only people who follow @{poster} can see this moment, but no one can share it. Button: OK.
Can I screenshot it?
Currently can't physically prevent screenshots, but it's not the right thing to do for restricted content. The poster trusted you with private content — sharing it elsewhere via screenshot violates that trust. See Screenshots and saving (privacy) for more.
Other situations where sharing is blocked
- You're blocked by the poster — you can't see the moment at all, so nothing to share
- Comments turned off doesn't affect sharing — you can still share a moment with comments turned off
- Reported moments under review — these may have temporary share restrictions while the review is happening
FAQs — Why sharing is blocked
Q. How do I know a moment is Close Friends or Private?
A. Look for the badge on the moment card — a Close Friends badge or Private badge appears near the top. If you see either, sharing is restricted.
Q. Why can the poster share their own Close Friends moment but I can't?
A. The poster owns their content. They can share their own moment freely — to other apps, screenshots, anywhere. The restriction is only on other viewers sharing it without their permission.
Q. Can I ask the poster to make their moment Public so I can share?
A. Yes — message them and ask. They can change the visibility from the moment's more-options menu → Edit Moment → change visibility to Public. After they do, the share buttons unlock for you.
Q. If I tag the poster on Story, will it work?
A. No — Story sharing is blocked entirely on Close Friends and Private moments, regardless of how you try. Tagging or mentioning won't bypass it.
Q. Can I copy the link and paste it instead?
A. On Close Friends and Private moments, the Copy option is also disabled. Even if you found the URL another way, the moment would still show as restricted to anyone who isn't an authorized viewer.
Q. What if a moment was Public and the poster changes it to Private later?
A. Already-shared links / posts will start showing the privacy restriction. Anyone who saw the moment before the change is unaffected — the new restriction only applies to new viewers via the link.