To report copyright infringement on Instagram, the copyright owner or an authorised representative fills in Meta's intellectual property reporting form with full contact details, a description of the original work, a direct link to each infringing post or reel and a signed declaration. If your own content was taken down after a copyright report, follow the appeal or DMCA counter-notification instructions in the message Instagram sent you, and counter-notify only when the removal was a mistake or a misidentification.
This guide covers both directions of Instagram's copyright system. An account pretending to be you is an impersonation problem, handled in our guide to reporting a fake account impersonating you. A song muted on your reel is a music-licensing problem, covered in our guide to Instagram business account music. If the same material has been copied to several sites, start with our takedown evidence pack and use this page for the Instagram part.
Copyright, or a different kind of report?
Instagram's copyright help centre describes copyright as protecting original works such as photos, videos, music and writing, usually from the moment they are created. It also lists cases where people assume they own the copyright and may not: appearing in someone else's photo or video doesn't by itself give you copyright in it, and work made as part of a job can belong to the employer. Names, titles, slogans and short phrases are generally not original enough to be protected.
Choosing the right report saves weeks. A stolen photo you shot is a copyright matter. A photo of you taken by somebody else may belong in Instagram's privacy reporting route instead. A copied brand name or logo can be a trademark issue, and an account posing as you goes through impersonation. Only the copyright owner or someone authorised to act for them can file a copyright report; if you notice someone else's work being copied, the help centre suggests letting the rights owner know.
The two-way decision table
Read down the column that matches your position. Each row is drawn from the Instagram help page in its Source column.
| Stage | You are reporting stolen content | Your content was removed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where to start | Meta's IP reporting form, Brand Rights Protection for rights holders, or the DMCA designated agent | The removal message Instagram sent, which carries the appeal or counter-notice instructions | Appeal a copyright removal |
| What you need | Full name, postal address and phone number, a description of the work, the URL of each copy and a signed good-faith declaration | The report number from Instagram's message and a clear reason the removal was mistaken | Copyright help centre |
| What the other side sees | The poster typically gets the report number, your name, the email you supplied, report details and how to appeal | A DMCA counter-notice is forwarded to the reporter, including your contact information | DMCA counter-notifications |
| What happens next | An automated email with a unique report number; reply to it directly if Meta asks for more | After a valid DMCA counter-notice, eligible content is restored unless the reporter tells Meta it has gone to court, which can take up to 14 business days | DMCA counter-notifications |
| How to step back | Withdraw through the retraction form in your report email or Meta's separate withdrawal form | Contact the rights owner directly to try to settle it, alongside or before an appeal | Copyright help centre |
| Risk to weigh | Deliberately misleading reports can lead Meta to act against your account and, for copyright, to damages under section 512(f) of the DMCA | Repeat infringement can get an account disabled, though content restored on appeal is taken into account | Copyright help centre |
Filing a report: what Meta asks for
The quickest route is Meta's Intellectual Property Reporting Form. Instagram's help centre says every copyright report needs your complete contact information, a description of the content you say infringes, enough information to locate it, with direct URLs as the easiest option, a good-faith declaration made under penalty of perjury that you own the copyright or are authorised to act for the owner, and your electronic or physical signature. Reports sent to the designated agent by post or email must include a complete copyright claim and take longer.
Prepare these before you open the form:
- Your original file, with its creation date or the first place you published it, so you can describe the work precisely.
- The link to every infringing post, reel or story, copied from the share menu, gathered before you start so the report is complete.
- A screenshot of each copy with the account name and date visible, in case the poster deletes it and uploads it again elsewhere.
- A business or generic inbox, because Meta regularly passes your name, contact details and the contents of your report to the person you report.
- If you act for a creator or brand, their written authority and the organisation name Meta will show the poster instead of yours.
- An honest check that the use isn't one the law allows, such as commentary, criticism or parody, with legal advice if you can't tell.
- A place to log the report number from the automated email, next to the URLs it covers.
Rights holders who deal with copying often can also use Meta's Brand Rights Protection, which the copyright help centre describes as a tool for identifying and reporting content over trademark, copyright and counterfeit issues.
What happens after you report
Instagram sends an automated email containing a unique report number, and if its team asks for more information, you reply to that message. When content comes down, the poster is typically told the report number, the rights owner's name, the email address you supplied and the details of the report, along with how to appeal. They may contact you with those details, which is the practical reason to report from a business inbox.
If you reach an agreement with the poster, or realise you reported the wrong post, you can withdraw. The copyright help centre says the best way is the retraction form in the email about your report, with a separate withdrawal form as the alternative, and that Meta restores the content and confirms by email, unless technical limits or unrelated reasons get in the way. Withdrawals matter to the other side, because restorations are taken into account under Instagram's repeat infringer policy.
That policy is the real consequence for serial copiers: Instagram says accounts that repeatedly post infringing content may be disabled, may have their ability to post photos or videos limited, or may lose features. If you are on the receiving end of feature limits like these, our guide to Instagram account restrictions and action blocks explains how they appear in Account Status.
If your post was removed: appeal or counter-notice
Instagram's page on appealing a copyright removal separates two routes. If the message says the content was removed under the DMCA's notice and counter-notice procedure, you may be able to file a DMCA counter-notification. If the report came in outside that procedure, you appeal using the instructions in the message. If the whole account was disabled, the appeal starts by logging in and following the on-screen steps.
A counter-notification is a formal legal step, not a second request. Instagram's DMCA counter-notification page says to file one only when the removal was a mistake or misidentification, that it goes to the reporter with your contact information, and that if the reporter doesn't tell Meta it has filed a court action to keep the content down, Meta restores eligible content, a process that can take up to 14 business days. Content restored through an effective counter-notice isn't counted against you under the repeat infringer policy.
Before filing either, test your case against the list Instagram publishes of things that don't excuse a copy. Its copyright help centre says you can still infringe if you bought or downloaded the content, recorded it yourself at an event, gave credit, added a disclaimer, didn't profit, changed it, found it online or saw other people post it. Appeals tend to move faster when the content doesn't infringe and you answer Meta's requests for information promptly, and slower when its teams need extra review, according to the appeal page.
If you aren't sure which route applies, or whether your use could count as fair use or another legal exception, Instagram itself suggests getting legal advice, because it can't give you any.
Mistakes that slow both sides down
- Reporting an account that only mentions or links to you. A copyright report is for copies of your work, not for talk about it.
- Using a personal email for the report. The poster usually sees the address, so expect them to write to it.
- Counter-noticing because you credited the creator. On Instagram's own explanation, credit is not permission.
- Reporting a photo you only appear in. Unless you took it or own it, Instagram's privacy route is usually the better fit.
- Trusting a DM that threatens deletion over copyright unless you click a link. Genuine removals appear in Account Status and the app's own notices, so check there and never enter your password through a message; our hacked account recovery checklist covers what to do if you already have.
- Filing the same report again and again. Keep the report number and reply to Meta's email instead of starting over.
Limitations of this guide
Copyright law differs from country to country. The DMCA procedure Instagram describes applies to content reported and removed for violating US copyrights, and Instagram's help centre notes that the US and some other countries use fair use while others, including EU member states, rely on different exceptions and limitations. Australian and UK creators should check their own law before relying on any exception.
This guide describes Instagram's process as its help pages read on 1 October 2026. It isn't legal advice, it can't tell you whether a particular use infringes, and it can't predict how Meta or a rights owner will respond. For anything involving a court action, a damages claim or a disputed licence, speak to a lawyer who handles intellectual property.