What step does this message describe?
The sentence connects two different moments: choosing how to publish now and deciding whether to share the published Reel more widely later.
“Share to non followers first” describes the initial trial audience. You make that choice while preparing the Reel, before publishing it. “Later you can choose to share with everyone” describes a subsequent action on the existing post.
You do not need to upload another copy to make that later choice. Opening the published trial and sharing it more widely keeps you on the same Reel.
If you want to review the response yourself before wider sharing, separate that decision from the automatic-sharing preference. Publishing a trial and enabling automatic release are distinct choices.
How do you choose and publish?
Prepare your Reel through Instagram’s normal creation process. At the stage before publication, follow this sequence:
- Tap Trial.
- Tap Next.
- Tap Share.
Read the selection shown on your account before completing publication. The explanatory sentence tells you what the feature does; check the actual Trial selection for the upload you are about to publish.
There is also an automatic-sharing route. Before publishing, open Trial settings beneath Trial and review Share to everyone automatically. Enable it if you want Instagram to handle wider sharing when it assesses the trial as performing well. If you want to make the later decision yourself, leave that option off.
This preference also applies to future trials until you change it. Review it when your intention changes—for example, when you move from freely experimenting with ideas to publishing something you want to inspect personally before followers encounter it.
To share a published trial manually:
- Go to your Instagram profile and open the section showing your Reels.
- Open the specific trial you want to release.
- Enter its insights screen.
- Select the option to share it with everyone.
Check that you opened the intended post before taking the final action. The later choice concerns that particular published trial, rather than every trial on your account.
What happens after you choose?
After initial trial publication, the Reel is shown to non-followers rather than appearing to followers through their normal feed and Reels surfaces. Trial does not make the post confidential: a follower can still encounter it through another route, such as a direct-message share.
After you manually share it with everyone, the same Reel appears on your profile’s main grid and Reels tab. It may also be seen by followers in their feed and Reels tab. Wider sharing makes those routes available; it does not mean every follower receives the post.
Automatic sharing follows a different decision process. Enabling the setting lets Instagram assess performance and handle the release. It is not the same action as manually opening a trial and choosing wider sharing yourself.
Before leaving the publishing screen, decide who should make that later choice—you or the automatic-sharing setting—and check that the selected option matches that intention.