igshid is the Instagram Share ID. Instagram appends it when you copy a link out of the app, and it identifies the share rather than the content. You can delete it and the post, reel or profile will open exactly the same way.
More recently you will see a shorter version called igsh doing the same job. Both are share identifiers. If your link has one of them, it was copied out of Instagram by somebody.
What it identifies
This is the part that surprises people. igshid does not describe the post. The post is already fully identified by the part of the URL before the question mark:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxAmPlE123/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Everything needed to load that post is in /p/CxAmPlE123/. The igshid describes the act of sharing: that this particular link was generated by this particular copy action.
Which means when you paste an Instagram link into a group chat, the identifier travelling with it originated from you. Everybody who taps it opens the post through a link tagged with your share event.
I want to be careful not to make that sound more sinister than it is. Nobody is reading your messages. But it is a small, quiet thing that most people have no idea is happening, and I think it is worth knowing about, particularly because Instagram links are shared constantly and almost nobody cleans them.
Why the parameter keeps changing shape
igshid values have changed format several times, and the switch to the shorter igsh happened without announcement. This is normal for platform parameters and it is one reason cleaning tools need updating: a rule written for one format may not catch the next.
It also makes the parameter awkward to research. Search for igshid and you will find posts from several different years describing several different value formats, most of which no longer match what you are looking at.
The other Instagram parameter: img_index
If you have copied a link to a carousel post, you may see img_index as well. That one is functional rather than tracking: it records which image in the carousel was on screen. Remove it and the post opens at the first image instead of the fourth.
This is the distinction that matters when cleaning links, and it is why blunt approaches fail. Cutting everything after the ? removes the tracking, but it also removes the parameter that made the link point at the right slide. A good cleaner has to know the difference. I go through the full set in how to clean Instagram links.
Is it safe to remove?
igshid and igsh, yes, always. Neither affects what loads.
img_index, only if you do not care which image in a carousel the recipient sees first.
Removing it by hand
Delete from ?igshid= or ?igsh= onward, keeping the trailing slash on the post path:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxAmPlE123/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxAmPlE123/
If you would rather not think about which parameters are safe, the link cleaner keeps the functional ones and drops the rest.
Related reading
fbclid is the Meta equivalent for outbound clicks, and since Meta owns both platforms the two systems are related. It is covered in what is fbclid.
Full list in the URL tracking parameter glossary.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between igshid and igsh?
They serve the same purpose. igsh is the shorter, newer form. Treat both as share identifiers and remove both.
Can someone tell it was me who shared the link?
Not from looking at it. The value is opaque to a person reading the URL. Meta can connect it to the share event on its own systems.
Does igshid appear on links I did not share?
Yes, frequently. If someone sends you an Instagram link with an igshid on it, that identifier came from whoever originally copied it, and it survives every forward after that.
Does removing it stop Instagram tracking?
No. It removes one identifier from one link. It does not change what the app does while you are using it.