Robinhood is beta testing a new social feature that will allow users to share and discuss trades, marking its first move toward social trading in the U.S. market.
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The product, called Robinhood Social, mirrors a model already popular in Europe, where platforms such as eToro allow users to follow and automatically copy each other’s trades.
Robinhood first expressed interest in social trading features in October 2025. However, in the United States, that approach is in a more uncertain regulatory environment.
Copy manually instead of automation
Robinhood’s version intentionally stops short of full copy trading. Users can see what others are trading and manually replicate their positions, but there is no automatic mirroring or rebalancing of portfolios.
This distinction is central to product design and reflects how the company approaches regulatory risk. The concerns are real. In the United States, the sharing of large trades can be interpreted as a form of investment advice, especially if it leads to systematic copying.
At the same time, anonymous social features raise concerns about coordinated trading and market manipulation. Robinhood’s approach addresses both issues.
Profiles are associated with authenticated users through an existing onboarding process, and trading decisions are completely user-driven. The company effectively brings the social layer that already exists on platforms like Reddit and X into its app, but it doesn’t automate decision-making.
Robinhood also limits early access. This feature will initially be available to approximately 1,000 invited users, with plans to expand to an additional 10,000 in the near future. A broader rollout to all customers is planned for later this year.
Robinhood Social is currently in beta.
We are rolling out this service to a select group of traders, starting with the 1,000 customers who attended the HOOD Summit last fall, and will expand in the coming weeks.
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— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) March 18, 2026
Product model different from eToro
Deployment is also limited. Access will initially be limited to a small group of users, but will be expanded more broadly later this year. The product positioning differs from established copy trading platforms.
Services like eToro are built around portfolio delegation, where users allocate funds to traders and automatically replicate positions. In contrast, Robinhood is adding a social layer on top of its existing multi-asset offering, which includes stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, futures, and prediction markets, without transferring control from users.
This difference impacts both user experience and risk. Rather than “following” traders in the background, users remain responsible for each trade, even if the idea originates from someone else’s portfolio.
Testing the limits of US regulation
For the securities industry, the development highlights important constraints in the U.S. market. Although social trading is well-established globally, its domestic development is limited by regulations regarding investment advice and market conduct.
Robinhood’s model suggests one way forward. It’s about maintaining social signals and eliminating automation. Whether balance is maintained as the product scales will depend on how regulators interpret the boundaries between discussion and advice.
