Instagram Reels, Facebook’s attempt to challenge TikTok has launched in over 50 countries including the US, Brazil, India, France, Germany Australia, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, UK and several others. The feature is available on both Android and iOS.
The plans to launch Reels have been on track way before TikTok’s current problems in the US that have cast uncertainty on its future.
Instagram is determined to lure some of TikTok’s creators with the launch of Reels.
Reels is a video editing tool designed to let Instagram users create short TikTok style videos lasting 15 seconds to be shared on stories, feed, or to be sent via DM or posted on the explore tab dubbed Top Reels.
Similar to TikTok, Reels allows users to add popular music as well as filters and effects over the top of the videos. Instagram has since launched a revamped Explore page to create a specific landing spot for Reels at the top of the screen to allow users to scroll through vertically.
Users still have the options to set their profiles to Public or Private. Private will allow you to share with your friends and family, while in public mode, your videos will be accessible to other Instagram users. Reels is set up as feature on Instagram, and is not an entirely new product.
Reels is designed with entertainment in mind, an area that Instagram is keen on developing. Part of the focus includes Instagram’s explore page. A
According to Robby Stein, Instagram’s product director, more than 50 percent of people use Instagram’s explore page once a month. Now, there will be a dedicated explore page for Reels. Essentially, it’s the equivalent of the “For You Page” on TikTok, which has seen many creators go viral.
“We’re going big with entertainment and [making Explore] the permanent place for you to go lean back, relax, and be inspired every day,” Stein said. “It’s our hope that with this format we have a new chapter of entertainment on Instagram.”
“I think TikTok deserves a ton of credit for popularizing formats in this space, and it’s just great work,” Stein said. “But at the end of the day, no two products are exactly alike, and ours are not either.”
Reels differs from TikTok in that users can send their videos directly to their feed, friends and family and can use Instagram specific AR filters and tools. They all coexist as part of the already formed networks.
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