Instagram Reels: What is the new TikTok-style feature that is launching today?
The feature will make Instagram more competitive against TikTok and Snapchat
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Your support makes all the difference.Instagram has just launched Reels, its short-form video feature, in the UK.
The feature had previously been tested in Brazil ahead of an international launch in over 50 countries.
Users will now be able to record short videos that can be shared with friends and edited with filters and effects.
The feature has been called a ‘TikTok clone’ at a time when the Chinese viral video app has been under threat.
Reels is available now, as long as users have downloaded the most recent version of Instagram.
What is reels?
Reels is a section in Instagram where users can make 15-second long videos - the same length as a TikTok video - that can be uploaded to their Instagram profile.
Users can edit the video within the app, adding augmented reality filters, timers, captions, hashtags, and more.
The feature is launching in the US, India, France, Germany, UK, Japan, Australia today.
It is available on both iPhones and iPads, as well as Android devices.
How do I use reels?
Reels lets users record and edit 15-second videos, which can be posted individually or linked together for a longer video.
It has several visual and audio effects, which includes using music from Instagram’s music library.
If you upload your own audio, Instagram will credit it and others can create reels using your uploaded sounds.
There are also augmented reality effects, similar to the filters which already exist on Instagram, as well as the ability to change video speed and set timers and countdowns for hands-free videos.
Users can also align objects from previous clips, for smooth editing and “seamless transitions for moments like outfit changes or adding new friends into your reel,” Instagram says.
How do I share reels?
For users with a public account, reels are shared to a dedicated space in the Explore tab “where it has the chance to be seen and discovered by the wider Instagram community”, the company says, something it is seemingly pushing over competitors like TikTok.
Users with a private account can share reels to their feed. As the reels feature follows your pre-existing privacy settings on Instagram, other people will not be able to use original audio from your reels nor share your reels somewhere else.
Once the reel is made, users can add captions and hashtags, change the cover image, and tag friends.
It can also be sent to friends via Instagram’s direct messages, or added to your Story.
How has TikTok reacted?
TikTok’s CEO Kevin Mayer struck out at Instagram and its parent company Facebook in a recent blog post.
In it, Mayer said: “To those who wish to launch competitive products, we say bring it on.”
However, the executive criticised Facebook for launching a “copycat” product.
“Facebook is … launching another copycat product, Reels (tied to Instagram), after their other copycat Lasso failed quickly.
”But let's focus our energies on fair and open competition in service of our consumers, rather than maligning attacks by our competitor – namely Facebook – disguised as patriotism and designed to put an end to our very presence in the US.“
TikTok is facing a potential ban in the United States due to national security concerns because of its Chinese parent company, Bytedance, and Chinese legislation about data gathering. TikTok has denied any allegations that it is a national security concern.
It is likely the app will be sold to Microsoft, at the behest of president Trump, with the US treasury taking a cut of the sale.
TikTok’s founder has said the real intention of the US government is a “ban or even more” on the app.
What is Lasso?
As well as reels Facebook, which owns Instagram, launched a standalone product called Lasso in markets where TikTok has yet to be established.
“We have a number of approaches that we’re going to take towards this, and we have a product called Lasso that’s a standalone app that we’re working on, trying to get product-market fit in countries like Mexico, is I think one of the first initial ones”, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in leaked audio about Facebook’s plans to challenge TikTok.
Facebook introduced Lasso last year in Mexico, before an expected global launch, but has since shuttered the app.
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