Do you want a separate Instagram Reels app? You may be getting one!
If the rumors are true, Instagram are looking into launching a standalone short-form video app, to see Reels better compete with TikTok.
Currently, Instagram Reels are integrated into the Instagram app. These short-form videos appear alongside Feed content and in a dedicated tab on the same app as the Posts and Stories from accounts you follow and those recommended. This integration is almost identical to YouTube Shorts in the YouTube app, but distrinctly different to TikTok. While elements of images, TikTok is and has always been a short-form video-first app.
According to an anonymous source reported by The Information, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri was overheard discussing with staff this week the plan to launch a dedicated Reels app. The Meta initiative, code-named Project Ray also hopes to improve how Instagram content is recommended and bringing more three-minute-long Reels to US users.
While I don’t see the integration of Reels in Instagram going away, a separate app as a choice for viewers could be an interesting option. This could provide TikTok users with a dedicated short-form video alternative closer to what they’re used to and away from all of the other Instagram content.
Last month, TikTok was facing a ban in the US, which was extended for 75 days by President Trump. This could see around 170 million US users looking for an alternative from April 5.
Since the start of the year and TikTok’s uncertain path became apparent, Instagram has been stepping up its effort to compete with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. Instagram announced a mobile video editing app Edits, slated for release March 13. This is a direct copy of CapCut, ByteDance’s mobile-first video editing app, which would likely also see the same ban. Instagram has also reportedly been encouraging TikTok creators over to their platform with cash bonuses.
This wouldn’t be Meta’s first standalone video app. In 2018 Facebook launched video app Lasso, which was shut down in 2020, with their focus going to Reels.