Instagram is rolling out its new Reels short-form video feature on its mobile application. The new feature is designed to rival TikTok in terms of user content creation and is launching in 50 countries today on both iOS and Android platforms, according to the company’s official blog.
Just like its competitor, Reels allow users to create short videos integrated with music that can be shared with friends and followers. These videos can also be discovered on Instagram’s Explore page, which also includes a dedicated tab for the new feature for users to browse.
Through Reels, users can record videos up to 15 seconds long and add popular music to run in the background. Again, like TikTok, it also provides a variety of filters and effects to make the videos more visually appealing. A new assortment of tools will be provided when creating a Reels video on Instagram, and they can be recorded either all at once or as a series of clips. Alternatively, users could also opt to upload videos straight from their phone’s gallery and edit them on the platform.
As part of Instagram’s ecosystem, these videos can be shared both privately and publicly according to the user’s preference. Under a private account, Reels will be shared only amongst friends while having a public account will have the videos to be widely discovered on the platform.
Instagram said that Reels has been integrated to its application in countries such as the US, UK, Japan, and Australia. At the time of writing, the new feature has not been rolled out in Malaysia at this time and may some time before it is introduced locally.
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