Instagram Reels cannow be up to one minute long, double the previous 30-second time limit.Instagram initially debuted Reels with a brief 15-second time cap, then quicklydoubled it just a month later.
The Facebook-ownedplatform has already rolled out the update for the new feature.
The extension to thelength of Reels can be attributed to the growing interest for videos amongInstagram users. The new update also allows users to add captions sticker onReels, which transcribes audio to text.
TikTok recently expandedits limit to three minutes for all creators, so it’s probably a matter oftime before Instagram nudges its cap even further. Instagram has yet to sharein detail how well Reels is doing, but Instagram’s leader, Adam Mosseri,said in January that “we have to be honest that TikTok is ahead.” For whatit’s worth, I saw a ripped Instagram Reels video on TikTok for the first timerecently, so that’s something.
Earlier, AdamMosseri, the head of Instagram, shared that he isn’t thrilled with theplatform’s TikTok competitor Reels. He discussed the format, whichlaunched in the US in August, during an interview, “I’m not yet happy with it,”he says. “We’re growing both in terms of how much people are sharing and howmuch people are consuming, but we have a long way to go. And we have to behonest that TikTok is ahead.”
“I think we have toget better at building more powerful and creative tools that aren’t necessarilya meme or a sort of moment in a package, but give people who are more creativethan us and make content for a living the ability to make something that’sgoing to pop,” he says.
Talking about therecent changes in the app, The Company said on Tuesday it was working on an"Instagram experience for tweens." It has said the idea of ayouth-focused app is to provide parents greater transparency and controls onwhat younger children who want to access Instagram are doing.