Instagram Will Launch Video Editing Features Like in Tiktok

Instagram plans to launch the TikTok competitor feature in the United States (US) in the next few weeks. Not only the US, this feature will also be introduced to more than 50 other countries.

Quoted from The Verge, Saturday (18/7), the short duration video feature on Instagram will be launched in early August in the US and a number of countries. The feature, named Reels, is Instagram's attempt to remake the popular short music video format in TikTok.

Reels will allow users to record and edit 15-second video clips. Users will be able to reuse audio from other people's videos, as is usually done in TikTok.

So far, this feature is only available in a few countries, including India and Brazil.

Instagram, like its owner, Facebook, has a history of replicating popular features from other applications. The Stories feature was taken from Snapchat, and caused explosive growth for Instagram. Seeing TikTok's rapid growth, Instagram is likely hoping to achieve the same achievement again.

This launch also came as political pressure on TikTok in the US. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the US government was considering taking action on TikTok in "weeks," after last week US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was considering a TikTok ban because of security concerns.

For now, Instagram doesn't seem to be launching Reels independently. Reels will be present in Instagram Stories, which will be an option among many features when uploading.

Video Reels also won't last 24 hours unless the user specifically adds them to their profile. It is still unclear how users will find Reels to watch.

Previously, it was reported that Reels would be in the Explore tab, but reportedly Instagram will add a new tab at the bottom, where users can see it. The special Reels viewing tab can make the experience more like TikTok, which makes users scroll through videos nonstop.

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