When TikTok is facing bans from several countries, Instagram launches its new feature ‘Reels’ on August 5, assumably targeting the users of TikTok.
Reels feature allows users to create fun videos to share with friends or anyone on Instagram. One can record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools. Afterward, reels can be shared with followers on Feed, and, if one has a public account, make them available to the wider Instagram community through a new space in Explore.
Ahead of the global launch on 50 countries right now including US, UK, Germany, India and so on, Instagram has been working behind the scenes to give social media stars early access to the feature, likely in an attempt to drum up excitement and line up high-quality content for the launch. For now, though, Instagram won’t give social media stars a way to earn money through creating Reels.
Also, Microsoft and Twitter are looking forward to buying TikTok’s US operations. While tech giant Microsoft is the front-runner to buy TikTok, Twitter has also approached TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to express an interest in buying. The value of TikTok’s US operations is unclear but estimates put it at tens of billions of dollars. Twitter’s market capitalization is about $29bn (£22bn), dwarfed by Microsoft’s at more than $1.6tn. But experts believe a possible Twitter deal would face less regulatory scrutiny than Microsoft’s.
If you want to learn more about how to use Instagram Reel and its full features, you can visit Instagram’s official announcement and guide HERE.