Instagram launches TikTok competitor called Reels, in Brazil

Instagram has started testing a video-music remix feature to rival TikTok. Instagram Reels lets users create 15-second videos set to music, which can be shared as Stories. The company has rolled out a new Top Reels section in Explore to let users find and watch viral video clips. Similar to TikTok, users can play songs to their Reels from the available catalogue of music or use audio from someone else’s video. 

The new feature has been launched on iOS and Android, but it is currently available only in Brazil, where it is called Cenas. Brazil has a big Instagram population and creator community that could help the company nail down its customization and onboarding strategy before rolling out the feature elsewhere. 

TechCrunch reports that Reels leverages all of Instagram’s most popular features. Instead of making a new app all-together like Facebook Lasso, Instagram could cross-promote Reels heavily to its own billion users by introducing it as a new feature within the app. Interestingly, TikTok allows users to download videos and share them on other platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and even Instagram to gain popularity.

“I think Musically before TikTok, and TikTok deserves a ton of credit for popularizing this format,” says Instagram director of product management Robby Stein. He suggests, “No two products are exactly the same, and at the end of the day, sharing video with music is a pretty universal idea we think everyone might be interested in using. The focus has been on how to make this a unique format for us.”

We will have to wait and see if Instagram Reels takes off in Brazil and if Instagram proceeds to launch it in other places.

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Prakhar Khanna

I write about tech stuff and tell (stupid) jokes View Full Profile