Instagram Reels launches in the US!

Instagram is finally launching the response of Tiktok, Reels in the US. The Reels will be an added feature to Instagram where you will be able to make short videos just like the Tiktok app. This feature will be available in over 50 countries including the US, UK, Australia, and Japan, both through the Android and iOS.

About the Reels

This new feature allows you to make short videos of up to 15 seconds. There are a variety of editing tools to assist you with the video making :

Audio – allows you to add a song from the Instagram music library to the video
AR Effects – allows you to record clips with different effects
Timer and Countdown – gives a 3s countdown before the video starts recording
Align – allows seamless transitions from one clip to another
Speed – you can slow down or speed up a selected part of the video.

For all the public accounts, you can make and share the reels to the Explore section. Anyone can see the video and find it using hashtags, songs, and effects. The reals can be seen and discovered by the wider Instagram community

Meanwhile, private users can share their reels on Feed. This way the Reels made from a private account are visible only to their followers. These reels are not visible to the wider audience and can not be shared will people who don’t follow the private account.

Launch

The Instagram Reel is launching at a time when TikTok is facing a possible ban from The US and has already been banned in some other countries like India. TikTok has been a destination for millions of creators worldwide. So Reels could essentially be taking over and become the next destination for these creators. But the introductory page of the Reels doesn’t really clarify how it will help the creators make money from it.