TikTok is facing an uncertain future in the US market. Meanwhile, Instagram has quickly launched a feature that directly competes with TikTok, or in other words, the TikTok clone feature, called Reels. Reels is released in over 50 countries, available on both iOS and Android.
Similar to TikTok, Reels allows users to create short, vertical videos, with music and filter effects, to share with friends or followers. Each video is limited to only 15 seconds in length.
Instagram has improved Explore page so users can view all videos of Reels, which can scroll vertically, quite similar to TikTok’s For You page.
Users can set the video as private or public. If you want to be a KOL, you can set your videos to be public for everyone to see. If you just want to share with your friends, you can set it to private and these videos will only appear on Feed and Stories.
Reels is completely within Instagram, like a new feature. This is not a standalone application. So Reels could help increase the number of Instagram users, competing with TikTok.
Prior to the feature’s launch, ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) said that Facebook was one of the troubles on their way, accusing the social media giant of stealing its products with Instagram Reels.
Instagram product manager Robby Stein said that Reels and TikTok, while both short video formats, are completely different. “I think TikTok is a very popular video application. However, no two products are completely identical, so is our Reels ”, said Mr. Stein.
It’s a familiar statement, if you remember when Instagram first launched Stories in 2016, and was accused of stealing Snapchat’s ideas. However, Instagram Stories quickly surpassed Snapchat with its larger user base. Does that repeat with Reels and TikTok?
Reference: theverge