Instagram introduces Reels after TikTok ban in India

New Delhi : Days after TikTok was banned in India, Instagram has launched its own short video platform Reels in India. The new feature lets users create videos on the app, add creative filters and music and share it beyond their regular followers, said Vishal Shah, VP of Product, Facebook.

Reels is similar to TikTok that allows people to create short 15-second video with popular songs, trends  and challenges.

Vishal Shah said that their new product has been designed on a research that shows most of the videos on Instagram are of 15 seconds or less. “We also realised that stories are not the only place where they wanted to share these videos as they wanted them to stick on for longer and be distributed beyond their followers,” he said in the video call.

The new feature lets users shoot video, add filters and music from Instagram’s catalogue and share it beyond the platform.

As of now, there is no monetization model attached to it.

India is the fourth country, after Brazil, Germany, and France, where this new Instagram video format is being tested. The feature will start rolling out for users in India starting 7:30 PM IST today.