Instagram mulls introducing 10-min long reels to compete with TikTok, YouTube

Extending Reels' duration to 10 minutes brings it closer to the format of YouTube videos, though not reaching the extended timeframe provided by its short-video competitor, TikTok.

San Francisco: Meta-owned Instagram is reportedly working on a longer version of Reels, which will let users record up to 10 minutes of videos.

Mobile developer and leaker Alessandro Paluzzi shared the development on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, sharing screenshots of two side-by-side Reels pages, one to record for three minutes and another to record for 10 minutes, reports The Verge.

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“#Instagram is working on the ability to create #Reels up to 10 minutes long,” he said.

However, Meta has not confirmed plans to extend Reels yet, the report said.

By increasing Reels’ length to 10 minutes, it moves closer to YouTube videos, but not as far as short-term video rival TikTok, which already offers more time to record videos.

TikTok offers up to 10 minutes of longer video content for free users with an additional paid tier for up to 20 minutes, allowing fans to watch more content from their favourite creators.

Meanwhile, Instagram is testing a new group mention feature that will allow users to tag more than one person in a story using a single mention.

In a post on his broadcast channel, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said: “We’re testing a way to tag a group of people in a story using a single mention. Once you create a group mention, it can be reused by anyone in the group to automatically tag everyone in any new stories”.

This feature will be helpful, as tagging multiple people in one mention will make stories cleaner and less cluttered, providing a better viewing experience for followers.