Instagram may break up and set up a separate Reels app
The latest hottest rumor has it that Instagram may split and offer Reels as a separate, standalone app. If this turns out to be true, we could end up with another app to scroll mindlessly endlessly all night long.
So far, nothing is official and it's only whispers from down the hall that we're getting; allegedly, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri made such remarks to employees recently. This, of course, could be seen as a direct answer to the TikTok experience.
Why do it now? Well, one has to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding TikTok in the US, no?
Reels, as you may remember, was initially introduced in response to growing US government scrutiny of TikTok. Facebook had experimented with its own standalone video app, Lasso, in 2018, but shut it down in 2020. That same year, Instagram launched Reels in 50 countries, including the US.
So, the new Mosseri initiative is part of a plan known internally as Project Ray. Sounds like top level spy stuff from an anime episode, but OK.
In an effort to attract younger users and creators who favor TikTok, Instagram has been offering financial incentives for exclusivity on Reels. Around the time a proposed US TikTok ban was set to take effect, the platform began paying creators tens of thousands of dollars per month to post solely on Reels. It also introduced a video-editing app called Edits to compete with CapCut, owned by TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.
Meta does not disclose specific Instagram revenue figures, but estimates indicate US ad sales on the platform grew 24% last year, accounting for nearly half of Meta's domestic ad revenue. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li recently highlighted the global rise in time spent watching videos on Instagram.
Meanwhile, TikTok remains in a precarious position. President Donald Trump extended the deadline until early April for ByteDance to divest TikTok's US operations. Nothing is clear right now.
So, are you eager to download Reels as a standalone app, if it goes live?
So far, nothing is official and it's only whispers from down the hall that we're getting; allegedly, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri made such remarks to employees recently. This, of course, could be seen as a direct answer to the TikTok experience.
Reels, as you may remember, was initially introduced in response to growing US government scrutiny of TikTok. Facebook had experimented with its own standalone video app, Lasso, in 2018, but shut it down in 2020. That same year, Instagram launched Reels in 50 countries, including the US.
So, the new Mosseri initiative is part of a plan known internally as Project Ray. Sounds like top level spy stuff from an anime episode, but OK.
Project Ray allegedly aims to enhance video recommendations for new users and expand the availability of three-minute videos.
In an effort to attract younger users and creators who favor TikTok, Instagram has been offering financial incentives for exclusivity on Reels. Around the time a proposed US TikTok ban was set to take effect, the platform began paying creators tens of thousands of dollars per month to post solely on Reels. It also introduced a video-editing app called Edits to compete with CapCut, owned by TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.
Meta does not disclose specific Instagram revenue figures, but estimates indicate US ad sales on the platform grew 24% last year, accounting for nearly half of Meta's domestic ad revenue. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li recently highlighted the global rise in time spent watching videos on Instagram.
Meanwhile, TikTok remains in a precarious position. President Donald Trump extended the deadline until early April for ByteDance to divest TikTok's US operations. Nothing is clear right now.
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