Instagram is reportedly exploring the possibility of launching its short-form video feature, Reels, as a standalone app. This strategic move comes at a time when TikTok’s future remains uncertain in the US due to potential bans, which could significantly impact its 170 million US user base. Instagram, owned by Meta, currently boasts over 2 billion global users, with approximately 166.15 million in the US.
The reported initiative, allegedly discussed by Instagram head Adam Mosseri with staff, aims to compete more directly with TikTok, which has a global user base of 1.9 billion. This potential separate app is part of a broader strategy by Meta to capture the short-form video market. However, Meta has not officially commented on these reports.
As part of its efforts to strengthen its position against TikTok, Meta recently unveiled Edits, a video editing app to rival TikTok’s CapCut. Meta’s previous attempt to penetrate different social media markets, like the Threads app intended to challenge Twitter, did not meet with much success. Whether users will embrace a standalone Reels app remains to be seen.
The project, reportedly codenamed Project Ray, is designed to enhance content recommendations for both new and existing users. The separate app could potentially allow Instagram to declutter its main platform, which many users feel has deviated from its original focus on photo sharing.
User reactions have been mixed. While some see this potential app as "another distraction," others welcome the "video-sharing battle" it might incite. Critics have commented, "Just what the world needs—another app that already has and does what other apps do," while others yearn for a return to Instagram’s simpler days without the ads and reels.
In its bid to lure content creators, Instagram has been incentivising them to promote its platform across other social media channels and offering financial incentives for posting exclusively on Reels. This echoes its earlier attempt in 2018 with the standalone app Lasso, which was eventually shut down.
As the digital entertainment landscape continues to evolve, Instagram’s potential move to separate Reels could further intensify the competition in the short-form video market, challenging TikTok's dominance amid its uncertain future in the US owing to a law signed by former US President Joe Biden last year that required Chinese company ByteDance to sell the app to non-Chinese owners by January 19 over national security concerns. However, the Trump administration signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law for 75 days.