Instagram announced that it is updating the amount of time users can share on Reels, increasing the limit from 90 seconds to three minutes. The explanation for this is to allow more creative breathing room for the creators to experiment with the content that they want to create.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head, said in a video explaining the change that although the social network is still focused on short-form video content, responding to power users, who told the company that the previous time limit was too strict for some kinds of content.
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Instagram Doubles Reels Length to 3 Minutes, Offering More Creative Flexibility
Increasing the length of videos, Instagram is also providing the opportunity for creators to create longer, more engaging narratives, tutorials, and even behind-the-scenes content. It’s a rebranding of the platform and a way for the company to keep modernizing and competing in the fast-evolving world of social media. The change arrives as Instagram faces pressure from TikTok and YouTube, which have seized on longer video formats.
YouTube, for example, doubled the maximum length of Shorts from 60 seconds to three minutes in September last year. Only time will tell what the new three-minute Reels format means for content creation and engagement on Instagram. Longer Reels might give rise to more possibilities for content, which might lure a wider range of creators, but it might also diminish Instagram’s original vision of itself as a home for short, easily digestible videos.
This update is one of many important steps that Instagram has taken to develop tailored solutions for its creators and users. Allowing them to post longer videos will help creators experiment with new formats and engage their audiences in more ways. It remains to be seen, however, if the new longer-form video will sit properly with the short-form audiences who prefer shorter videos. Now, whether this move will solidify or change Instagram’s place in social media, time will only tell.
