Jakarta – Instagram has launched a new feature to make Reels more competitive with TikTok. Meta’s platform has just extended the duration of Reels videos to three minutes.
This change was announced directly by Instagram Head Adam Mosseri. In his Instagram post, Mosseri stated that the current 90-second limit for Reels feels too short.
“We previously limited reels to 90 seconds because we were focusing on short videos, but we heard feedback that this was too short for those wanting to share longer stories,” Mosseri said, as quoted from Engadget, Tuesday (21/1/2025).
Interestingly, this update was announced just one day before TikTok faced a temporary ban in the United States. However, the ban has since been lifted, and TikTok is now operational again in the U.S.
This new policy indicates that Instagram has reconsidered its earlier stance. Last July, Mosseri mentioned that Instagram would not extend video durations as it could jeopardize the platform’s core identity of connecting users with their friends.
Instagram last extended the duration of Reels in 2022, increasing the limit from 60 seconds to 90 seconds.
Even with the extension, Instagram Reels’ duration still lags behind TikTok. ByteDance’s app extended its video duration to three minutes in 2020 and then further to 10 minutes in 2022.
In 2023, Instagram tested extending Reels’ duration to 10 minutes but never officially launched it. Alternatively, Instagram users can upload videos up to 10 minutes long as non-Reels content.
This isn’t the only update Instagram has made to resemble TikTok. Recently, the grid layout on Instagram profiles was changed from square to rectangular, sparking protests from many users.