Facebook-owned Instagram has launched a new video-music remix feature called "Reels" in India.
With Reels, users will be able to make 15-second-long video clips set to music, and share them as Stories.
The feature was rolled out in the Brazilian market first for testing but since India right now is a hot market for short-video apps, Instagram has decided to roll the feature out in the country.
This move also comes just days after the central government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, all over India.
While as of 8 July we could not find the feature on our Instagram app, it is possible the feature is being rolled out in phases.
How to Get Reels on Your Phone?
There is no separate standalone app for Reels and the feature will appear integrated into your Instagram app. It will appear as a part of the Instagram Stories section.
Users can shoot 15-second videos using the feature and can add music and AR effects to their content.
There are more editing tools like timer, speed, rewind and align. The content made on Reels will be shared on the Explore feed by default. Users also have an option to post the content on their grid.
The app also has a dedicated section on the profile for Reels.
The Big Market Game
Instagram has more than 88 million users in the country which means India is a key market for the company.
With the ban of TikTok, this is a great opportunity for Instagram to rope in content creators, who are currently in the market shopping for video-making apps, on its platform.
TikTok had more than 120 million active users in the country who are now looking to migrate to other apps like Chingari and Mitron to post their content.
Although Instagram says that the launch of the platform has nothing to do with the recent government order but the scenario surely works in favour of the company.
Ajit Mohan, VP & MD, Facebook India said that this feature has been in the pipeline for quite some time.
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