Instagram’s New Reels Features: A Bold Move to Steal TikTok Users
The potential downfall of TikTok in the US has clearly pleased its rivals, as Instagram today revealed two new features for Reels, its TikTok clone.
The US Supreme Court affirmed earlier today the regulation that will prohibit TikTok in the US unless it sells before January 19. The app has pledged to completely shut down on Sunday in the US, despite the fact that the legislation doesn’t technically force it to (it merely compels Google and Apple to remove TikTok from their app stores), as the deadline draws near and no agreement is in sight.
Now, you can see in the upper right corner of the Reels tab whatever reels your friends are like or commenting on. Instagram claims that a reply box will also be visible to you, making it simple to “start conversations around content you’re enjoying.” This provides you with “even more opportunities for your reels to be seen by people who don’t follow you yet” .
The featured image above show how this operates. The upper right corner of any given reel will display which of your friends engaged with that specific reel. After that, you can respond to their action; for example, you can respond to a buddy who loves a reel.
This information was formerly available on Instagram’s dedicated Activity feed, but it was taken down a few years ago. Whether Instagram intends to offer an opt-out for the new feed is still unknown.
Instagram plans to spread the new feed in the future, although it is now only available in a few countries.
Beginning on Sunday, when U.S. app shops will no longer be allowed to distribute the software, Instagram rival TikTok may no longer be accessible. If that turns out to be the case, Instagram might take in some of the displaced TikTok users.
