Instagram is one of the most popular image and video sharing networks in the world, with over a billion users, and the company occasionally makes changes to its service to add new features or improve existing ones. The service is now rebranding its IGTV service which was previously spun off into a separate app for longer videos. The company has now merged IGTV videos in the regular Instagram service and added them to the main app along with other videos into an Instagram Video tab to host all videos posted by users on the platform.
The Facebook-owned company announced the changes coming to the Instagram service on Tuesday, explaining that users will now be able to see videos that are up to 60 minutes in length on the main Instagram app, as part of the new Instagram Video tab. Meanwhile, Reels, which are designed to compete with TikTok, will not be included in this tab and Stories which competes with Snapchat will also remain above the main feed.
While the change to bring videos to the main app in a separate videos tab is abig move that could result in more users engaging with longer videos on the app, it is also probably because the IGTV service has not really taken off since it was launched in 2018 to compete with YouTube. With increased competition from services like TikTok which recently announced it had one billion active users, Instagram is likely working on retaining users by offering them more content in the same app.
Thankfully, users do not have to worry about their experience changing when it comes to watching videos. While the location of IGTV videos has changed, users can still tap the full-screen button to watch it in landscape mode and users will also be able to see how their videos are performing with post insights. This follow’s the service’s announcement earlier this year that it was no longer just a “photo-sharing” service.