Instagram adds new features to Reels ahead of TikTok ban in US

Tomorrow, January 19, the short video service TikTok may be banned in the United States. Of course, competitors will try to lure users to themselves. It’s no coincidence that Instagram✴ has added new features to the Reels section, modeled after TikTok.

Image Source: Brooke Cagle / unsplash.com

In the Reels section, a feed will appear made up of videos with which the user’s friends interacted: they “liked” or wrote a comment; Here you can also see what your friends have watched and what videos they prefer. Instagram✴ Reels users should also remember that their friends will now be able to see the videos that these users liked. In the new Reels section feed with recommendations from friends, there will also be an opportunity to “start a conversation” with someone who has checked in here.

«We want Instagram✴ to be not only a place where you consume entertaining content, but also a place where you communicate through this content with friends,” said platform CEO Adam Mosseri. Previously, a similar selection was offered in the Activity feed, but several years ago the platform administration removed it. The new feed has already appeared among users in several countries, and in the future Instagram✴ intends to expand its presence.

If TikTok were banned in the US tomorrow, app stores would be unable to distribute it on their platforms.