Summary
- Instagram head Adam Mosseri was reportedly overheard discussing the idea with staff of making Reels its own standalone app.
- Meta reportedly has an initiative code-named Project Ray that focuses on ways for Instagram to compete with TikTok, amid its uncertainty in the US.
- TikTok has over 170 million users in the US, and Meta wants Reels to better compete with it.
Reels is one of Instagram’s most popular features, to the extent that Meta seems to be considering spinning it off into its own standalone short-form video app.
According to a report from The Information, Instagram head Adam Mosseri was overheard discussing the idea of making Reels a separate app with staff this week. This potential move is reportedly part of Meta’s strategy to capitalize on TikTok’s uncertainty in the US. The report indicates that this initiative, code-named Project Ray, focuses on strategizing ways for Instagram to compete against TikTok.
These plans include enhancing the algorithms for recommending content to users and expanding the roll-out of three-minute-long Reels videos.
Instagram is a popular social media platform for connecting with friends and sharing photos.
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It’s unclear what would happen to Reels on Instagram if this becomes reality
In January, TikTok was temporarily shutdown for less than a day, following the US law banning TikTok going into effect. While the ban was delayed by President Trump on the day he took office, the app’s future is still uncertain as its April deadline for its Chinese parent company Bytedance to find a US-based buyer fast approaches. TikTok recently became available again on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Given the possibility that TikTok might once again falter in the US, and that Meta wants to better compete with it in the US and globally, a standalone Reels app which receives its own resources and development team separate from Instagram could be the solution. However, it’s unclear what would happen to Reels on Instagram if Meta goes ahead with the idea.
In January, Meta revealed Edits, a video-editing application strikingly similar to CapCut, which belongs to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Allegedly, Meta has been trying to attract TikTok creators to Edits through financial incentives. With TikTok boasting over 170 million users in the US, it’s clear why Meta wants Reels to rival it. It will be interesting to see if Meta goes ahead with the idea of a standalone Reels app and the potential ramifications that come with it.
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