Instagram has launched closed testing of a video format lasting up to 90 minutes, marking the platform's first departure in its many years of history from its dominant focus on short vertical videos. This was announced by Instagram Head Adam Mosseri, with product vice president Tessa Lyons revealing the details of the update. According to RBC-Ukraine, the testing of the new format, called Features, is already underway among a limited group of creators in Brazil and the United States, while full monetization along the YouTube model is still under development.
From Reels to Long Shows: A Strategic Pivot
For a long time, short vertical videos remained the main and practically only format on Instagram. However, this approach had a significant drawback for creators: the platform did not provide direct revenue from views. The primary sources of income for bloggers remained brand sponsorship integrations and direct audience support. Unlike Instagram, YouTube consistently shares advertising revenue generated from videos with creators, giving them 55 percent of ad revenue, which makes long-form content on that platform much more attractive in terms of monetization. This competitive pressure was likely one of the key factors that pushed Meta to revise Instagram's product strategy.
“Clips as Reels”: Bridging Short and Long Content
To implement the new concept, the platform is testing a tool called Clips as Reels. It allows creators to trim a short vertical video in the Reels format from a long horizontal video and use it as a teaser redirecting viewers to the full version. In this way, Instagram attempts to preserve the audience-familiar short video format as an acquisition funnel while simultaneously offering deep immersion into long-form content. According to Mosseri and Lyons, the goal of the update is to give viewers the opportunity to interact with creators on a deeper level without leaving the app ecosystem or moving to other platforms.
Testing Geography and Monetization Prospects
Testing of the Features format and accompanying tools is being conducted among a limited group of creators in two countries — Brazil and the United States. The choice of these markets is no coincidence: both countries feature high social media activity and a developed creator ecosystem. At the same time, the issue of full revenue-sharing monetization along the lines of YouTube remains in the development stage. The company aims to keep users within its ecosystem both for viewing short clips and for long-form shows, podcasts, or interviews, though specific revenue-share parameters for creators have not yet been disclosed. If the testing yields positive results, Instagram could become a full-fledged competitor to YouTube in the long-form video segment, significantly altering the balance of power in the digital content industry.
Context: The Battle for Audience Attention
Instagram's decision to expand video time limits fits into the general industry trend of platforms keeping users within their ecosystems. At a time when TikTok and YouTube are actively competing for viewing time, Meta cannot afford to lose audiences migrating to other services for long-form content. The introduction of 90-minute videos is not just a technical update, but a strategic move aimed at transforming Instagram from a short-clip platform into a full-fledged multimedia service. The results of testing in Brazil and the United States, as well as decisions on launching creator monetization, will serve as key indicators of how successful this pivot turns out to be.
