Instagram Reels is a TikTok clone that allows you to create and share short videos with easy-to-use tools.
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Instagram could soon pay you a bonus to use its TikTok-clone
Instagram is tipped to be working on delivering a 'Bonus' to users who use its TikTok-clone, Reels.
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Facebook is busy cloning an already-cloned Instagram feature for its own app
Instagram Reels is a very well known clone of the famous TikTok app. It lets you create short videos with easy-to-use tools to record and edit. Users can choose to use the in-app music tracks, or use custom audio for their videos. They can also speed up or slow down parts of the video. All in all, it works like TikTok. And now, Facebook has said that it is working on its own version of the Reels on the main app.
The information comes from Reuters, which reported that Facebook is testing a feature on Instagram that will allow you to share Reels on your Facebook account. It wrote, “the social media giant said it will have its own version of the reels feature on the main app.” There is no information on how the feature will work or what would it be called. But going by history, you can expect a clone of the already-cloned feature.
“In India, we’re testing the ability for Instagram creators to choose to have their Reels recommended on Facebook… creators can reach new audiences and people can create and discover more entertaining content,” a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters on the latest development.
Instagram first introduced Reels in India soon after the TikTok ban in June last year. The success of TikTok has prompted many social media companies including Instagram and Snapchat to make their own versions of TikTok. Now, Facebook is creating one too!
The company will soon ready its own version of Reels, which is already a version of TikTok. Facebook has been working on expanding the presence of Reels on its variety of apps. Instagram recently rolled out Reels on the Instagram Lite App. It allows users to watch the popular short-format videos in the Reels tab. However, it doesn’t enable users to create Reels on the app.
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As if Reels weren’t enough on Instagram, FB tests to share them in your News Feed
Facebook has been expanding Reels since the day the feature was introduced on Instagram. Now, the company is testing a feature on Instagram that will allow you to share Reels on your Facebook account. The feature is being tested in India. Some content creators who make 30-second long Reels on Instagram will have the option to share them on Facebook.
“In India, we’re testing the ability for Instagram creators to choose to have their Reels recommended on Facebook… creators can reach new audiences and people can create and discover more entertaining content,” a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters.
Instagram recently rolled out its TikTok-clone, Reels on the Lite app. The 2MB version of the Instagram app now has the Reels feature in India. It allows users to watch the popular short-format videos in the Reels tab. However, it doesn’t allow users to create Reels on the app. Facebook said, “Now with this update, everyone using the Instagram Lite app in India will be able to view Reels with the Reels tab. This feature was expedited for India because of the traction Reels is seeing in India, and the early adoption of the new Instagram Lite app.”
Google also expanded Reels to show them in the Google App for mobile devices. The move is said to help Google retain users in search of social video entertainment from fully leaving its platform. These Reels appear in their dedicated carousel. Plus, these are different from Google Stories. It appears in the personalized feed in the Google mobile app, which is found to the left of the home screen on some Android devices.
Instagram launched Reels in the country soon after the TikTok ban in June last year. Notably, the success of TikTok has prompted many social media companies to make their own versions of TikTok. And, you can now find these on Instagram and Snapchat.
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Instagram rolls out its TikTok-clone, Reels to the Lite app
Instagram Lite debuted in June 2018 but was shut down in May 2020. It came back in September 2020, and soon after rolled out in India. The Instagram Lite app ditched IGTV, Shop and Reels features from the main app. Now, the company is rolling out a new update, which adds Reels to the Instagram Lite app.
Instagram Lite has been created to bring the core Instagram experience to people who are unfamiliar with the app. The app was rolled out without the support for Reels, Instagram’s answer to TikTok. Plus, there is no Shop or IGTV. Moreover, the app has the old layout with the search tab at the bottom, which was recently replaced by the Reels tab.
However, things are changing now. The 2MB version of the Instagram app is adding the Reels feature in India. It will allow Indian users to watch the popular short-format videos in the Reels tab. That said, Instagram Lite users will not be able to create Reels on the app. The Lite app is available in multiple regional languages, including Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
In a statement regarding the update, Facebook said, “Now with this update, everyone using the Instagram Lite app in India will be able to view Reels with the Reels tab. This feature was expedited for India because of the traction Reels is seeing in India, and the early adoption of the new Instagram Lite app.”
Instagram recently announced that it will stop promoting Reels with TikTok watermarks. It rolled out guidelines that advised against uploading recycled videos (lifted from the likes of TikTok) with a visible logo or watermark.
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TikToks and Reels will now appear in Google App for mobile devices
TikTok and Instagram’s Reels are growing more than ever. Now, Google is also taking the growth into consideration as it will surface Instagram Reels and TikTok videos in the Google App for mobile devices. These will appear in their dedicated carousel. The move is said to help Google retain users in search of social video entertainment from fully leaving its platform.
The new update was first reported by Search Engine Roundtable(via Brian Freiesleben’s tweet). It is an expansion of a feature introduced earlier this year that introduced a carousel of “Short Videos” within Google Discover. It appears in the personalized feed in the Google mobile app, which is found to the left of the home screen on some Android devices.
Don't confuse it with Google Stories.
Notably, the introduction of TikTok’s and Reels in the Google App is different from Google Stories, which was rolled out in October 2020. It is part of the Google Search app for iOS and Android. The Stories carousel is now available in India, the United States, and Brazil. To browse Web Stories in Discover you need to open the feed, and you’ll be greeted by the new feature. You can tap to move forward to the next page, or swipe to an entirely different Story in the carousel. Essentially, Google Stories consists of the content created by the company’s online publishing partners like Forbes, USA Today, Vice, Now This, and more.
On the other hand, the new “Short Videos” feature focuses on aggregating social video from other platforms, including Google’s own short-form video project Tangi. Plus, it will bring videos from Trell and YouTube alongside TikTok and Reels. We replicated the feature with the search for “Packers” and found it located below the Google Knowledge Base box for the Green Bay Packers, which is followed by the scores, Top Stories, Twitter results, Top Results, Images, Videos, and other content.
It makes you stay in the Google environment.
When clicked, it takes you to the web version of the social platform, and not the native mobile app, even if you have it installed. As a result, users stay on Google instead of leaving their environment. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch the feature was currently being piloted on mobile devices.
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Instagram REALLY wants you to watch Reels and Shop on its app
Instagram has introduced a slew of changes to its app in the past few months. Now, its navigation bar is getting a design overhaul with the introduction of the Reels tab and a Shop tab. While the former lets you discover the short videos from creators, the Shop tab will allow you to connect with brands and creators and discover their products.
Instagram says, “we’re rolling out the Reels tab to be a kind of a stage, a place where people can share their creativity with the world and have a chance to break out and find an audience.” On the other hand, the Shop tab brings shopping to your fingertips on the photo-sharing platform. You can find personalized recommendations, editors’ picks curated by Instagram’s @shop channel, shoppable videos, new product collections, and more.
While two new buttons come to the navigation bar, Instagram is moving the notification button and ‘add new media’ button at the top of the screen. They’ll now be located adjacent to the Instagram DMs button. Meanwhile, the Explore button is back to the navigation bar and lies second to the Home button. Personally, I’m not a big fan of these changes. I never liked the introduction of the Reels button, which replaced the Explore button. And, Instagram never officially rolled out this update. It looks like that was the testing phase, and it is now settling on a new design.
Instagram recently rolled out a new feature called “suggested posts” that appear when you’ve finished reading recent posts from those you follow. These posts are related to what you normally see. Luckily, these don’t include IGTV or Reels posts, while the company is making a push to its TikTok rival.
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Instagram Reels gets more like TikTok with new audio features
Instagram announced the Reels, which is a short-form video-sharing feature recently. It tested the feature in India, Brazil, France, and Germany before rolling it out globally. For the unaware, Reels allows users to create 30-second videos and extend the timer to 10 seconds while they are recording. The company is now upgrading the audio features in Reels. It has added three new features to make it easier for users to share and save audio clips.
New Reels features
— Instagram (@instagram) October 8, 2020Save Audio → save sounds to create with whenever you want
Share Audio Pages → share all the Reels that use a specific piece of audio over DM
Audio Browser → search through new sections like For You and Trending pic.twitter.com/4lw1g2Vbrb
The update was announced via Twitter. Reels updates include a new audio browser that highlights songs that are trending in the app. It also provides personalized recommendations. Further, you now have the ability to save audio for later use, and the ability to share audio pages in direct messages.
Engadget reports, users had complaints that the audio features were a lot clunkier than TikTok’s. The latter allowed users to easily grab sound from another user’s video and spin it into their own creation. However, the latest updates have made it easier to identify songs and clips that are trending and bookmark them within Instagram. Saving an audio from Reels will allow you to refer back to the audio page. It combines all the Reels that use the same sound into one page, at any time.
Instagram has been testing new features lately and really pushing Reels. To create Instagram Reels, you need to open the camera option in the app. After clicking on Reels from the bottom of the screen, the app shows several easy-to-use tools to record and edit a 15-second videos. Users can choose to use the in-app music tracks, or use custom audio for their videos. They can also speed up or slow down parts of the video.
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Instagram is shoving the Reels button on users’ faces
Instagram pushed the Reels live almost instantly after the TikTok ban in India. It made its way to the US and many other markets recently. Now, in a bid to force users to watch it, the company is introducing a new Reels button in the bottom navigation bar, which replaces the Explore button.
As you can see from the screenshot above, the new layout is already live for some Indian users. The Reels button will directly take users to a random Reels video, after which you can swipe to see another video. Further, the Explore button has been moved to the top, situated next to the icon for Direct Messages.
Moreover, Instagram has not made any official announcement yet about the same. The feature is not directly available in the latest update of Instagram. Fortunately, I haven’t received it yet, and I’d prefer it to stay that way.
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Instagram targets TikTok creators as Reels go live in India
Instagram has announced that it is testing Reels in India. It is a short form video-sharing feature. It allows users to create 15-second videos. The move comes after TikTok was banned in India. Hence, Instagram Reels can emerge as the new platform for TikTok creators in the country.
India is the fourth country after Brazil, France, and Germany, where Instagram Reels is currently being tested. Moreover, the company will start rolling out Reels in India starting 7:30 PM IST today. It will be integrated into the Instagram app itself.
To create Instagram Reels, you would need to open the camera option in the app. After clicking on Reels from the bottom of the screen, the app will show several easy-to-use tools to record and edit a 15-second video. Users can choose to use the in-app music tracks, or use custom audio for their videos. They can also speed up or slow down parts of the video.
Via: Gadgets360
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