Social media has been in the spotlight for the past couple of days, with TikTok shutting shops (to opening them again!) and Instagram introducing its new Edits app for its users. But those weren’t the only changes that came to the platform. Several users also woke up to a transformed grid and immediately took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain about it!
While this was one of the lesser-liked changes, Instagram also introduced a major change to its Reels. The photo and video-sharing app, on Saturday, announced how it would support three-minute-long Reels. Here’s everything you need to know:
Instagram gets longer Reels: What's there to know?
Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri, mentioned via a Reel how users will now be able to upload Reels for up to three minutes. This announcement came only a day after TikTok pulled its plugs in the USA. It also comes in months after YouTube announced ‘taller’ Shorts.
ALSO READ: YouTube Shorts are now ‘Taller’; supports 3-minute long videos
According to the statement, the change was deployed after considering feedback from creators, who often felt 90 seconds was too short a duration for Reels. The smartphone app also replaced its iconic square grids with rectangular ones, which Mosseri claims is to accommodate the growing needs of vertical content. The new format will also ensure that posts are not cropped extensively on the feed.
Lastly, Instagram also began showing ‘like’ bubbles on its content which will feature friends who have liked a particular Reels. With TikTok’s shutdown, Instagram is also anticipating new users this week.
The new updates are also in place to attract new users who will look forward to joining the platform for their respective businesses and pages. Despite this, Instagram Reels may still not be an alternative to TikTok, as the platform otherwise supports hour-long vertical videos for content creators.
According to Instagram, longer Reels will encourage various other forms of content, including in-depth tutorials, extended musicals or skits and longer travelogues for users who rely on the app for documentation.

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Khevna Pandit
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