Instagram will start testing video to make it more like TikTok
"We're no longer a photo-sharing app."
Instagram will begin testing new video features over the coming months to make the social media platform compete more directly with TikTok and YouTube. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced the dramatic changes on Wednesday.
"We're no longer a photo-sharing app," Mosseri said in the video announcement. Video-sharing apps are rapidly expanding, and Mosseri says Instagram aims "to lean into that trend."
Instagram already began testing a new type of in-feed video recommendation, and Mosseri said more types of topic-based recommendations are on the way soon. In addition, the traditionally photo-centric platform is shifting its focus to video formats -- showing "full-screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video."
The testing will likely take between six and 12 months, according to Mosseri, and the company aims to stay transparent about that process along the way.
Watch Mosseri's full announcement below.
Changes are coming to video on Instagram 📺
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) June 30, 2021
At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging. pic.twitter.com/ezFp4hfDpf