Instagram rolls out TikTok-like features

Instagram has rolled out several updates in recent days that appear to be aimed at attracting TikTok users while the short-video app’s future remains in limbo.

And on Sunday, Instagram’s parent company, Meta went one step further.

It announced the launch of a new video creation app on Sunday called Edits, which resembles CapCut, the app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance that many creators use to make TikTok videos.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said on Friday that Instagram’s profile photo grids will now display images as rectangles rather than the app’s signature squares — a layout that’s notably similar to how profile pages look on TikTok.

On Saturday, Mosseri said Instagram will increase the maximum length for Reels videos from 90 seconds to three minutes — following the lead of TikTok, which began pushing users to post longer videos in 2023.