Instagram is taking its beef with Tiktok to another level by announcing that users will soon be able to download Reels posted by others, similar to TikTok’s longstanding feature.
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, mentioned this on his Instagram broadcast channel saying that Reels from public accounts will be eligible for download. According to him, public accounts can choose to disable this feature if they prefer not to have their content downloaded.
A picture Mosseri shared suggests that the downloaded Reel will also display a watermark similar to Tiktoks.
The decision to allow users download Reels may be a strategic move by Instagram to attract more users to the platform via content sharing outside the app.
In related news, Instagram Reels has contributed growth and revenue to its parent company, Meta. During Meta’s Q1 2023 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that time spent on Instagram increased by 24% thanks to AI-powered Reels recommendations.
