Instagram is moving beyond its short-form identity, testing a feature that lets creators upload videos up to 90 minutes long—a direct bid to capture podcast and long-form audiences that have flocked to YouTube. The Meta-owned platform announced Monday that it is piloting “Features,” a tool enabling selected creators to post horizontal, full-length videos that viewers can watch without leaving the app.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who has long resisted long-form video on the platform, acknowledged the pivot in a video announcement alongside Tessa Lyons, the company’s vice president of product. “For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram,” Mosseri said. “But we are actually gonna lean in for a bunch of different reasons.” Lyons, who previously led development of Instagram Reels, called the expansion “a full-circle moment” and “the beginning of our journey on long-form video.”
How the new video feature works
Rather than forcing viewers to jump to external platforms for full episodes, Instagram will let users tap a short vertical clip and continue watching the complete horizontal video in-app. “You’re basically scrolling through. You’ll see that vertical video, and then it says, ‘Hey, do you want to tap to watch the full video?’” Nexstar’s Rich DeMuro explained on Tuesday. Viewers who tap the prompt are taken to the longer version, and they can even cast it to their TV.
Creators can link up to eight short clips to a single long video, according to Variety, giving audiences multiple entry points to full episodes. The feature was previously tested in Brazil and is now expanding to select U.S. creators, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Instagram expands to television screens
The company is also rolling out Instagram for TV, enabling viewing on Apple TV, Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV. This move aligns with YouTube’s dominance as a hub for video podcasts and long-form entertainment. Instagram is additionally testing “Series,” a feature to organize recurring shows, and expanding discovery of livestreams.
“Our goal is really to be the best place for social entertainment,” Lyons told Bloomberg in an interview published by the Los Angeles Times. “To do that well, we need to broaden the way that we enable people to tell stories through video and enable audiences to discover them.”
Will Instagram pay creators like YouTube?
A key open question is whether Instagram will offer revenue sharing similar to YouTube’s advertising model. YouTube pays eligible creators a cut of ad revenue, but Instagram has not announced a comparable program for long-form videos. An Instagram spokesperson told Variety that the company is providing direct funding to some creators but has not finalized a long-term payment structure.
Mosseri has previously conceded that broader creator payment experiments were costly and underperformed, according to Business Insider. For now, “Features” remains in testing, with no public timeline for a full rollout. The shift comes as Instagram seeks to retain creators who have used the platform as a “top of funnel” to promote content hosted elsewhere, as Mosseri noted in an interview with creators Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry.
This long-form push could have ripple effects across the social media landscape, particularly as political podcasts and commentary shows increasingly rely on video distribution. For now, creators and audiences will watch closely to see if Instagram matches YouTube’s financial incentives.
