Instagram Nixes Some TikTok-Like Features, but It’s Still Going Hard on Reels Video

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe TikTok-ification of Instagram took a step back as the Meta-owned social app said Thursday it will discontinue a beta test of a full-screen version of the feed and also promised to reduce the number of recommended videos, photos and accounts that people see in Instagram.But make no mistake: Instagram is still putting its shoulder into video — continuing to aggressively develop and promote Reels, the TikTok-style feature that lets users record and share videos of up to 90 seconds.Meta’s ad revenue from Reels (across Instagram and Facebook) is now on a $1 billion annual run rate, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on the Q2 earnings call.

The company’s monetization rate for Reels is still lower than Feed or Stories, he added, but longer term “we’re confident that Reels will grow engagement overall and quality and will eventually monetize closer to Feed.”Some observers saw the changes Instagram announced Thursday as caving to a grassroots pressure campaign urging it to stop mimicking TikTok.

Most notably, a petition to “Make Instagram Instagram Again” was promoted by mega-influencers Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian.

But the Change.org petition, which now has 230,000 signees, specifically complains that Instagram Reels is an unnecessary part of the app — and Reels is not going away.“We’ll continue to build features that make it easier and more fun to create and share Reels on Instagram,” Instagram said in a blog last week outlining new features.Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the “experimental” full-screen mode, which looked similar to TikTok’s presentation, was available to only a small percentage of users.