Instagram is on a mission to merge various video products to form one big offering. And by that, we mean a confirmation issued by the app that videos less than one minute in Stories won’t be split into segments.
The news comes to us in the form of an alert by Matt Navarra who says that after users update the app, they’ll be getting a notification that notifies them about the new rule. And not seeing your videos get cut up into 15-second pieces is a wonderful feeling, allowing for the best viewing experience.
The whole idea is to provide a more seamless video witnessing experience and we feel that’s fabulous. Also, this is an update that is currently being experimented with across several different users in the past. It’s a major part of the whole process linked to video integration and is going to align with the current trends of Shorts and overall engagement.
Last year in October, we saw the app mentioning that it’s getting rid of its IGTV because it was merging that with feed videos into a single format. But then in July, we saw the app speak in detail about any video put on the app that was less than the 15-minute duration would be published as a Reel. And as you can see, the changes kept on coming in terms of different video formats.
We definitely see this new merging decision as one done to simplify the app’s workings. Similarly, it’s definitely going to assist the app with better engagement from users. So all forms of video content in various formats would be located in different places so people can interact more.
With this new shift in aligning things together, the app is being provided with more types of inventory to add to the feeds of users. They’ve been longing to do that through their AI-powered recommendations feature, which follows in the footsteps of TikTok. See, they want to make your feed more based on entertainment as compared to getting restricted to certain posts by people and profiles you’re following.
Meta’s CEO has already spoken about this in the past, how 15% of content visible on the platform arises from people you aren’t following, thanks to AI-powered recommendations that continue to gain more power with time.
Instagram has been on the move with this decision for a while now and it’s finally happening. After all, simplicity is definitely the best policy so Instagram will definitely be making its creators happy.
We can already see how this change provides greater opportunity for users and enables them to find various types of content at different locations. They also don’t need to go about searching as they can find it all in one place- the main feed. So whether you’re following a creator or not, you’ll see it pop up.
And we know that not everyone is going to be happy about the new changes, but still, Meta continues to stay positive and optimistic that with time, they’ll get the hang of it.
Meta announced through one of its recent blog posts that they’re always on the search for ways to enhance the whole experience linked to Stories. So now, you can play and make Stories for around 60 seconds, instead of watching them be cut up.
This also facilitates those who aren’t interested in long-form videos, giving them the chance to skip on them easily, via a simple tap. Before, they would need to tap every single frame individually.
