Instagram is considering releasing a standalone app focused on its short-video feature, Reels, in a report by The Information on Wednesday. The chief of the platform, Adam Mosseri, allegedly told employees about the potential plan this week.
The company, owned by Meta, wants to ride TikTok’s uncertain future in the United States by giving people a similar scrolling experience for videos, the report said.
Meta has not responded to requests for comment on the development.
The company rolled out “Edits” in January, a fresh video-editing app meant to compete with CapCut, a popular software owned by the parent of TikTok, ByteDance. The move marked Meta’s push to get a piece of the market for short-form video content.
This is not the first time Meta has tried to roll out a standalone video-sharing app. In 2018, it released Lasso as a competitor to TikTok, but the app did not take off and was ultimately shut down.
