Longer Reels: Instagram Extends Video Length To 3 Minutes

Social media platform Instagram in an exciting update has announced that the duration of Reels is getting expanded. In a recent video, the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri mentioned that from now on, Instagram users can upload Reels that are up to the length of 3 minutes on their Instagram account. 

This new three-minute limit gives a boost to Reels beyond the traditional ‘short-video’ format. This new update positions Instagram alongside other platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok, which are already supporting longer videos. 

YouTube shorts allow users to upload three-minute videos, whereas TikTok has taken it to another level, allowing users to upload videos of up to 60 minutes.

Adam Mosseri elaborated on this change in his video: “Starting today, you can upload Reels to Instagram that are up to three minutes long. Historically, we’ve limited it to 90 seconds because we aimed to keep Instagram focused on short-form content. However, we’ve received plenty of feedback from creators who feel that 90 seconds isn’t enough. We hope that extending the limit to three minutes will empower you to share the stories you truly want to tell.”

In addition to this, Instagram is also ready to transform its classic square profile gris into rectangular ones. It is a move designed to better fit the vertical images that dominate the platform. 

Mosseri has explained that this adjustment is necessary as a lot of content on the platform is uploaded in a vertical format, hence it often gets awkwardly cropped in the square grids. 

The new rectangular grids will reduce the concerns about how posts will be displayed on user profiles. However, users who have meticulously arranged their grids according to the square format may encounter some challenges. To make this transition easy, Instagram will allow users to keep the square shape of their previous posts, helping them maintain some order amidst the changes.