Following India's decision to ban TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps for privacy reasons, Instagram has expanded its rival TikTok, known as Reels, in the region. The test in India also comes just days after Facebook announced the closure of its standalone clone TikTok, Lasso, on July 10.
In addition to India, Instagram Reels is live in Brazil, and recently in France and Germany. But an Instagram spokesperson hinted that the expansion could go even further, without providing specific details.
Business Insider India was the first to report on Reels' expansion in India, citing anonymous sources for the discovery. He says expansion is always a "test".
"We plan to start testing an updated version of Reels in more countries," a spokesperson for TipsClear said when asked about the feature's arrival in India. "The reels," they added, "are a fun and creative way for people to express themselves and be entertained."
Unlike Lasso, which had been its own separate app, Reels was designed to be a feature of Instagram itself. Reels allows users to create and publish short 15-second videos to music or other audio, similar to TikTok. Just like TikTok, the feature offers a set of editing tools - like a countdown timer and those that adjust the speed of the video, for example - that aim to facilitate the recording of creative content. However, Instagram doesn't have the same type of two-tab scrolling feeds, like TikTok's deals, just to watch Reels content.
Following the launch of Reels in Brazil last year, Instagram has updated the functionality based on user feedback. Users have said they want space to compile their rolls and watch those made by others. To address these concerns, Instagram has moved Reels to a dedicated area on the user's profile page and now offers Reels in its Explore section, if published by a public account. This gives Reels the potential to go viral by attracting the attention of Instagram users who are not yet following the creator's account. (Before, Reels was only available on Instagram Stories, which limited their exposure.)
The arrival of the rollers is timely for a number of reasons. To begin with, Facebook announced in June that it has entered into a global agreement with Saregama, one of India's largest music labels, which would allow it to license music for videos and other social experiences on Facebook and Instagram. . Facebook also has agreements with other Indian labels, including Yash Raj Films, Zee Music Company and T-Series. However, the addition of Saregama may have paved the way for Reels, given the breadth of its content, which includes over 100,000 tracks like those of Indian music legends, as well as Bollywood tunes, devotional music, ghazals, indipop and others.
But above all, this is the ideal time for Reels to come to India, given the country's decision to ban TikTok.
The ban on Chinese apps has eliminated TikTok from its largest overseas market, leaving a huge opportunity for Instagram to launch and recruit new users for Reels. Before its removal, TikTok had amassed over 200 million users in India, which represents a significant loss for the Beijing-based video application.
But Instagram is not without competition for these users. Reuters recently reported an increase in the popularity of other Indian video sharing apps, such as Roposo, Chingari and Mitron, for example. Roposo even saw its user base jump by 22 million in the two days following India's ban on TikTok, the report said.
Instagram has not said when Reels will enter other key markets, such as the United States.
(Updated 7/6/20, 1:30 PM ET to clarify India is considered a test market for reels, as opposed to an official launch.)
