Instagram Reels are testing out Templates

Will it make Reels even easier, or is it just a tool to compete with TikTok?
 By 
Christianna Silva
 on 
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Instagram Reels are evolving Credit: Vicky Leta/ Mashable

Instagram is testing a new tool to make creating Reels even easier.

The platform is allowing a small group of creators to test Templates, which allow people to use the same format as other videos for their own Reels, Business Insider first reported

"We are always working on new ways to make Reels simpler to create," a Meta spokesperson said in an email to Mashable. "We are testing the ability for you to make a reel using an existing Template from another reel."


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Marketing manager and influencer Josephine Hill tried out the feature in March, according to a screenshot she posted on Twitter

"One thing that I've been looking for, particularly with Instagram Reels, was something that resembles TikTok's audio sync where the clips line up perfectly to the beat of the music," Hill told Business Insider. Templates seem to do just that.

It looks exactly like you think it would: Instagram presets times that go along with a song or another trend on the app, and users can plug in their own photos or videos to match. The selected users who have access to the feature can tap "Use Template" while creating a Reel, and then they're guided through the process of replicating a specific Reel.

This is just one of the many examples of Instagram copying features that are already on TikTok — the latter platform has TikTok Templates, which lets people put their photos into a preset format. Instagram Templates seem to be quite similar.

It is likely another attempt to get users to move off of TikTok and onto Reels, the Verge reported. It comes a year after Instagram said it would demote Reels with TikTok watermarks to try to stop TikTok reposts.

Topics Instagram

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Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.

Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.

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