“In India, we’re testing the ability for Instagram creators to choose to have their Reels recommended on Facebook… creators can reach new audiences and people can create and discover more entertaining content,” a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters.
Instagram recently rolled out its TikTok-clone, Reels on the Lite app. The 2MB version of the Instagram app now has the Reels feature in India. It allows users to watch the popular short-format videos in the Reels tab. However, it doesn’t allow users to create Reels on the app. Facebook said, “Now with this update, everyone using the Instagram Lite app in India will be able to view Reels with the Reels tab. This feature was expedited for India because of the traction Reels is seeing in India, and the early adoption of the new Instagram Lite app.”
Google also expanded Reels to show them in the Google App for mobile devices. The move is said to help Google retain users in search of social video entertainment from fully leaving its platform. These Reels appear in their dedicated carousel. Plus, these are different from Google Stories. It appears in the personalized feed in the Google mobile app, which is found to the left of the home screen on some Android devices.
Instagram launched Reels in the country soon after the TikTok ban in June last year. Notably, the success of TikTok has prompted many social media companies to make their own versions of TikTok. And, you can now find these on Instagram and Snapchat.
