Copying is the sincerest form of flattery. Instagram has made Reels official. Now available in the Philippines


Copy here, and paste there.

Short videos has always been a popular medium for expression, even before the days of TikTok. First popularised by the now-defunct Vine. Ever since TikTok went global and everyone went crazy about it, other companies of course wanted a piece of that money pie. It’s just business. Not an original concept but for people who don’t like TikTok, at least now there are alternatives spewing up. One of these in Instagram Reels.

It was initially launched first in the United States and other adjacent areas. Reels has become official in the Philippines today and is available as an app update.

Unlike TikTok and YouTube Shorts, which have a maximum duration of 3 minutes and 1 minute respectively, Reels is strictly and straightforwardly short, only allowing users for up to 15 seconds of video. Reels is accessible to any account, whether public or private, in the “Explore” section of the app.

To create a reel, please do the following:

  • Select “Reels” at the bottom of the Instagram Camera
  • Record by holding and pressing the circular capture button
  • Recording will stop after 15s. Or you can stop by pressing the shutter button again.

When creating reels, here are a few things you can do with them, as stated in Facebook’s website.

  • Audio: Search for a song from the Instagram music library. You can also use your own original audio by simply recording a reel with it. When you share a reel with original audio, your audio will be attributed to you, and if you have a public account, people can create reels with your audio by selecting “Use Audio” from your reel.
  • AR Effects: Select one of the many effects in our effect gallery, created by Instagram and creators all over the world, to record multiple clips with different effects.
  • Timer and Countdown: Set the timer to record any of your clips hands-free. Once you press record, you’ll see a 3-2-1 countdown before recording begins for the amount of time you selected.
  • Align: Line up objects from your previous clip before recording your next to help create seamless transitions for moments like outfit changes or adding new friends into your reel.
  • Speed: Choose to speed up or slow down part of the video or audio you selected. This can help you stay on a beat or make slow motion videos.

When users have a private account, they can share the reels only to a specific number of friends or just for the user. According to Facebook, Reels follow the Instagram user’s privacy settings. People can’t share your reels unless they’ve followed you, and they can’t use the original audio from your reels as well.

You can share your reels to your story which would function as a “Story” rather than a “Reel”. This means that the reel you have posted to your Instagram Stories would disappear in 24 hours and will not appear in Explore, if you shared it publicly.

For more information, please visit Facebook’s website