After the ban of TikTok in India along with the other 58 apps, a huge user base in India is waiting for a perfect TikTok alternative. Due to this fact, many homegrown apps like Chingari, Roposo, or Mitron have seen a huge user base increased after the TikTok ban. So it can’t be a better time to launch something that can become potential TikTok alternative in the world’s one of the biggest digital market, India. Instagram is doing the same by launching Reels in India. Instagram already has done a few testing in India.
India is the fourth country after Brazil, France, and Germany, where Reels is currently being released. The feature will start rolling out for users in India starting 7:30 pm IST today. Reels will also have a bunch of known faces from the social media circuit at launch — The list includes Ammy Virk, Gippy Grewal, Komal Pandey, Arjun Kanungo, Jahnavi Dasetty aka Mahathalli, Indrani Biswas aka Wondermunna, Kusha Kapila, Radhika Bangia, RJ Abhinav and Ankush Bhaguna.
Similar to TikTok, Reels allows users to make 15-second videos with audio clips and add them to Stories, post them on their feed, or even DM them. The feature is available in the camera icon on the top left corner that lets users record Stories. The video clips that get a lot of traction and go viral or start trending, will be featured on a separate page under Top Reels.
To create Instagram Reels, a user would need to open the camera option in the app. After clicking on Reels from the bottom of the screen, the app throws up several easy-to-use tools to record and edit a 15-second video.
Vishal Shah, VP of Product, Facebook says that the product comes from the realization that 45 percent of videos on Instagram is 15 seconds or less. “We also realized that stories are not the only place where they wanted to share these videos as they wanted them to stick on for longer and be distributed beyond their followers,” he said in the video call.
This could be a good chance for Instagram for taking the user base back from TikTok. Most of the apps currently available as TikTok is actually direct rip off TikTok. By offering something newer with almost the same feature Instagram may be able to convince TikTok users to switch to Instagram Reels. If will interesting to see when YouTube brings their TikTok rival YouTube Shorts in India.