Instagram is expanding its long-form video experiments. From October 26, 2026, selected US creators are gaining access to Features, a format supporting uploads of up to 90 minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons presented the new tools.

The platform wants to help creators build communities while keeping audiences engaged within the app for longer. Its approach brings together full-length videos, short Reels excerpts and themed series.

How Features and linked Reels will work

Features is intended for material that needs more room than a short clip, including podcasts, vlogs and interviews. These uploads could give creators greater creative flexibility and open up further opportunities for partnerships and earnings.

The format was initially tested in Brazil. It is now reaching a limited group of US creators, with Instagram planning to expand access over the coming months.

Another tool, Clips as Reels, allows creators to connect up to eight short Reels to a single longer video. Viewers can move from an excerpt to the full upload. Testing also began in Brazil earlier in 2026, with expansion to selected US creators starting during the week of October 26.

Instagram is separately preparing a broader global rollout of Series. In testing since June, this feature lets creators group Reels around a topic or shared storyline. The aim is to make episodes easier to follow and sustain interest in a creator’s work over time.

Why Instagram is returning to long-form video

The initiative can be seen as a response to developments at YouTube and TikTok. Both platforms are broadening viewing habits, including through longer content and experiences suited to television screens. TikTok has also invested in microdramas and livestreaming.

Nielsen data places YouTube at the forefront of US streaming services. YouTube itself says viewers watch more than a billion hours of its content on home televisions every day. That provides important context for Instagram’s competition for viewing time.

Instagram has pursued long-form video before. It launched the standalone IGTV app in 2018, but the product failed to gain sufficient traction and was shut down in 2022. Audience habits may have changed since then, although that earlier experience offers no guarantee that Features will succeed.

Monetization remains a central question

For creators, video length will matter alongside the ability to recover production costs. YouTube shares advertising revenue with members of its Partner Program. Instagram earnings depend heavily on brand partnerships, while views alone generally do not deliver comparable payments.

According to vidIQ estimates, creators typically receive roughly $1 to $10 or more per 1,000 long-form YouTube views. Its benchmarks for leading creators with audiences exceeding one million subscribers or followers include $50,000 or more per month on YouTube and $5,000 to $15,000 or more per branded Instagram post. These figures describe different income models and units of comparison; they are not guaranteed payouts.

Without stronger financial incentives, Instagram could find it harder to persuade creators to produce long-form videos regularly.

Smartphones will become remotes for the TV app

Instagram also announced plans to let viewers control its connected TV app from their phones. The option is intended to make navigation and content selection easier on a larger screen.

The platform launched its updated connected TV app in December 2025. Phone controls build on that initiative and could support the further development of long-form viewing.

Instagram is expanding its long-form video experiments. From October 26, 2026, selected US creators are gaining access to Features, a format supporting uploads of up to 90 minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons presented the new tools.

The platform wants to help creators build communities while keeping audiences engaged within the app for longer. Its approach brings together full-length videos, short Reels excerpts and themed series.

How Features and linked Reels will work

Features is intended for material that needs more room than a short clip, including podcasts, vlogs and interviews. These uploads could give creators greater creative flexibility and open up further opportunities for partnerships and earnings.

The format was initially tested in Brazil. It is now reaching a limited group of US creators, with Instagram planning to expand access over the coming months.

Another tool, Clips as Reels, allows creators to connect up to eight short Reels to a single longer video. Viewers can move from an excerpt to the full upload. Testing also began in Brazil earlier in 2026, with expansion to selected US creators starting during the week of October 26.

Instagram is separately preparing a broader global rollout of Series. In testing since June, this feature lets creators group Reels around a topic or shared storyline. The aim is to make episodes easier to follow and sustain interest in a creator’s work over time.

Why Instagram is returning to long-form video

The initiative can be seen as a response to developments at YouTube and TikTok. Both platforms are broadening viewing habits, including through longer content and experiences suited to television screens. TikTok has also invested in microdramas and livestreaming.

Nielsen data places YouTube at the forefront of US streaming services. YouTube itself says viewers watch more than a billion hours of its content on home televisions every day. That provides important context for Instagram’s competition for viewing time.

Instagram has pursued long-form video before. It launched the standalone IGTV app in 2018, but the product failed to gain sufficient traction and was shut down in 2022. Audience habits may have changed since then, although that earlier experience offers no guarantee that Features will succeed.

Monetization remains a central question

For creators, video length will matter alongside the ability to recover production costs. YouTube shares advertising revenue with members of its Partner Program. Instagram earnings depend heavily on brand partnerships, while views alone generally do not deliver comparable payments.

According to vidIQ estimates, creators typically receive roughly $1 to $10 or more per 1,000 long-form YouTube views. Its benchmarks for leading creators with audiences exceeding one million subscribers or followers include $50,000 or more per month on YouTube and $5,000 to $15,000 or more per branded Instagram post. These figures describe different income models and units of comparison; they are not guaranteed payouts.

Without stronger financial incentives, Instagram could find it harder to persuade creators to produce long-form videos regularly.

Smartphones will become remotes for the TV app

Instagram also announced plans to let viewers control its connected TV app from their phones. The option is intended to make navigation and content selection easier on a larger screen.

The platform launched its updated connected TV app in December 2025. Phone controls build on that initiative and could support the further development of long-form viewing.

Instagram is expanding its long-form video experiments. From October 26, 2026, selected US creators are gaining access to Features, a format supporting uploads of up to 90 minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons presented the new tools.

The platform wants to help creators build communities while keeping audiences engaged within the app for longer. Its approach brings together full-length videos, short Reels excerpts and themed series.

How Features and linked Reels will work

Features is intended for material that needs more room than a short clip, including podcasts, vlogs and interviews. These uploads could give creators greater creative flexibility and open up further opportunities for partnerships and earnings.

The format was initially tested in Brazil. It is now reaching a limited group of US creators, with Instagram planning to expand access over the coming months.

Another tool, Clips as Reels, allows creators to connect up to eight short Reels to a single longer video. Viewers can move from an excerpt to the full upload. Testing also began in Brazil earlier in 2026, with expansion to selected US creators starting during the week of October 26.

Instagram is separately preparing a broader global rollout of Series. In testing since June, this feature lets creators group Reels around a topic or shared storyline. The aim is to make episodes easier to follow and sustain interest in a creator’s work over time.

Why Instagram is returning to long-form video

The initiative can be seen as a response to developments at YouTube and TikTok. Both platforms are broadening viewing habits, including through longer content and experiences suited to television screens. TikTok has also invested in microdramas and livestreaming.

Nielsen data places YouTube at the forefront of US streaming services. YouTube itself says viewers watch more than a billion hours of its content on home televisions every day. That provides important context for Instagram’s competition for viewing time.

Instagram has pursued long-form video before. It launched the standalone IGTV app in 2018, but the product failed to gain sufficient traction and was shut down in 2022. Audience habits may have changed since then, although that earlier experience offers no guarantee that Features will succeed.

Monetization remains a central question

For creators, video length will matter alongside the ability to recover production costs. YouTube shares advertising revenue with members of its Partner Program. Instagram earnings depend heavily on brand partnerships, while views alone generally do not deliver comparable payments.

According to vidIQ estimates, creators typically receive roughly $1 to $10 or more per 1,000 long-form YouTube views. Its benchmarks for leading creators with audiences exceeding one million subscribers or followers include $50,000 or more per month on YouTube and $5,000 to $15,000 or more per branded Instagram post. These figures describe different income models and units of comparison; they are not guaranteed payouts.

Without stronger financial incentives, Instagram could find it harder to persuade creators to produce long-form videos regularly.

Smartphones will become remotes for the TV app

Instagram also announced plans to let viewers control its connected TV app from their phones. The option is intended to make navigation and content selection easier on a larger screen.

The platform launched its updated connected TV app in December 2025. Phone controls build on that initiative and could support the further development of long-form viewing.

Instagram is expanding its long-form video experiments. From October 26, 2026, selected US creators are gaining access to Features, a format supporting uploads of up to 90 minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons presented the new tools.

The platform wants to help creators build communities while keeping audiences engaged within the app for longer. Its approach brings together full-length videos, short Reels excerpts and themed series.

How Features and linked Reels will work

Features is intended for material that needs more room than a short clip, including podcasts, vlogs and interviews. These uploads could give creators greater creative flexibility and open up further opportunities for partnerships and earnings.

The format was initially tested in Brazil. It is now reaching a limited group of US creators, with Instagram planning to expand access over the coming months.

Another tool, Clips as Reels, allows creators to connect up to eight short Reels to a single longer video. Viewers can move from an excerpt to the full upload. Testing also began in Brazil earlier in 2026, with expansion to selected US creators starting during the week of October 26.

Instagram is separately preparing a broader global rollout of Series. In testing since June, this feature lets creators group Reels around a topic or shared storyline. The aim is to make episodes easier to follow and sustain interest in a creator’s work over time.

Why Instagram is returning to long-form video

The initiative can be seen as a response to developments at YouTube and TikTok. Both platforms are broadening viewing habits, including through longer content and experiences suited to television screens. TikTok has also invested in microdramas and livestreaming.

Nielsen data places YouTube at the forefront of US streaming services. YouTube itself says viewers watch more than a billion hours of its content on home televisions every day. That provides important context for Instagram’s competition for viewing time.

Instagram has pursued long-form video before. It launched the standalone IGTV app in 2018, but the product failed to gain sufficient traction and was shut down in 2022. Audience habits may have changed since then, although that earlier experience offers no guarantee that Features will succeed.

Monetization remains a central question

For creators, video length will matter alongside the ability to recover production costs. YouTube shares advertising revenue with members of its Partner Program. Instagram earnings depend heavily on brand partnerships, while views alone generally do not deliver comparable payments.

According to vidIQ estimates, creators typically receive roughly $1 to $10 or more per 1,000 long-form YouTube views. Its benchmarks for leading creators with audiences exceeding one million subscribers or followers include $50,000 or more per month on YouTube and $5,000 to $15,000 or more per branded Instagram post. These figures describe different income models and units of comparison; they are not guaranteed payouts.

Without stronger financial incentives, Instagram could find it harder to persuade creators to produce long-form videos regularly.

Smartphones will become remotes for the TV app

Instagram also announced plans to let viewers control its connected TV app from their phones. The option is intended to make navigation and content selection easier on a larger screen.

The platform launched its updated connected TV app in December 2025. Phone controls build on that initiative and could support the further development of long-form viewing.