Instagram tests Features for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes

Instagram said on Monday that it is trying out a new kind of upload called Features, which allows creators to post videos as long as 90 minutes. The Hollywood Reporter says the test covers horizontal videos and begins with a select group of U.S. creators, with podcasters, comedians and other long-form makers as the main audience.

The move marks a turn for an app built on short clips and photos. It also puts Instagram closer to the kind of long videos that viewers watch on a TV screen.

Key facts

• Features lets creators upload videos of up to 90 minutes, Instagram announced.
• Megan Buckley, an Instagram spokesperson, told The Verge the format is reaching the U.S. in a small test after trials with some creators in Brazil.
• Early testers named by The Hollywood Reporter include Donald De La Haye, Emma Grede, Preston Rakovsky and Monet McMichael.
• A related test called Clips as Reels lets as many as 8 short clips send viewers to a single long video, Variety reported.
• Variety reported that Instagram still has no plan for a YouTube-style program that splits ad revenue with creators.

Background

Instagram tried longer videos once before, eight years ago, with IGTV, a product that no longer exists. Instagram head Adam Mosseri resisted long-form video for years because he wanted the app to stay focused on friends rather than pure entertainment, Variety reported. As Mosseri put it to TechCrunch, "For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram".

TechCrunch reports that Tessa Lyons, Instagram's VP of Product, pushed for the shift and persuaded Mosseri to try long videos again. Lyons also made clear the short format is not going away, saying "Reels is still going to be a core part of Instagram."

The TV screen is a big part of the story. Instagram's TV app first appeared late last year as a pilot focused on Reels for U.S. users of Amazon Fire TV devices, The Verge reports.

What it means for you

For creators who make long shows, Features offers a new place to post full episodes inside an app where they may already have followers. The Hollywood Reporter says Instagram intends to widen the trial to tens of thousands of U.S. creators and will recommend these videos on the Explore page. The size of the first U.S. group has not been made public.

Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter that Features videos are not exclusive and that ad deals creators already have will carry over. That means a creator can post the same show elsewhere.

Short clips still play a role: The Hollywood Reporter says typical Reels last about three minutes or under, and each one can point to the creator's full Feature. That gives creators a way to use short trailers to drive viewers to the longer cut.

Pay is the open question. Mosseri told TechCrunch that brands are the main source of income for creators on Instagram, and that Instagram's small performance-based program costs more than it brings in. On YouTube, by contrast, Partner Program members keep 55% of what ads on their videos earn, TechCrunch reported. TechCrunch said YouTube reported paying creators, artists and media firms more than $100 billion across the previous four years.

Neither Instagram nor Meta has said whether the long videos will carry ads or whether creators will get a cut of ad money.

Practical steps

• Creators planning long videos should shoot in a horizontal format, since that is what the test covers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
• Cut short Reels as previews and link them to the full Feature, as The Hollywood Reporter describes.
• Keep existing brand deals in place, since Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter they will carry over.
• Viewers who want to watch on a big screen can look for Instagram for TV on Apple TV, Samsung, Fire TV or Google TV in the U.S., per Variety.

What happens next

Variety says live streams will soon show up in the Reels tab for viewers who do not follow the creator, and a feature that turns a phone into a remote for TV viewing is also on the way. The Hollywood Reporter says showing live video to non-followers in Reels starts in Brazil and Indonesia, with U.S. expansion planned next year.

Reports differ on timing for Series, a hub for episodic Reels. The Hollywood Reporter says Instagram will expand Series testing to other countries and launch it in the U.S. either late this year or early in the next. Variety, however, says Series has already been in trials since spring 2026, with select creators taking part, including some in the U.S..

Instagram has not said when Features will open to everyone or what its final length cap will be.

FAQ

Does Instagram pay for these long videos? Not yet. A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch a long-term pay model is still premature, though the company is exploring options such as performance-based rewards.

Is 90 minutes the fixed limit? Not necessarily. Variety reports Instagram is trying several caps, and 90 minutes is one of them.

Where can people watch Features? On phones first, and The Hollywood Reporter says the aim is to extend it to the TV app.

Are Features videos exclusive to Instagram? No. Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter the videos are not exclusive.