Changes
400 times Instagram's guidance has changed, newest first.
8 of 400 changes about Video. Show all
2026
VideoOct 2026
Instagram's short-form focus, with reels capped at three minutes, gave way to supporting long-form videos, which Mosseri says he had long opposed.
Before
You can now upload reels up to three minutes long.“You can now upload reels up to three minutes long. We’ve historically only allowed reels up to 90 seconds given our focus on short-form video, but we’ve heard the feedback that this is just too short for those who want to share longer stories.”
After
We're testing longer videos and new formats on Instagram to give creators more room to tell their stories.“All right, for a long time I have been against doing long form video on Instagram, as Tessa here knows very well. But we are actually going to lean in for a bunch of different reasons that we're going to talk about today.”
VideoOct 2026
Mosseri had said Instagram was reshaping the app around vertical video; it now also supports horizontal long videos shown as wide 2x1 tiles in the grid.
Before
@instagram turns 15 later this year and yesterday launched its largest ever campaign with @feliciathegoat, @rosalia.“As a platform, we need to make sure that we support the photography and the video that is created. And now with mobile phones, most photos and images are portrait. The default format for photos is four by three, and most videos now also recorded vertically, and that's nine by sixteen.”
After
The Future of Instagram according to @mosseri“We are going to support long form videos and horizontal videos, like this conversation being over an hour can live on Instagram. Exactly. So for people who are watching right now, there is a long form video up top that says a wing a wiener dog bit my butt.”
VideoApr 2026
AI-translated video viewing went from hundreds of millions of people a day to over half a billion users a week on Instagram.
Before
Meta Q4 2025 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: One area we’re already seeing promise is with AI dubbing of videos into local languages. We are now supporting nine different languages, with hundreds of millions of people watching AI translated videos every day.”
After
Meta Q1 2026 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: We’re also using AI to unlock more inventory by auto-translating and dubbing videos into a viewer’s local language, enabling us to recommend a more diverse set of content. Over half a billion users on each of Facebook and Instagram are now watching AI-translated videos weekly.”
VideoJan 2026
The growth figure went from Instagram video time up more than 20% in Q2 2025 to Reels time up more than 30% in Q4 2025.
Before
Meta Q2 2025 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: We continue to see momentum with video engagement in particular. In Q2, Instagram video time was up more than 20% year-over-year globally. We’re seeing strong traction on Facebook as well, particularly in the US where video time spent similarly expanded more than 20% year-over-year.”
After
Meta Q4 2025 follow-up call with analysts“Chad Heaton, VP of Finance: On engagement, video was the largest driver of engagement gains in Q4, with particular strength on Instagram, where Reels time grew more than 30% year-over-year globally.”
2025
VideoJul 2025
Instagram video time growth went from double digits year over year in Q4 2024 to more than 20% in Q2 2025.
Before
Helping creators of all sizes break through“We’ve also seen changes in how people engage with content and behave on Instagram. These changes aren’t just passing trends and have already begun to shape how creators can be discovered on Instagram today. Here are some of the biggest trends we’ve noticed: More reels and recommendations - Global video time grew by double digit percentages year-over-year on Instagram in Q4 2024.”
After
Meta Q2 2025 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: We continue to see momentum with video engagement in particular. In Q2, Instagram video time was up more than 20% year-over-year globally. We’re seeing strong traction on Facebook as well, particularly in the US where video time spent similarly expanded more than 20% year-over-year.”
VideoJun 2025
AI video styling tools that were early research models Instagram hoped to ship went live as Restyle in Edits, starting with a fixed set of presets.
Before
I’m super excited about Movie Gen, our early AI research model that will let you change nearly any aspect of your videos with a simple text prompt.“We're working on some really exciting AI tools for you video creators out there. A lot of you make amazing content that makes Instagram what it is, and we want to give you more tools to help realize your ideas.”
After
Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways.“Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways. It’s early days, and we’re starting with a finite set of presets before we support open prompting, but it’s exciting and I can’t wait to see how creatives use the tool.”
VideoApr 2025
The earlier figure was an 8% gain in Facebook time and 6% on Instagram over nine months; the newer call says similar gains (7% and 6%) now came in just six months.
Before
Meta Q3 2024 earnings call“Mark Zuckerberg, CEO: Improvements to our AI-driven feed and video recommendations have led to an 8% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% increase on Instagram this year alone.”
After
Meta Q1 2025 earnings call“Susan Li, CFO: For example, we shared on the Q3 2024 call that improvements to our AI-driven Feed and video recommendations drove a roughly 8% lift in time spent on Facebook and a 6% lift on Instagram over the first 9 months of last year.”
VideoApr 2025
The preview of a phone video-editing app with inspiration, ideas and camera tabs became the launched Edits app.
Before
Today we’re announcing a new app called “Edits” for those of you who are passionate about making videos on your phone.“videos on your phone. It's not for people who are using desktop apps, it's not people looking for templates, it's for people who use their phone to make short form videos. There's going to be a dedicated tab for inspiration and trending audio for you to get ideas.”
After
Excited to officially introduce Edits - a new app for making great videos on your phone.“Edits is here. Edits is our new app for those of you who are passionate about making videos on your phone. If you use powerful desktop tools, it might not be for you. If you're just posting videos of your life, it might not be for you.”