Video

Instagram says Reels that perform well can appear in Explore, where people discover accounts and videos.7 Instagram for Creators reported in February 2025 that growing time spent watching recommended Reels increased the overall amount of reach available to creators.19 It also reported more than 4.5 billion daily Reel reshares across Instagram and Facebook combined, illustrating the contribution of friend-to-friend sharing rather than an Instagram-only total.19

Instagram’s share screen lets creators add a caption that supplies context, asks a question or includes relevant hashtags.7 A creator can select a video frame or upload a custom cover for the profile grid, while people and location tags can help viewers find the Reel, including through location searches.7 The Share to Feed toggle places the Reel in the main grid alongside photos and carousels; Instagram describes these presentation choices separately from the possibility of appearing in Explore.7

Meta’s Transparency Center says Feed recommendations begin by gathering a selection of public Instagram content, including photos and videos.4 The system considers a viewer’s interests and engagement with similar content, then places posts predicted to provide more value higher in Feed.4 Mosseri describes Reels discovery as looking at what someone interacts with, finding other people who interact with the same content, and considering what else those people find interesting.6

Instagram’s June 2021 explanation identifies a Reel’s audio track, visual information from individual picture elements and complete frames, and popularity, alongside the popularity of its creator, as information used in recommendations.5 For Feed recommendations, Meta’s Transparency Center separately lists an AI-generated assessment of a post’s content quality.4 Meta’s research, described on the Meta AI blog in March 2021, documented an Instagram Reels application that learned patterns in video sound and images without people labeling every example, then used those similarities to suggest videos related to recent viewing while filtering out near-duplicates.20 Meta’s research also demonstrated that videos with very different images could be linked by similar audio, showing how shared themes could be recognized across Reels.20

In September 2024, Mosseri praised OMG Adrian for immediately telling viewers what a video would be about, including through captions visible in the profile grid.21 He also highlighted carrying one focused line of narration across changing shots as a way to keep a video interesting.21 In another creator example, Mosseri recommended text overlays because many people watch videos without sound.22

Mosseri praised Little Fat Boy Frankie’s family material for making his content personable and his distinctive illustrations for making him memorable.22 He also highlighted recurring series that give viewers an idea of what to expect when they return to an account.22 Instagram for Creators’ June 2026 example of Erling Haaland connects personal material with cutting longer recordings into short clips and publishing regularly, without saying creators must post every day.23

Mosseri announced Edits in January 2025 with a camera and spaces for inspiration and ideas, then introduced its release in April 2025 with timeline editing, green-screen tools, touch-ups and performance information.2427 His later demonstrations described a teleprompter for reading scripts, effects applied to particular objects, and clickable Reel or profile links that viewers can tap when watching the resulting Reel on Instagram.282930 In his object-effect demonstration, Mosseri showed how a tag could identify a company, brand or product appearing in a video.29 For hands-free recording outside that editing workflow, Meta’s Newsroom describes supported Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phones folding into a freestanding position to record Stories and Reels without a tripod.31

In December 2024, Mosseri presented Meta’s early Movie Gen research as an ambition to change video elements such as clothing or surroundings through written instructions.25 In May 2025, Mosseri discussed possibilities including changing backgrounds and adjusting lighting across clips.32 The Restyle release he announced in June 2025 began with a limited set of preset styles in Edits, with Instagram availability and free-form written requests described as future capabilities.26

Instagram for Creators recommends publishing material creators filmed themselves or material that has not previously appeared on Instagram.33 Its August 2022 guidance advises against reuploading existing Reels or posting unoriginal compilations; when another creator’s Reel would interest followers, it recommends sharing that Reel to a Story using the share button.33 For joint work, it recommends Collabs to publish one post shared with both creators’ followers, or Enhanced Tags to display collaborators’ public, self-identified profile categories.33

Instagram’s June 2021 explanation says Reels follow the same rules for recommendations as Explore.5 That dated explanation lists low resolution, watermarks, muted audio and borders as reasons Instagram avoids recommending some Reels.5 It also lists videos made mostly of text and videos focused on political issues, describing its position at that time.5