Forget Reels: Instagram Wants You to Sit on Your Couch and Watch Movies

Instagram is testing full-length, horizontal videos that run for up to 90 minutes. The new format, named Features, allows selected creators to publish long-form, landscape content right inside the app. Instead of forcing every video into a tall, vertical rectangle, Instagram is now letting users rotate their phones sideways or beam long shows directly to their living room TV screens.

The test began quietly with a small group of creators in Brazil and is now rolling out to select creators in the United States. Early partners include fashion creator Monet McMichael, entrepreneur Emma Grede, and sports interviewer Donald De La Haye. If you have opened your feed and noticed longer clips starting to show up, you are catching an early glimpse of Meta’s biggest content experiment in years.

This move marks a dramatic turning point for social video. For nearly a decade, Instagram trained the world to tap, swipe, and scroll through 15-second clips. Now, Meta is asking people to put their thumbs down, lean back on the couch, and watch entire podcast episodes, stand-up comedy specials, and mini-documentaries without ever leaving the application.

What Exactly Is Instagram Features? The Mechanics Explained

Instagram Features bridges the gap between fast mobile discovery and deep, long-form viewing. When you scroll through your regular Reels tab and see a creator post an exciting podcast clip or an interview preview, you will notice an interactive button on the screen. Tapping that button instantly takes you to the full 90-minute horizontal version.

Tessa Lyons, Vice President of Product at Instagram, pointed out that creators can now connect bite-sized Reels directly to their full-length videos. You do not have to copy a link, head to your browser, or jump over to another streaming platform. You start watching the hook on your phone, flip your screen horizontally, and the full episode plays in high definition.

Horizontal orientation is a massive shift for an interface designed around vertical smartphone use. When you watch a standard Reel, the clip takes up the full vertical height of your screen. When you open a Feature video, the player switches to a widescreen 16:9 ratio. The app gives you a dedicated timeline scrubber, forward and backward jump buttons, and a clean interface that keeps comments and reactions tucked away so they do not block your view.

Creator profiles are also receiving dedicated spaces for these uploads. Alongside the traditional grid and Reels tabs, accounts included in the pilot test show a dedicated Features shelf. Here, viewers can browse episodic releases, multi-part interview series, and full shows in chronological order.

The Ghost of IGTV: Why Meta Is Trying Long-Form Video Again

Anyone who used Instagram in 2018 remembers IGTV. Meta launched IGTV as an ambitious standalone video hub to challenge traditional broadcast media. It had its own orange icon, its own separate application, and a strict rule: all videos had to be vertical.

IGTV struggled from day one. People found it awkward to watch a 45-minute show vertically, and forcing professional film crews to crop their cameras into tall phone dimensions created strange visual framing. By 2022, Meta quietly killed IGTV and folded its video efforts back into regular feed posts and vertical Reels.

After IGTV died, Instagram head Adam Mosseri argued publicly for years that long-form videos did not fit the core identity of the platform. He frequently stated that Instagram existed to help people connect with friends and discover quick creative moments, not sit quietly for an hour watching cinema.

What changed? The way people consume digital entertainment shifted entirely. In a recent interview with creator interviewers Colin and Samir, Mosseri admitted his view evolved. He explained that if Instagram wants to stay culturally relevant to younger audiences who follow full-length creators, it cannot afford to send people away to rival platforms every time an interview gets interesting.

Instead of repeating the mistakes of IGTV with rigid vertical formats and separate apps, Features embraces standard widescreen horizontal video directly inside the main feed.

The Living Room Takeover: Instagram Wants Your TV Screen

The timing of this video expansion is tied directly to Meta’s push into living rooms. Instagram is no longer just a smartphone software program. Over the past year, the company quietly launched native Instagram TV applications on Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV, with Apple TV support rolling out this month.

Watching vertical Reels on a 65-inch television screen is awkward because black bars take up most of the display. Horizontal 90-minute videos, on the other hand, look like traditional television broadcasts.

Meta is adding smart connectivity tools to make the transition between your phone and your television effortless:

• Phone as a Remote: You can browse for videos on your mobile phone and tap a button to cast the stream to your TV, using your smartphone keypad to pause, play, or rewind.
• Watch Later Lists: When you find a 90-minute show during a busy work break, you can save it directly to a watch queue that appears instantly when you turn on your television at night.
• The Friends Watching Tab: A special social row on the big screen highlights what your close friends and favorite creators are currently watching or recommending.

Living room watch time is the holy grail of advertising. People who sit down to watch an hour of programming on a television screen are far more focused than someone scrolling through short feeds while waiting at a bus stop. By moving into the living room, Instagram opens up entirely new categories of high-paying television brand commercials.

The YouTube Showdown: Can Meta Really Steal the Crown?

Any conversation about 90-minute landscape video leads directly to one giant: YouTube. YouTube has dominated long-form online video for two decades. Nielsen ratings consistently show YouTube as the number one streaming platform on television screens in terms of total viewing hours, beating out Netflix, Disney+, and traditional cable.

Competing with YouTube is not just about letting people upload big files; it is about changing audience expectations.

On YouTube, people search with clear intent. They type in how to repair a kitchen sink, look up a detailed video game walkthrough, or sit down specifically to watch their favorite weekly podcast. Videos uploaded to YouTube remain valuable for years because the platform functions as the world’s second-largest search engine.

On Instagram, viewing has historically been impulsive. You open the application to check updates from friends, look at photos, or kill five minutes with fast entertainment. Expecting someone who came for quick entertainment to stay for an hour and a half is a huge bet.

However, Instagram possesses an undeniable discovery engine. Millions of podcast clips and funny interview moments already go viral on Instagram Reels every single day. Previously, the creator would write “link in bio for full episode,” and users would open YouTube to watch it. Features eliminates that friction. If Instagram can capture viewers at the exact second their curiosity peaks, it has a genuine chance to chip away at YouTube’s viewing hours.

The Big Monetization Question: Will Top Creators Actually Switch?

Creating a 90-minute horizontal show is completely different from filming a 30-second phone clip. Long-form video requires expensive camera setups, multiple microphones, professional studio lighting, and editors who spend days cutting footage together.

Creators will only invest that time and money if the platform pays them back.

This is where Instagram faces its steepest uphill climb. YouTube pays eligible channels 55% of the revenue generated from ads played across their long-form uploads. That dependable revenue split allows thousands of independent production teams to run sustainable media businesses.

To understand how creators evaluate their income across platforms, take a look at our breakdown on YouTube AdSense vs sponsorships and which makes content creators more money.

Currently, Instagram does not share regular ad revenue on Features. Instead, early creators rely on outside brand sponsorships, creator bonuses, and paid product integrations. To learn more about how creators navigate brand partnerships, read our simple guide on what sponsored content is and how influencers make money.

Until Meta rolls out a transparent, dependable ad revenue split for long-form video, many top creators will likely treat Features as an extra distribution hub rather than their primary home. They will post their shows on Instagram to build awareness, but YouTube will remain their financial safety net.

What This Means for Everyday Content Creators and Small Businesses

You do not need a multimillion-dollar studio to take advantage of this format shift. If you run an online brand, produce creative work, or build content for a living, 90-minute horizontal video unlocks several practical advantages.

1. Simple Content Repurposing

If you already record video podcasts, workshops, live Q&A sessions, or customer tutorials, you no longer have to spend hours chopping those recordings into microscopic vertical slices. You can upload the full, high-resolution recording as a Feature, cut out two or three 20-second highlights as Reels, and connect them directly.

This setup works especially well for creators exploring how to make money online as a UGC content creator and building library assets for client campaigns.

2. Deeper Trust and Audience Connection

Short clips are great for attracting new eyes, but long-form content builds loyal communities. When someone listens to you speak for 45 minutes, they get to know your personality, your values, and your genuine perspective. That depth of connection turns casual scrollers into paying clients, supporters, and brand advocates.

3. Fewer Broken Links in Your Funnel

Every time you tell an audience to leave Instagram, click a link in your bio, and go to another website, you lose between 50% and 80% of your audience. Keeping your complete long-form training or interview right inside the app keeps viewers focused on your message without drop-off.

How Viewers Are Reacting: Excitement vs Screen Time Fatigue

The public response to this test has been mixed.

On one side, regular podcast fans and entertainment lovers are glad to see an end to fragmented storytelling. Nothing is more annoying than watching “Part 1” of an interesting conversation on your feed, only to spend ten minutes hunting through a creator’s page trying to locate “Part 2” and “Part 3.” Being able to tap once and watch the full uninterrupted story in widescreen is a clear quality-of-life improvement.

On the other hand, many users feel that social media applications are losing their original charm. When Instagram started, it was a quiet photo album for sharing snapshots of food, travel, and everyday life with close friends. Over the years, the platform added Stories, shopping tags, algorithmic feeds, and endless vertical video. Adding full-length TV shows risks making the app feel heavy and crowded.

There is also the question of healthy phone habits. If you find yourself spending too many hours scrolling through endless media, check out our helpful guide on how to use your phone less in 2026 without feeling like you are missing out.

Meta has faced user pushback over feature bloat before. Read our coverage on how Meta removed a controversial AI feature on Instagram after user backlash to see how community feedback shapes the app’s final decisions.

The Broader Social Media Video War

Instagram is not the only company rethinking its video length. Every major platform is currently blurring the lines between short-form mobile clips and traditional broadcast television.

TikTok, which made short vertical video a worldwide obsession, has spent the last two years testing 30-minute and 60-minute landscape uploads and testing dedicated desktop and TV applications. TikTok is also overhauling its user engagement tools, as seen in our breakdown of how TikTok changed comments forever with voice memos, live polls, and photo dumps.

Meanwhile, YouTube continues to pour massive resources into YouTube Shorts, ensuring it captures the fast-scrolling crowd on mobile while maintaining its grip on living room televisions.

The boundaries that once separated these apps have dissolved. YouTube wants to be TikTok, TikTok wants to be YouTube, and Instagram wants to be both at the exact same time. For media companies and technology platforms, the ultimate goal is simple: capture as many minutes of human attention as possible each day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the new Instagram Features update?

Instagram Features is an experimental tool that allows creators to upload horizontal, landscape-oriented videos up to 90 minutes long. It lets creators connect short Reels to their full-length videos, allowing viewers to jump straight into the complete recording.

Can every Instagram user post 90-minute horizontal videos right now?

No. The feature is currently in testing mode. It started with selected creators in Brazil and is expanding to a limited group of creators in the United States. Instagram plans to widen the test to tens of thousands of creators before rolling it out globally.

How do horizontal videos appear in the mobile feed?

Feature clips appear in your standard home feed and Explore page. When you encounter one, you can tap an on-screen expand icon and turn your phone sideways to enter a fullscreen 16:9 widescreen player equipped with playback controls and a scrubber bar.

How is this different from the old IGTV app?

IGTV was a separate application focused strictly on vertical video, which felt awkward for long content. Instagram Features is built directly into the main Instagram platform, supports standard horizontal video, and integrates directly with connected television sets.

Does Instagram pay creators for publishing 90-minute videos?

At present, Instagram does not have a public ad-revenue-sharing program for Features comparable to YouTube’s 55% partner split. Early creators rely on brand partnerships, sponsorship integrations, and exclusive creator bonuses. Meta has stated it may review monetization options as the test progresses.

Are short Reels going away?

Not at all. Reels remain the primary growth and discovery engine for Instagram. Instead of replacing Reels, Features uses Reels as short trailers or teasers that introduce viewers to the full 90-minute show.

Can I watch Instagram Features on my smart TV?

Yes. Instagram’s TV application is available on Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV devices, with Apple TV support rolling out now. You can use your mobile phone as a remote to select and stream videos directly to your screen.

The Big Picture for Instagram’s Video Future

Instagram testing 90-minute horizontal videos is proof that the social media landscape never stays still. By bringing back long-form video in a comfortable landscape format, Meta is making a direct bid for our television sets, our weekend watch time, and the world’s biggest creative talents.

Whether people will choose to watch a full comedy special or an hour-long podcast on an app built for photos remains to be seen. But by removing the friction between a 15-second teaser and a 90-minute feature, Instagram is setting up an exciting competition against YouTube that will redefine how we watch content for years to come.