Instagram tests horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes with its new Features format

A few days ago, Instagram launched its official application for Apple TV with support for Reels, live streams and long videos and the option to follow a video on TV that you had left halfway on your mobile. Previously, it had gone through Amazon Fire TV in December 2025, through Google TV in February and through Samsung televisions in June.

Now Meta is taking another step to make Instagram look on the couch, because it is testing a format called Features that allows you to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. According to TechPowerUpthe test started on Monday with a small group of creators from the United States, after a first rehearsal in Brazil.

This is a format that targets podcasters, comedians and other long-form content creators who publish today, especially on YouTube. In fact, many of them already upload fragments as Reels to promote episodes hosted on another platform. With Featuresthe full episode would also remain on Instagram, since the Reels will be able to link directly to the long video and it will appear among the recommendations in the Explore section.

The announcement came in a video from Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, and Tessa Lyons, vice president of product. “Creativity is much more than the short video or posting carousels,” Lyons explained. Mosseri, for his part, admitted that he has been against long videos on the platform for “a long time” because he was worried that Instagram would stop being useful for connecting with friends.

According to their point of view, someone who spends 20 or 30 minutes with the same video sees fewer Reels, photos and carousels that they could send to other people. Now, however, he defends that the social network should opt for long format, also on television. By the way, Features doesn’t come alone. Live streams may appear in the Reels tab to users who do not follow the creator. Oh, and a new feature will allow use your cell phone as a remote to control video playback on TV.

No advertising revenue sharing, for now

Money is what most differentiates Features from YouTube. Why do we say it? Mainly, because the Google platform distributes advertising revenue with the creators of its Partner Program, while Instagram does not plan to do the same with these videos.

A spokesperson explained that the company is directly funding some creators, although it considers that “it is too early to share a long-term monetization model.” Lyons added that those who already have sponsorships and branded content deals will be able to bring them to Instagram. In addition, a spokesperson told Variety, the company is studying ways for creators to earn money from brands, their followers and Instagram itself, including incentives linked to performance.

We must also remember that this is not the first time that Instagram has tested the long video. Before, we had IGTV, which launched in 2018 and closed in 2022, when the social network did not yet have an application for televisions. At the moment, Instagram has not given a date for Features to reach more creators or other countries. We will remain attentive.