TikTok takes hilarious jibe at Instagram over its new Reels feature

TikTok on August 7 took to Twitter to troll Instagram after the Facebook-owned platform unveiled its new Reels feature that allows users to create short videos, similar to what the Chinese-owned app has been offerings so far. TikTok retweeted Instagram's post on Twitter, where the latter had shared information about its new Reels feature, and wrote, "well... this looks familiar," with thinking and wink emojis. Instagram launched the new feature in more than 50 countries, most probably to cash-in on the ongoing situation as TikTok is facing increasing scrutiny across the world with a ban looming large on the ByteDance subsidiary in the United States and already blocked in India, its largest market.

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Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels is offering ditto features to its users as TikTok with tools like Audio, AR Effects, Timer & Countdown, Align, and Speed. Align helps users line up objects from their previous clip before recording the next to help create seamless transitions for moments like outfit changes or adding new friends into the reel. The feature is already available in TikTok as well as other features like the Speed, that allows users to speed up or slow down part of their video or audio to make slow-motion videos, a very popular effect on the Chinese app. 

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Meanwhile, Instagram users will be able to discover Reels from anyone who has a public account in the Explore section. Users will also see some reels with a 'Featured' label. If a user's reel is featured in Explore, he/she will receive a notification. Featured reels are a selection of public reels chosen by Instagram to help discover original content in the Explore section. Users can also share their reels in their Story section, where it will behave like a regular story and will disappear after 24 hours. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's wealth surpassed the $100 billion mark after the launch of Instagram Reels. 

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