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Instagram Reels May Get Its Own App: A New Rival to TikTok?
Instagram is reportedly planning to launch a standalone app for Reels, its short-form video feature, in a move that would put Meta in more direct competition with TikTok. The idea arrives at an unusually consequential moment for the short-video market: TikTok remains enormously influential in the US, but its future there is uncertain because of regulatory pressure.
A separate Reels app would be a meaningful shift in strategy, not just a new download button. Reels currently lives inside Instagram, alongside photos, Stories, direct messages and the broader social graph that has defined the service for years. A dedicated app would instead place the endless video feed at the centre of the experience, closer to the model that helped TikTok turn recommendations into a default form of entertainment.
That distinction matters. Short video is no longer simply another feature for social platforms. It is where creators build audiences, where viewers discover personalities outside the accounts they already follow, and where platforms compete hardest for attention. Instagram has spent years integrating Reels into its main app, but a standalone product could give Meta more room to shape the experience around video discovery without the competing priorities of the full Instagram product.
Related: Instagram Reels Showing Violent Content? Here’s What Might Be Happening, published on February 28, 2025 by SquaredTech
Project Ray and the case for a dedicated feed
Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently discussed the possibility of creating a separate Reels app during a meeting with staff, according to reports. The effort is codenamed Project Ray and is described as part of Meta’s wider plan to strengthen Instagram’s position against TikTok.
The proposed app would offer a scrolling short-video experience similar to TikTok. On its face, that may sound like a familiar product pitch; Instagram users already know the gesture of swiping from one Reel to the next. The larger question is whether Meta can make that feed feel like a destination in its own right rather than an extension of Instagram.
TikTok’s advantage has never been limited to the format of vertical clips. Its appeal rests heavily on the sense that a viewer can open the app and quickly find something unexpectedly relevant, entertaining or useful, whether or not they follow the person who posted it. That puts recommendation quality at the heart of the contest. A platform can have plenty of video, established creators and large distribution, yet still feel less compelling if the next clip is too predictable or poorly matched to the viewer.
Meta’s stated goal is to improve how content is recommended on Instagram and encourage more creators to post longer Reels of up to three minutes. Those two aims fit together. Better recommendations can help longer videos find viewers who will stay with them, while longer videos give creators more room than a brief clip to tell a story, explain an idea or sustain a recurring format. The risk, as always, is that longer availability does not automatically create better viewing. Creators need a reason to invest more time, and audiences need confidence that the feed will reward that attention.
A separate app could also make the division of labour clearer. Instagram would remain the broader social platform, while Reels could become a more focused place for video discovery. That focus may appeal to users who want a TikTok-like experience without navigating the rest of Instagram. It could also create friction for people who prefer having their photos, messages and videos in one place. Meta would be betting that the opportunity to capture more dedicated short-video use outweighs the cost of asking users to add another app to their phones.
Why TikTok’s uncertainty has changed the calculation
TikTok has around 170 million users in the US, but faces an uncertain future because of regulatory pressures. The platform received a 75-day extension from President Donald Trump’s administration in January, delaying a possible ban. That uncertainty does not mean TikTok’s audience will move as one, or that any rival will automatically inherit it. Users, creators and advertisers have different reasons for staying or leaving, and their choices rarely follow a neat script.
Still, uncertainty creates an opening that would not otherwise exist. Creators whose work and income depend on a single platform have strong reasons to maintain alternatives. Viewers may be willing to test a new service if they believe familiar creators are establishing a presence there. For Meta, a standalone Reels app would be a way to present itself not merely as a place that also has short video, but as a direct alternative if TikTok’s position in the US changes.
Meta has already been trying to pull TikTok creators to Instagram. It recently launched Edits, an editing app similar to TikTok’s CapCut, and reportedly offered cash bonuses to popular creators to switch platforms. The significance of that approach is easy to miss. Winning short-form video is not only about the viewing feed; it is also about the tools creators use before they publish. Editing, templates and an efficient posting workflow can influence where a creator decides to build their audience.
Cash incentives can bring attention quickly, but they do not guarantee durable loyalty. Creators ultimately go where they can reach viewers, where the platform’s recommendations work in their favour and where their audience is willing to spend time. Meta’s challenge is therefore broader than recruiting a handful of recognizable accounts. It needs a product that gives emerging creators a plausible path to discovery as well.
Related: Instagram Glitch Floods Users with Graphic Content, Meta Apologizes, published on February 28, 2025 by SquaredTech
A second attempt, with a clearer opening
This would be Meta’s second attempt to launch a TikTok rival as a standalone app. In 2018, the company introduced Lasso, a video-sharing app that failed to gain popularity. Lasso was shut down in 2020 so Meta could focus on Reels.
Lasso is an important reminder that copying a category is not the same as building a habit. The short-video market is crowded with products that can imitate the basic mechanics of a full-screen feed. The harder task is creating a culture that viewers want to return to, giving creators useful tools and building recommendations that feel alive rather than interchangeable.
Meta is not approaching this possible launch from the same position it occupied with Lasso. Reels is already an established Instagram feature, and Meta has spent the intervening years competing in the short-video market. That gives the company a clearer foundation than a brand-new service would have. But it also raises expectations. If Reels becomes a standalone app, users will judge it against TikTok’s focused experience, not simply against other parts of Instagram.
The proposal also carries a familiar Meta tension: integration versus separation. Keeping Reels inside Instagram lets Meta benefit from Instagram’s existing audience and makes it easy for users to move between formats. Spinning it out could sharpen the product’s identity, but it may also split attention between two related apps. There is no obvious answer without knowing how the company intends to connect accounts, creators and content across both services.
For now, the plan remains reported rather than a confirmed launch. But Instagram’s Reels is clearly central to Meta’s response to TikTok, and Project Ray suggests the company sees a potential standalone app as more than a cosmetic experiment. If TikTok’s uncertain US future pushes users and creators to seek alternatives, Meta will have an opportunity. Whether it can turn that opportunity into a product people choose to open every day is the more difficult test.
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