As you know, A week ago, the Indian Government banned TikTok in India with 59 other Chinese apps. In this phase, Facebook launches Instagram Reels to India.
On July 8, Instagram said it is rolling out Reels, a feature that allows users to create short videos set to music or other audio.
India banned 59 apps and services developed by Chinese firms citing privacy and security concerns last week so that Instagram has an opportunity to take TikTok’s place in the market, and cater to the rising popularity of short-form video in the region.
Instagram Reels is a brand new way to create fun and engaging video content from Instagram Stories. Similar to TikTok, users can record 15-second video clips set to music and share them with Stories. Also, Instagram Reels can be shared on Instagram Stories, sent directly to specific users, or added to a new Reels tab on a user’s profile.
TikTok identified India as its biggest market outside of China. Late last year, TikTok said it had amassed over 200 million users in the country, and the firm was looking to expand that figure to at least 300 million this year.
But Instagram, which has already attracted tens of thousands of influencers in India, is perhaps best positioned to take on TikTok in the world’s second-largest internet market. Instagram had about 165 million monthly active users last month, up from 110 million in June last year, according to mobile insights firm App Annie, data of which an industry executive shared with TechCrunch. Mohan declined to comment on Instagram’s user base in India.
