Instagram has rolled out a new “Reels Visual Replies” feature that lets users reply to comments on posts with Reels. Now, when users choose to reply to a comment, they’ll see a new option that allows them to select the Reels button to create a video reply. The social media giant notes that the video reply will appear as a sticker.
“We love the communities that creators have built on Instagram,” Instagram said in a tweet announcing the new feature. “That’s why we’re excited to launch Reels Visual Replies, a new feature to interact with your audience.”
Instagram’s newest feature further integrates Reels into its wider social media platform. It’s worth noting that the new feature is similar to TikTok’s video replies, which allow users to reply to comments on their content with video responses. TikTok rolled out the feature last year to give users a way to offer more context about their videos and answer questions. Considering the popularity of the feature, it’s no surprise that Instagram has launched a similar feature for its own TikTok-clone.
The launch of Reels Visual Replies comes as Instagram has been rolling out several new features. Most recently, the company introduced a new end-of-year “Playback” IG Stories time capsule feature. The feature leverages the Stories Archive, so users can customize and select up to 10 stories to share with their followers. To be eligible for this feature, users need to have posted more than three stories this year or have Stories Archive turned on. Instagram suggests Playback posts for you, but you also have the option to pick what you want to share. The new feature is currently available to users for “several weeks.”
Instagram has also rolled out a new “Rage Shake” feature that lets users shake their phones to report a problem with the app. Once you shake to report, you can explain what happened with the app and report the issue. The social media giant also introduced the ability to delete single items from a carousel post with at least three images or videos. For context, carousel feed posts can combine up to 10 photos and videos in one post. With this update, you can delete items from an existing carousel.
The company is also testing a new feature called “Take a Break,” which allows users to remind themselves to take a break from Instagram after either 10, 20 or 30 minutes. There’s also a new “Add Yours” sticker that creates public threads in Stories. The new feature allows users to respond to other users’ Stories with their own following a prompt or a certain topic.