Instagram is making its biggest push into long-form video since IGTV. On Monday, October 26, the platform announced that it is testing a new format called Features, which lets creators post videos up to 90 minutes long. The test began with creators in Brazil and started rolling out to select creators in the United States on October 26, with plans to expand in the coming months, according to Social Media Today.

That is a sharp change for an app built on short clips. Instagram said the format is meant to give creators room for extended storytelling, including podcasts, vlogs and interviews, formats that have lived mainly on YouTube until now.

What Instagram actually announced

Features does not arrive alone. Instagram is also testing Clips as Reels, which lets creators cut Reels from a longer video and link viewers back to the full post. Social Media Today reported that creators can link up to eight Reels clips back to a longer video. Viewers can also save a long video to watch through the Instagram app on their TV, and Instagram said users will soon be able to use their phones as remote controls when viewing on its connected TV app.

A third piece is Series, a way for creators to tag Reels inside a dedicated topic set so episodic content stays connected. Instagram has been testing Series since June and is working on a wider global rollout, according to Social Media Today. Instagram is also working on improved discovery for Live video, TechCrunch reported.

The decision was not unanimous inside Instagram. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said he had long been against long-form video on the platform, noting that shorter content like Reels drives more shares and direct messages. He credited Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons, who argued for the change, with convincing him to try long-form again. Lyons made the case this way in the announcement video, as reported by TechCrunch: when viewers want to go deeper with the creators they follow, they should be able to do that on Instagram instead of leaving for another app.

The money problem Instagram has not solved

The format is only half the story. The harder question is pay, and on that point Instagram had little to offer this week.

YouTube remains the benchmark because its model is simple and proven. Creators in the YouTube Partner Program receive 55 percent of the ad revenue earned from their videos. TechCrunch noted that YouTube said last year it had paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the previous four years.

Instagram does not work that way today. On the Colin and Samir Show, Mosseri described three ways creators get paid: directly by the platform, by fans, and by brands. On Instagram, he said, creators are paid primarily by brands, some get paid by fans, and the platform runs what he called a small performance-based program. He added that Instagram spends more money on that program than it makes back, which is why it has not scaled it up.

Asked about long-term monetization for Features, a Meta spokesperson gave TechCrunch a cautious answer: it is too early to share a long-term model, but the company is exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram itself, including performance-based incentives. Variety reported the same gap in its coverage, noting that unlike YouTube, Instagram is not sharing ad revenue on the new long-form test.

The gap shows up in earnings comparisons. Social Media Today cited VidIQ analysis estimating that YouTube’s ad revenue share generally pays creators between $1 and $10 per 1,000 long-form views, while Instagram monetization based on views alone is effectively zero unless a brand deal is attached. Those are third-party estimates, not platform figures, but they explain why many creators treat Instagram as promotion for their YouTube work, not as their main income.

Why Instagram is doing this anyway

The competitive pressure is real. Social Media Today pointed to Nielsen data showing YouTube is now the biggest streaming content provider in the United States, and to YouTube’s own reporting that viewers watch more than a billion hours of its content on home TV sets every day. If fans leave Instagram to watch long videos elsewhere, Instagram loses that viewing time.

Instagram tried long-form before with IGTV, launched as a separate app in 2018 and shut down in 2022 after it failed to catch on. Mosseri said the goal this time is to make short-form and long-form work together, with Reels feeding viewers into Features.

What creators should take from the test

For creators in the U.S. test, Features is worth experimenting with, especially for podcast episodes, interviews and tutorials. Clips as Reels lowers the risk: one long recording can produce short clips that promote it in the same app.

But the business case is not proven yet. Until Instagram publishes a revenue model for Features, with rates or a revenue share creators can plan around, long-form work on Instagram is an audience play, not an income play. Creators who depend on per-view platform pay still have one clear home for that model, and Instagram’s own leadership said this week that its performance pay program loses money. Watch for two signals in the coming months: whether the test expands beyond select U.S. creators, and whether Meta attaches actual ad revenue sharing to the format. The first signal is already moving. The second will decide whether Features is a real challenge to YouTube or another IGTV.

Sources

TechCrunch, Amanda Silberling, “Watch out, YouTube: Instagram goes from short-form to 90-minute videos,” October 26, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/watch-out-youtube-instagram-goes-from-short-form-to-90-minute-videos/

Social Media Today, Andrew Hutchinson, “Instagram rolls out limited Features test in the US,” October 26, 2026. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-rolls-out-limited-features-test-in-the-us/872825/

Variety, “Instagram Tests Videos up to 90 Minutes Long but Unlike YouTube It’s Not Sharing Ad Revenue,” October 26, 2026, coverage identified via Google News on October 31, 2026.