Instagram Announces Major Change for U.S. Users

Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps on the planet, and it just moved forward with a change that will allow users a new way to engage with content on the app.

Throughout its existence, Instagram has been limited to mobile apps and web browsers. However, a recent update will allow users to browse content in a whole new way on a much larger device.

Instagram For TV

On Tuesday, Instagram officially rolled out the pilot of Instagram for TV, an app designed to display its Reels on connected TVs.

Introduced in 2020, Instagram Reels are short-form, vertical videos that rival TikTok videos. Users can watch an endless stream of these videos on the app, and now Instagram is bringing the feature to televisions.

While the initial launch will only be available in the United States and will be limited to Amazon’s Fire TV family of devices, Instagram expects to widen support for additional devices and launch in additional markets next year.

Instagram Explains the Change

While Instagram has been primarily popular as a mobile app, the company has seen demand for such a move to a bigger screen.

“We have seen a ton of demand from people on Instagram to watch Reels on TV,” said Tessa Lyons-Laing, VP of product for Instagram, via Variety. “We hear all the time that people get together with they’re friends to watch Reels. It’s fun to connect with your friends about this stuff.”

Aidan Marcuss, VP of Fire TV devices at Amazon, expressed his excitement about the partnership.

“We’re committed to keep pushing the boundaries of entertainment on customers’ biggest screens — the Instagram team has built an awesome experience, and we’re excited to be the first place to offer it.”

It's worth noting that TikTok recently made a similar feature, launching its TikTok TV app, which allows users to watch TikTok videos on their televisions, controlled by their remotes.

For now, the company does not plan to show advertising on the app, but that could change in the future.