Instagram announced today the U.S. launch of Reels , a new Instagram format that gives anyone the ability to create and discover short form, edited videos with audio and music.  

Reels is a big part of the future of entertainment on Instagram– with Reels, Stories, Live & IGTV, Instagram is excited to give people more ways to create & enjoy video the way they want. 

With Reels, people and creators can make entertaining 15-second videos using editing tools. Reels is special because you can share with your friends & followers and could also be discovered by IG’s huge, diverse and global community. 

• Share Reels with friends on Feed – and if you have a public account, you can also share your reel with the larger Instagram community in a new space in Explore, where it has the chance to be seen and discovered by the wider Instagram community. 

• Whether you have a public or private account, you can share your reel to Stories, with Close Friends, or as a DM, giving you control over who your audience is. Reels shared these ways will not be in Explore, and will not appear on your profile.

• Reels has AR effects from the huge effects library (created both by Instagram and creators all over the world), music from the vast music library, and video editing tools, such as original audio, countdown and a new align tool, which gives people a fun and seamless way to line up different takes when creating Reels. 

• People have always come to express themselves and be entertained on Instagram, and it’s where culture is made. Users want to make and watch short-form, edited videos -- and with Reels’ new editing tools, creators across fashion, beauty, activism, comedy, food, fitness, sports, gaming, music, and more can be discovered by Instagram’s huge, diverse community – or, share all they create/find with just their friends or followers.