This latest addition comes amongst a whole raft of changes, including longer reels and a TikTok like profile grid. The timing is now coincidence, as the announcement came shortly after ByteDance’s TikTok and CapCut apps were temporarily removed from major app stores due to the US TikTok ban, leaving creators panicking and seeking alternatives. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, has confirmed that the Edits team has been working with a group of creators to refine the app, using the TikTok ban controversy to spark interest and drive pre-orders.
Set to go live on 13 March 2025, Edits is positioned as a comprehensive creative toolkit for mobile video creators, and not “just another editing app”. While Instagram already offers in-app video editing tools, this new app could take content creation to the next level by providing creators with a professional-grade editing experience outside the main Instagram interface. A bit similar to CapCut, or perhaps even more advanced, Edits will be a standalone app offering:
Image source: Apple Music.
Instagram has struggled to keep up with TikTok’s dominance, particularly when it comes to short-form video content. TikTok’s built-in editing tools make it easy for creators to produce high-quality content within the app, while CapCut provides additional advanced editing features. Through launching Edits, Instagram is pre-emptively filling a potential market gap left by the uncertain future of TikTok in the US, in the hopes that it’ll become the world’s number one social media platform again.
Meta has a history of launching features to counter competitor trends (think Instagram Stories vs. Snapchat, Reels vs. TikTok), and Edits is their latest strategic move. However, whether it succeeds depends on a number of factors: user experience, how well it integrates with Instagram and other platforms, creator adoption and competitive advantage.
The video-first era of social media is in full swing, and platforms are investing heavily to stay ahead of the curve. And, according to Mosseri, Edits is “for those of you who make videos not just for Instagram, but for other platforms out there” – suggesting that creators will be able to make content for multiple platforms, perhaps for channels like YouTube? If they can do this straight from the app AND without a watermark so they don’t have to find convoluted ways to upload videos to their desired platform, Instagram might just well have topped TikTok with this latest move.
Unlike CapCut, where some features are locked behind a paywall, Edits appears to be launching (at least for now) a free to use tool, making it an attractive option for creators looking to streamline their content production.
For brands and creators, Edits could be a powerful new tool, making video production more accessible and effective. Whether you’re an influencer, marketer or business owner, having access to high quality, free editing tools within the Instagram would could be a game-changer. If Edits takes off, it could help Instagram to maintain its relevance in an increasingly video-driven landscape. If not, it may end up being yet another Meta experiment that fails to gain traction (cough, cough – looking at you, Threads).
With an early version dropping this month and pre-orders already open, Meta is betting big on Edits. Now, we sit back and see which platform wins this latest fight for creator loyalty!
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