We all know by now that Instagram’s Stories function only allows for 15-second long video clips to be uploaded, and for regular Instagram posts, the limit is a whopping 60 seconds. With that said, Instagram just made watching videos way more fun as it has just unveiled a standalone app called IGTV which allows its users to watch videos that last up to one hour.
IGTV, now available on iOS and Android, features long-form vertical videos that are uploaded from people you follow, alongside recommendations extended by Instagram, making it almost effortless to find and watch videos from the mobile phone instead of having to search or browse through channels or a directory.
Whether this will affect YouTube’s longstanding success is unclear, but IGTV may just be the hot new avenue for creators to upload videos directly onto Instagram. While videos can only be up to 10 minutes to begin with, larger and more accounts will be entitled to hour-long videos. Instagram aims to allow users to post videos of unlimited lengths in the near future.
There are no ads on IGTV as of now although a revenue-sharing deal with partners will eventually be implemented. Instagram’s focus on video further strengthens its footing as one of the most popular social media platforms in history, now boasting at least 1 billion users worldwide.
Now that we’ve erased Snapchat entirely from our lives, will YouTube be next thanks to IGTV? Hmm…
