INSTAGRAM REELS

Starting in July 2022, most videos can only be shared as reels. Some videos won't be impacted by this change, including videos previously posted to feed and videos posted on Instagram Web.

Reels isn’t currently available to everyone. Keep in mind, some accounts may be able to see reels, but won't be able to record them.

To Record a reel

1. Click Create on the left.

2. Click Post.

3. Click Select from computer and choose the content you want to share from your device. Click in the bottom right, then click to add another file.

4. Click Next in the top right. From here you can:

   • Use the slider on the right below Cover photo to choose a cover photo from the clip or click Select from computer to choose one on your device.

   • Use the slider on the right below Trim to trim the beginning or end of your clip.

5. Tap Next in the top right. Here you can write a caption, add a location, tag people, add alternate text, and adjust your post's settings.

6. Tap Share in the top right.

Note that you can record one or multiple clips that add up to 90 seconds. The progress bar at the top shows how long you’ve recorded. If you share your reel to Explore, it can also be seen on the Reels section of your profile.

Learn more about saving and editing a draft of your reel.

Find reels to watch from the Instagram app

1. Tap at the bottom.

2. Scroll down to see more reels.

Note that you can also scroll through your Feed to see reels from creators you follow.

We aim to reduce the visibility of reels containing content about politics on unconnected surfaces (example: scrolling through Reels). Reels from people you follow will still be shown on Profile and Feed, and politics content won't have reduced visibility on these surfaces.

Find reels that use a certain audio or hashtag

To find reels with a certain audio or hashtag, you can:

• Tap the audio name or hashtag at the bottom of the reel to see a page with other reels that use the same audio or hashtag.

• Search for specific hashtags in the search bar at the top.

Tap Use Audio on a reels audio page to record a reel with the same audio. If you record a reel with original audio, your original reel will appear first on the page with other reels that use the same audio.

You can record a reel with your own original audio, with original audio by another Reels creator, or with audio from the Instagram audio library using the Audio tool in Reels. Note that you can’t use original audio from a feed video unless you remix the video.

Original audio

Original audio is unique audio you created, either while filming your reel in the Instagram app or in a video you uploaded, or unique audio by another Reels creator. When someone posts a reel with original audio, it will display their username.

When you post a reel on a public account, anyone on Instagram can record a reel using your original audio. If your account is set to private, no one will be able to record a reel using your original audio.

If you upload licensed audio as original audio, we may change the description to the artist's name and song.

Licensed audio

Licensed audio is copyrighted audio available on the Instagram audio library and includes things like music, movies, TV shows and sound effects. All licensed audio must be attributed or linked to the artist and include the name of the track.

Keep in mind that as we make sure to uphold our agreements with music rights holders, audio tracks in your posts can become muted as a result of any changes made to these agreements. While the audio tracks of your post may be muted, your post can still be viewed.

Muted audio

If your reel has a muted audio track, you may see a notification to replace the audio when you view it. You can replace the audio with another licensed audio that’s available from the Instagram audio library. You can only do this once. You may also receive a notification in Activity.

1. From the muted reel, tap Replace audio and select the audio you want to use.

2. Choose the part you want for your reel, then tap Done in the top right.

3. Tap Done again to confirm.

If you don’t see the option to edit the audio, you can save the reel to your camera roll, delete it from your feed and re-upload it to Instagram. Note that when your reel is shared again to Instagram, you will lose any previous view counts and insights.

Attributed audio

Why did I receive a notification that my reel was added to an audio page?

When we detect the audio you recorded or uploaded uses licensed audio, we’ll automatically change attribution from Original Audio to the artist and song title. Your reel will be added to the audio page for that song, where more people on Instagram may find it.

You can record a reel and save it to your Instagram account or camera roll before sharing it. Drafts will be saved until you share or delete them. There isn’t a limit to how many drafts you can save.

Keep in mind, downloading your reel won’t save any music you added from the Instagram music library.

To save a draft of your reel to your Instagram:

1. Tap Next on the reel you're recording.

2. Tap Next, then tap Save draft at the bottom.

To edit a draft of your reel from your Instagram:

1. Tap or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
   

2. >

   Tap below your profile info.

3. Tap Drafts, then select the reel you want to edit.

To save a draft of your reel to your camera roll:

1. Tap Next on the reel you're recording.

2. Tap in the top left.

To edit a draft of your reel from your camera roll:

1. Tap at the top or swipe right from anywhere in Feed.

2. Scroll to Reel at the bottom of the screen.

3. Tap in the bottom left and choose the draft of your video from your camera roll you want to edit.

You can record more clips and add music, effects, stickers and text to your reel.

Once your accounts are added to the same Accounts Center, you can share your reel to Facebook.

Share your reel to Facebook

Share all future reels to Facebook automatically

1. Tap or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
   

2. Tap in the top right, then tap Settings and privacy.

3. Tap Accounts Center, then tap Sharing across profiles.

4. Select the account you want your reels to be shared from, then select the account you want your reels to be shared to.

5. Below Automatically share, tap or Set up next to Your Instagram reels.

What happens when you share you reels to Facebook

When you share your Instagram reels to Facebook, they’ll appear as reels on Facebook.

If you haven’t selected a default audience for reels on Facebook, your default audience for reels on Facebook will be based on your Instagram account privacy setting:

• Public Instagram account: Your Facebook Reels audience will default to Public.

• Private Instagram account: Your Facebook Reels audience will default to Friends on Facebook.

If you are under 18, your Facebook Reels audience will default to Friends on Facebook.

Keep in mind that your followers on Instagram may not be the same as your friends on Facebook, so if you share a reel from Instagram to Facebook, you may be sharing your reel with different people. You can change your default audience for reels on Facebook at any time. Reels can appear in Feed, Watch and other places across Facebook.

If your reels are shared to Public on Facebook, people on Facebook will be able to use the original audio from your reel. If your default audience for reels on Facebook is Public and you have remixing enabled on Instagram, they’ll also be able to remix your reel. You can change your remix setting in the Instagram app at any time.

Who can see your reel on Instagram follows your account’s privacy settings. If you post a reel on Instagram and your account is public, you can choose to have your reel shown as recommended content on Facebook instead.

After posting a reel, you can share, save, manage or delete your reel.

Share and save your reel

Manage your reel

Other Reels settings

You can also manage other settings for your reels including:

• Who can remix your reel.

• Using comment filters to determine what comments are allowed on your reels.

• Delete your reel from Instagram.

• Who can mention you in the caption of their reel by changing your account's mention settings. You’ll receive a notification when someone mentions you in a reel. Learn more about how mentions work on Instagram.

• Whether to recommend your reel on Facebook

You can see info about how many people liked, commented on and reshared your reel on Instagram. If you delete a comment you've written on an Instagram reel that was shared to Facebook, it'll be removed from both apps.

To see info about your reel:

1. Click your profile picture on the left to go to your profile.

2. Click Reels below your profile info. In the bottom left of each reel, you’ll see the number of video plays (how many times your reel starts to play). This doesn't include replays.

3. Hover over the reel you want to see more info for. From here you’ll see a number below

• that shows how many people liked your reel.

• that shows how many people commented on your reel. Click the reel to see the comments.

• that shows how many people reshared your reel to their story or in a direct message. Note that this number may not be accurate if your reel was shared before reshare counts were enabled.

Note that if you chose to recommend your reel to Facebook, your reel's plays and likes counts may include plays and likes from Facebook.