Instagram Might Launch Long-Form Video Feature Next Week

Instagram might be launching a feature that will allow long-form video uploads on the media-sharing app.

The social media company sent out invitations to a “special event” happening on June 20 in San Francisco, California, where it is presumably launching a new feature for sharing long-form videos on the platform, TechCrunch reported.

The same report noted that Instagram’s invitation did not have many details and contains only a message saying, “Instagram has some news to share, and we want you to be the first to hear about it.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that Instagram had finally laid out plans to let users, especially internet personalities and content creators, upload videos that run up to an hour. This is a big change for the social media platform considering that video uploads are currently limited to a maximum of one minute in length.

Instagram reportedly conducted several meetings with publishers and content creators even before reports on the upcoming feature surfaced.

The addition of a feature allowing one-hour long videos on Instagram would be a big enough update. But TechCrunch’s sources added that the upcoming feature can also support 4K resolution and play videos in full-screen mode. Instagram is also expected to update the app so that videos longer than 60 seconds will play vertically.

Instagram is also expected to introduce a new video hub where trending and curated content can be found. Based on reports describing it, the rumored video hub seems to work like Snapchat’s Discover page. However, it is still unclear if it will be launched within the Instagram app or the company is introducing a new, standalone software for the supposed video hub.

While the addition of long-form videos will benefit Instagram users, the new feature is apparently the social media company’s move to encourage content creators to make Instagram a go-to app for their followers, thus possibly getting a fraction of YouTube's regular visitors.