Instagram Has Just Launched Its Own Version Of YouTube – Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Remember when Insta launched its own version of Snapchat Stories back in 2016? The move worked out preeetty well for the ‘gram – their feature now attracts more users than all of Snapchat – so they’ve decided to take a bitta inspo from YouTube too.

In its never-ending quest to become your one-stop app shop, Instagram has announced it’ll be launching a new feature called IGTV that will allow its one billion strong community to watch and upload long-form videos.

IGTV will be available in a stand-alone app that will work like your telly in that videos will start playing the second you open it. But instead of flicking on a channel, you stick on your fave creator. Take adorable Instagram pupper, Jiffpom, for example. Soon you’ll be able to follow the lil ball of fluff on both Instagram and IGTV. You’ll be able to like, comment and direct message Jiff videos to your mates, as well as swipe up to discover new creators to follow.

If you don’t feel like downloading the IGTV app, the feature will also be available from within Instagram itself – there’ll soon be another button right above Stories especially for IGTV! Plus, the feature is built for how you actually use your phone; videos are full screen and vertical which eliminates the whole “try to turn your phone horizontally but drop it on your face while lying in bed” catastrophe that happens way too often.

Within the next few weeks, large and verified accounts will be able to upload videos up to an hour long which means a lot more time spent watching makeup tutorials and comedy skits from your fave social media celebs. At the mo, new and smaller accounts will only be allowed to upload vids up to ten minutes in length (hey, it’s better than the current one minute!) but the one-hour option will be expanded to everyone eventually. There’s also no plans for ads on IGTV just yet but since creators will likely want to make some dosh for their hard work, it’s expected they’ll be on there soon.

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