Instagram Is Testing 90-Minute Videos. Will It Pay Creators Like YouTube Does?

Instagram is testing a new long-form format called Features, which lets creators upload horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long. The test started in Brazil and is now expanding to a small group of creators in the U.S.

It’s a notable reversal for a platform that spent the last several years building its identity around short, vertical Reels. It also puts Instagram in more direct competition with YouTube, though one big piece is still missing: a clear way for creators to get paid.

Adam Mosseri on Instagram: "Sat down with @tessalyonsss to talk about why we’re investing in longer videos, which we’re going to call Features, and how they fit with Reels, Series, Live and TV. It's early, and we're testing and listening to feedback as we go. But we’re excited to give creators more room to tell their stories with the communities they've already built here. More to come."

30K likes, 1,798 comments - mosseri on October 26, 2026: "Sat down with @tessalyonsss to talk about why we’re investing in longer videos, which we’re going to call Features, and how they fit with Reels, Series, Live and TV. It's early, and we're testing and listening to feedback as we go. But we’re excited to give creators more room to tell their stories with the communities they've already built here. More to come.".

Instagram

What Instagram Is Testing

Features are full-length, horizontal videos aimed at podcasters, comedians and other creators who make longer shows. According to The Next Web, they’ll appear in users’ main feeds and on the Explore page.

Alongside Features, Instagram is testing Clips as Reels, which lets creators cut Reels from their long-form videos. Those Reels link back to the full video, so short clips can drive viewers to the longer piece.

Viewers can also send long videos to Instagram’s TV app, which launched on Amazon Fire TV in December 2025 and has since expanded to Google TV and Samsung TVs. Instagram is also working on better discovery for Live video and a profile hub for episodic Reels.

Why Instagram Changed Its Mind

Instagram has tried this before. IGTV launched in 2018 as a home for longer videos and shut down in 2022.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in his announcement video that he had long been against long-form video on Instagram, since Reels drive more sharing. He said VP of Product Tessa Lyons convinced him to give it another shot.

The goal is to keep viewers in the app. Instead of a creator’s Reel sending fans to YouTube for the full episode, Instagram wants the full episode to live on Instagram, too.

The Monetization Question

This is where the comparison with YouTube gets harder. YouTube Partner Program creators earn 55% of the ad revenue from their long-form videos, and YouTube says it paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over four years.

Instagram creators earn mostly through brand deals, with some fan subscriptions and a small performance-based program. Mosseri told the Colin and Samir Show that Instagram’s payouts cost more than they bring in. “We spend more money than we make back by a long shot,” he said.

A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch it’s “too early” to share a long-term monetization model for Features. For now, Instagram isn’t sharing ad revenue from the format with creators.

Competitive Context

YouTube remains the default home for long-form creator video, both on phones and increasingly on TVs. YouTube’s growing share of TV viewing is covered in YouTube Hits a Record Share of TV Viewing in Nielsen’s Gauge.

TikTok has also pushed toward longer uploads in recent years, but neither TikTok nor Instagram has matched YouTube’s ad-share model. For many creators, those platforms still work more as promotional channels for their YouTube videos than as primary revenue sources.

The Signal in the Noise

For creators, Features is worth watching but not yet worth building around. Posting full episodes to Instagram could reach followers who never click through to YouTube, but those views won’t pay the way YouTube views do.

Clips as Reels is the more immediately useful idea, since it ties short-form discovery directly to a full video. If Instagram adds a real revenue share, the format becomes a serious alternative. Until then, it’s mainly another place to post.

Would you post full-length videos to Instagram without an ad revenue share? Share how you’d use Features in the comments.

The Details

• Format: Features, horizontal videos up to 90 minutes
• Test: Live in Brazil; expanding to a small group of U.S. creators
• Where they appear: Main feed and Explore, per The Next Web
• Companion tool: Clips as Reels, which links short clips to the full video
• TV: Long videos can be sent to Instagram’s TV app
• Monetization: No ad revenue share announced; Meta says it’s “too early” to share a model

Resources & Reads

• Watch Out, YouTube: Instagram Goes From Short-Form to 90-Minute Videos — TechCrunch
• Instagram Tests 90-Minute Horizontal Videos Called Features — The Next Web
• Instagram Is Bringing Long-Form Video Back to Compete With YouTube — WeRSM
• YouTube Hits a Record Share of TV Viewing in Nielsen’s Gauge