As I watch through my computer screen, Tom Bender, the product lead for Instagram’s Edits, places a finger on his smartphone and the software traces an outline around a chubby cat from some meme video. He then takes the furry cutout and drops it over an existing video of himself within the Edits app, adjusting the animal’s opacity to make the cat slightly see-through and ensuring that his own visage in the background stays visible.
This ability to fine-tune overlay opacities was just one of many new and upcoming features he demonstrated in a recent app walkthrough for WIRED. While the Instagram platform was first known for photography, it’s now dominated by video. The new Edits app serves as a companion to Instagram, but one that gives the next generation of video creators all the tools they need to make Reels.
Edits launched last month on Apple and Android devices, after months of delays. Meta, which owns Instagram, is putting Edits forward as a challenger to ByteDance’s CapCut app. That mobile video editing tool, designed to support TikTok creators, was released internationally in 2020 and has become the default choice for creating videos on your phone.
Although Edits initially squeaked past CapCut on Apple’s free downloads charts during release week, the app now sits outside of the 100 most downloaded apps on iOS. It sits far below its main competitor, which is comfortably positioned in the top 10. (Meta declined to share current usage numbers or other statistics for Edits.)
Bender knows he needs to make the app more attractive to creators. So, what’s his plan? Iteration, iteration, iteration.
“We launched a minimum viable product,” he says. “I think the most important thing, from our perspective, is to listen to creators and just launch great features every month or every week.” More video effects and filters are rolling out now. Soon, you’ll be able to adjust the volume across all of the clips in a project. In the next few weeks, an in-app teleprompter—so creators can look right at the camera as they’re reading scripts—is set to drop.
With Edits, Instagram isn’t trying to usurp powerful desktop video editing tools like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut. Rather the developers are targeting anyone looking for better ways to craft social media videos on their smartphone. Bender touts Edits’ preproduction tools, such as the existing Inspiration tab for finding video ideas and saving trending Reels, as an example of Instagram integrations designed with mobile video editors in mind. “Creators will have a long Notes app file or DM threads where they send examples of videos,” he says. “There’s not a great way to keep track of all your ideas today.” After posting, users can see insights into how the video performed on Instagram Reels inside of the Edits app.
Social media video creators rarely post their work on just a single platform; they’ll edit in one app (typically CapCut) and post to TikTok, Instagram, X, and elsewhere. So why should they consider switching to Edits from software they’re familiar with, beyond the Instagram integrations?
“We definitely hear that creators share to a lot of different platforms now,” says Bender. One way to entice them to use Edits is to let all creators export their video in high quality without adding a watermark. This gives it a leg up on CapCut, which stamps an identifying watermark to the end of exported video projects unless the user upgrades to a paid subscription. While Edits currently has fewer features than CapCut, it’s completely free to use.
Edits is receiving several updates in the coming weeks, including the ability to adjust the volume across all of the clips in a project.
Courtesy of Meta/Instagram
In addition to removing watermarks, paying CapCut subscribers unlock more advanced and minute features, including a bevy of AI-focused tools: product photos, posters, models, and effects. Bender believes AI tools that automate common tasks for mobile videos, like cutouts and effects, are an area for growth in Edits. “There are ways we can keep human creativity at the center, but just take out the tedium,” he says. His team is also exploring how AI can be used to better analyze past videos from creators that performed well on Instagram and suggest potential future topics tailored to their niche audience.
Users have been able to post videos on Instagram for over a decade, and the algorithmic Reels feed first launched in 2020. Still, the Edits app represents a new era for the social media platform. It’s a clear sign the company currently prioritizes streamlined video creation of audience-engaging posts. “That would be good for Instagram because creators will make more videos,” says Bender “The videos will be better, and then that makes Instagram better for people watching videos.” It’s all part of Instagram’s plan for more Reels, more viewers, and an overall more video-centric app.
