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Instagram Features: who can upload a 90-minute video
Instagram Features is a test for horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. On 26 October 2026, Instagram opened that upload test to a small group of creators in the United States, after trying it in Brazil. Most accounts cannot post one yet. Instagram has not published a long-term way to pay for these videos.
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What is Instagram Features?
Instagram Features is a test for horizontal videos that can run for up to 90 minutes. Instagram announced it on 26 October 2026 for selected creators in the United States, after a test in Brazil. It is aimed at podcasters, comedians, and other long-form creators.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in the announcement video that he had been against long-form video on Instagram for a long time, because shorter clips drive more shares and messages. Tessa Lyons, vice president of product, had argued for the test. In that same video she said, "Reels is still going to be a core part of Instagram." The point of a Feature is what comes after the clip, when a viewer wants the rest of the episode.
Where does a Feature show up?
The Hollywood Reporter said these videos will be recommended on Explore and in other areas. TechCrunch reported that Instagram wants the short video and the long video to work together in the mobile app and in the TV app. A recommendation is not an upload button. Seeing a Feature in Explore does not mean that account can post one.
Which screen is it built for?
Features is available on mobile. Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter the better long watch is a big horizontal screen, and that is where Instagram expects the deeper viewing to happen. Instagram for TV launched with Samsung, Fire TV, and Google TV, and is expanding to Apple TV in the United States.
Who can upload a 90-minute video on Instagram?
On 26 October 2026 the upload test opened to selected creators in the United States, after a test in Brazil. The Hollywood Reporter reported a plan to widen that group to tens of thousands of US creators. Instagram has not published a switch that opens this to every account.
The Hollywood Reporter named early creators in the test: Emma Grede, Monet McMichael, Preston Rakovsky, and Donald De La Haye. Lyons said Instagram is working on "a few different deals" with those early creators. Those deals do not require the video to live only on Instagram.
"Tens of thousands" is a plan reported by The Hollywood Reporter, not a date and not a public application. Nothing on the sources says every creator, or every country, can upload today.
Is this the same test as Series or live video in Reels?
No. Series is a different product: a home for episodic Reels on a creator's profile. In June 2026 Instagram began talking to microdrama studios in Southeast Asia, then to individual creators. The Hollywood Reporter said Series would be tested in more countries and brought to the United States by the end of 2026 or early 2027. That schedule is about Series, not about who can upload a Feature.
Live video inside the Reels tab is also separate. The Hollywood Reporter said that test, including live video for people who do not follow the account, is launching in Indonesia and Brazil, with a United States plan for 2027. An Indonesian creator can be in that live test and still have no way to upload a 90-minute Feature.
How do Clips as Reels connect to a Feature?
Clips as Reels lets a creator make a Reel from the long video and link that Reel to the Feature. A viewer who taps the clip can keep watching the full video. Viewers can also save the longer video and send it to the Instagram app on a TV.
Lyons described the viewer path to The Hollywood Reporter: you see a clip of a podcast you like, you click, and you continue watching or watch the full video, because the creator linked that Reel to the Feature.
- The long video has to exist as a Feature. That step is only open to accounts in the test.
- The creator makes a Reel from that video.
- The Reel links to the Feature.
- A viewer taps the clip and keeps watching, or opens the full video.
- The viewer can save the longer video and send it to the Instagram app on a TV.
TechCrunch reported that Clips as Reels was in the Brazil test with Features, and that the US wave is a small test. The sources used here do not publish a cap on how many clips one Feature can have.
Does Instagram pay creators for Features?
Instagram has not published a long-term pay model for Features. A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch it is too early to share one. The company said it is exploring pay from brands, fans, and Instagram, including performance-based incentives. Early test deals are not exclusive.
The Meta line to TechCrunch was direct: it is too early to share a long-term monetization model. The company is exploring ways to earn from brands, fans, and Instagram, including performance-based incentives. That is not a rate card, and it is not a promise that a Feature will pay per view.
On the Colin and Samir Show, Mosseri described Instagram pay as it works today. Most of the money comes from brands. Some comes from fans. A small performance-based program exists, and he said it does not make sense to scale because the company spends more than it makes back. That comment is about the current program, not a Features payout.
What can a creator earn while the model is unpublished?
- A brand deal the creator already has. Lyons said established creators can bring that placement and that branded content into the video.
- Help finding a deal, if the creator does not have that setup yet. Lyons said Instagram sees a chance to help people who do not have the infrastructure.
- Whatever the unpublished Instagram incentive becomes later. There is no public number for it.
How is Features different from a normal Reel?
A Reel stays Instagram's core short video. A Feature is a horizontal video of up to 90 minutes, and only selected accounts can upload one in this test. The Hollywood Reporter described a typical Reel as around three minutes or less. That is a description of what people post, not an official maximum.
| Question | Reel | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Short video. Lyons said Reels stays a core part of Instagram. | Horizontal video in this test. |
| Length | The Hollywood Reporter called a typical Reel around three minutes or less. That is not published here as a maximum. | Up to 90 minutes in the test announced on 26 October 2026. |
| Who posts | The short format accounts already use. | Selected creators in the United States, after a Brazil test. Not a public switch. |
| What a viewer does | Watches the clip. In this test, that clip can link onward. | Watches the rest, on mobile or on the Instagram TV app. |
| Pay | Mostly brands today, Mosseri said, plus some fan pay and a small performance program. | No published long-term model. Early deals are not exclusive. Existing brand placements can carry over. |
What should a creator do while the test is still closed?
Keep a horizontal master of the episode, and keep cutting a Reel from it. Reels is still the format most accounts can post. There is no public switch for a 90-minute upload. If a brand already pays for a placement, the test does not require the video to leave other platforms.
- Keep a horizontal master that fits inside 90 minutes, so an invite is not the day you start the edit.
- Cut a Reel from the same episode. That is the format the sources still call core, and it is the format that can later point at the Feature.
- If a brand already pays for a placement, keep it. Lyons said that branded content can come into the video, and the test does not demand exclusivity.
- Leave the YouTube copy up if you want it there. The Hollywood Reporter reported no exclusivity, unlike Netflix podcast deals.
- Do not look for a settings switch. The sources do not describe one.
Where can I read the related creator notes?
- The Edits assistant is live for US creators.
- The Edits carousel editor is open on iOS.
- Platform updates on the P2P Labs blog.
- Creator services, if you want help cutting the film or the Reel while the upload stays closed.
- Contact P2P Labs.
What else are people asking about Instagram Features?
People keep asking whether a settings switch exists, whether Indonesia is in the upload test, whether the same video can stay on YouTube, and whether this replaces IGTV. The short version: the upload is still a closed US test, and the pay model is not published.
Is there a settings switch for Instagram Features?
No. Instagram has not published a control that lets every account upload a 90-minute Feature. The test that opened on 26 October 2026 covers selected creators in the United States, after a test in Brazil. The Hollywood Reporter reported a plan to widen that group to tens of thousands of US creators. Without an invite, the upload stays closed.
Can I upload a Feature from Indonesia?
The upload test that opened on 26 October 2026 is for selected creators in the United States. A Brazil test came before that. A separate test puts live video in the Reels tab in Indonesia and Brazil, with a United States plan named for next year. That live test is not permission to upload a 90-minute Feature.
Can the same video stay on YouTube?
Yes. Tessa Lyons, Instagram's vice president of product, told The Hollywood Reporter there is no exclusivity around putting these videos on Instagram. That is different from Netflix deals for podcasts, which can lock a show to one place. A creator in the Features test can keep the same episode on YouTube.
Will Instagram recommend a Feature on Explore?
The Hollywood Reporter reported that these videos will be recommended on Instagram's Explore page and in other areas. That is a distribution plan for the test, not a promise that every viewer in every country will see one. A recommendation is also not the same thing as permission for that viewer to upload.
Did Features replace IGTV?
No. TechCrunch describes IGTV, Instagram's earlier long-video product, as defunct. Features is a separate test announced on 26 October 2026 for horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. Posting a Reel, or waiting on an invite, does not turn an old IGTV archive back on.
How long can an Instagram Feature be?
In this test, a Feature can be a horizontal video of up to 90 minutes. Instagram announced that length on 26 October 2026. The Hollywood Reporter described a typical Reel as around three minutes or less, which is a habit of the feed, not a published cap on every video. The 90-minute length applies to Features in the test.
Who announced Instagram Features?
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the test in a video on 26 October 2026, with Tessa Lyons, vice president of product. Mosseri said he had been against long-form video on Instagram. Lyons had argued for the test. TechCrunch and The Hollywood Reporter both reported the announcement that day.
Which reports is this based on?
- The Hollywood Reporter, Caitlin Huston, 26 October 2026. The product name, the US test, the Brazil test, the "tens of thousands" plan, Explore, the early creators, the Lyons quotes, TV apps, Series, and live video in the Reels tab.
- TechCrunch, Amanda Silberling, 26 October 2026. The announcement video, Clips as Reels, the Meta spokesperson on pay, Mosseri's comment on the Colin and Samir Show, and the note that IGTV is defunct.
- Instagram announcement video, 26 October 2026. Mosseri and Lyons. Colin and Samir Show, the interview TechCrunch quotes on how Instagram pay works today.