Reels, TikTok clone by Facebook on Instagram is expected to roll out in early August to users. Reels, which will be located inside of the app’s Stories feature, let users film and edit short-form videos with audio and music soundtracks similar to what users already do on TikTok. Facebook tested Reels with users in Brazil in November, before rolling out last month to France and Germany.
The Indian government recently has banned new user downloads of TikTok and other Chinese apps cause of border disputes with China. However, in the US, the Trump administration is weighing a country-wide ban on TikTok due to its ties to China. This is because the TikTok app’s parent company which is ByteDance is based in China. Despite TikTok is getting banned in a few countries, it has more than 2 billion global downloads, and the estimated US userbase for this ap app is as high as 80 million.
There are certain companies out there that have come out with apps similar to TikTok, yet none to successfully rival TikTOk’s viral reach. But Facebook looks like it’s putting its full weight behind Reels and targeting among younger audience and success with clocking other platform’s big features such as Snapchat and turned it into Instagram’s Stories.
Source: Business Insider