Instagram is testing a Picture-in-Picture feature for Reels, allowing users to watch videos while using other apps.
The feature aims to boost user engagement by aligning Instagram's functionality with competitors like TikTok and YouTube.
The test is currently available to a small number of users, with no confirmed date for a wider rollout.
Instagram is testing a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) feature for Reels that lets users watch videos in a floating window while using other apps, as first reported by TechCrunch. The move is designed to boost user engagement by bringing Instagram's functionality in line with competitors like TikTok and YouTube.
Spotted in the wild: The test was first discovered by app researcher Radu Oncescu and is being rolled out to a small number of users, who are greeted with a pop-up to try the new functionality.
Playing catch-up: The addition is a long-overdue move to match features already standard on TikTok and YouTube. For creators, it's a new tool to hold a viewer's notoriously short attention span, a win that could also boost Instagram's own time-on-app metrics.
A long time coming: The move follows comments made back in March by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who said in response to a user question that he would “talk to the team and see if we can figure something out.”
The PiP test brings Instagram to feature parity, but the company hasn’t said if or when a wider rollout might happen. While testing PiP, Instagram is also reportedly working to improve its search feature to allow users to find content, not just accounts. The current PiP test is also strictly for video playback, not a tool for creating PiP-style videos within the app.
