Instagram is Testing Opening the App Directly to Reels, a TikTok-Style Shift
The social media giant is testing the feature in India.
When Instagram first launched back in 2010, it was the place to post a photo of your coffee, your new trainers, or a night out with friends. Fast forward more than a decade, and that photo-first identity has mostly faded. These days, Instagram is fighting for attention in a world where TikTok dominates the scrolling habits of younger users.
That shift explains why Instagram is testing a new experiment in India: opening the app straight onto Reels.
For a long time, Instagram was untouchable. In a 2018 Pew Research Center study, 72% of teenagers said they used the platform. But the rise of TikTok flipped the script. By Q1 of 2020, TikTok saw a peak of 315 million downloads. In response, Instagram rolled out Reels in August of the same year, hoping to claw back lost ground with short, snappy videos.
Now, the platform is pushing harder. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri confirmed that some users in India, who opt-in for the test, will see Reels as the default home tab. Instead of opening Instagram and seeing photos and posts, the first thing you’ll see is a stream of short-form videos, much like TikTok.
For people in the test group, Instagram will look mostly the same at first glance: stories at the top, DMs just a tap away, only difference is that when you scroll, instead of seeing more posts, you transition to the Reels tab. But the subtle change of making Reels the front door could reshape how you use the app. Scrolling through friends’ photos becomes secondary. Short videos take centre stage.
This isn’t Instagram’s first attempt at this shift. Its recently launched iPad app already opens directly onto Reels, and now the company is testing the same approach on mobile.
Emmanuel Umahi
This move also shows where Instagram’s priorities are. Reels and DMs have been its fastest-growing features, and Meta, Instagram’s parent company, is chasing growth wherever it can. With more than 3 billion monthly users across its platforms, Meta clearly believes the future of Instagram lies in video, not static posts.
Meanwhile, rivals like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat Spotlight are all doubling down on short videos. The market is booming. Analysts expect the global short-form video industry to double in size, hitting over $100 billion by 2032.
So this test isn’t just about user experience, it’s about growth. Instagram is signalling that it’s ready to fully embrace the short-video race, even if it means leaving behind the photo-first culture that once defined it.
Will this gamble work? That depends on how users react. If people welcome the change, Instagram may roll it out globally, accelerating its transformation into a video-first platform. But if loyal users feel alienated, the app risks drifting further from what made it popular in the first place.
By testing Reels as the new front door, Instagram is showing that photos are no longer the priority. For anyone who remembers the old Instagram, this could mark the moment the platform officially leaves its past behind.
Kelechi Edeh
