On Wednesday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced that the platform is now permitting all users globally to download public reels to their devices. Previously, reels could only be saved within the Instagram app itself for later viewing, rather than externally stored.
According to Mosseri’s Instagram broadcast, downloaded reels will display an Instagram watermark with the account username, similar to TikTok’s downloaded content watermarking. Users can tap the share button on a reel and then select the download option to save that reel to their device. Accounts have the ability to disable downloading for their reels via the Settings > Privacy > Reels and Remix section by toggling off “Allow people to download your reels.”
Importantly, if a reel utilizes a licensed audio clip, the downloaded video file will not include any audio. Only reels created with original audio tracks will retain sound when downloaded locally. Additionally, you can also read about- Instagram Rolls Out New Creative Editing Features
Initially introduced for US-based users this past June, this global rollout now makes the Reels downloading functionality available to Instagram’s userbase worldwide.
In 2021, Instagram ceased recommending clips displaying a TikTok watermark to deter reuse. Similarly, in August 2022, YouTube began watermarking downloaded shorts to limit their distribution on other platforms.
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