On Tuesday, Instagram said it is making changes to the videos it recommends in the dedicated Reels tab on the home screen, including not showing videos with watermarks or logos from other platforms as often.
“We’ve heard in research that people have a less satisfying experience when they see content that has been recycled from other apps or is blurry and low resolution. That’s why we’re making this content less discoverable in places like the Reels tab,” Devi Narasimhan, a Facebook (FB) spokesman told CNN Business.
Instagram doesn’t mention TikTok by name, but CNN Business has previously reported that it’s normal to see one TikTok video after another while scrolling through Reels. Some influencers have also acknowledged that they are reposting their TikToks on Reels.
“It really diminishes the experience when people just promote their TikToks with the logo in Reels,” said Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of influencer marketing firm BEN. “Instagram has become a TikTok farm.”
While these types of videos are not as commonly recommended in the Roles tab, they are still shown to the user’s followers through their profile or in the feed.
Instagram launched Reels in the United States in August, but the TikTok clone struggled to gain traction. Still, Instagram has doubled down on the feature, giving Reels its own button on the home screen and adding more tools such as additional editing capabilities.
Social media experts have cited several reasons why Reels hasn’t taken off, including the cultural impact of TikTok, its powerful content recommendation algorithm, and the fact that the app is much more targeted than Instagram’s, which is a growing list. of competing video offers.
Snapchat, which launched its own spin on TikTok under the name “Spotlight” last year, does not allow users to upload watermarked videos from various platforms.