# Instagram's Long-Form Video Test: What Features Means for Product Videos

> For product marketers and founders weighing where to publish demos: Instagram is testing 90-minute horizontal video, and here's what the limited test means before you change your publishing plan.

**Key takeaways**

- Instagram announced a test called Features on October 26, 2026, allowing horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.
- Instagram has not yet shared ad revenue with Features creators, unlike YouTube's Partner Program, which pays 55% of ad revenue.
- Product teams should keep posting short vertical Reels while saving a longer master cut for future use.

Published Oct 29, 2026 · uscale · https://uscale.ai/blog/instagram-features-long-form-video-product-videos

## From 90 seconds to 90 minutes

Instagram long form video, by Instagram's own rules, used to mean 90 seconds at most. The platform [has historically capped Reels at 60 to 90 seconds](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/329528/20261027/instagram-tests-features-its-first-deep-dive-long-form-videos-it-exclusive-us.htm). Then on Monday, October 26, 2026, Instagram [announced it is testing a new upload format called Features](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/watch-out-youtube-instagram-goes-from-short-form-to-90-minute-videos/): horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.

That is a move from 90 seconds to 90 minutes, on the app most product teams treat as the home of short, vertical cuts. For anyone making product videos, it raises a question the announcement doesn't answer: should the full demo go up too, or does the short cut still do the job?

[Video: Opening film for Ode à la Rose](https://uscale.ai/examples/ode-a-la-rose-film.mp4) — A product video built for one format today — the kind of film a Features-length cut could extend tomorrow.
The answer is less exciting than the headline.

## The short answer

**Features doesn't change where product teams should publish, because Instagram is still testing whether long-form attention is worth winning before it commits to paying creators for it. Until a revenue model and a rollout date exist, Features is a channel to watch, not one to build a publishing plan around.**

To see why, start with what Instagram is actually testing.

## What is Instagram Features, its long form video test?

Instagram Features is a new upload format for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, built into the main Instagram app. Instagram announced the test on Monday, October 26, 2026. Select U.S. creators got access that day, after the format had already been trialed with creators in Brazil. The U.S. group starts small, and Instagram plans to grow it to tens of thousands of creators.

For product teams, the companion tool, Clips as Reels, matters more. A creator can attach up to eight short Reels clips to one full-length Feature. Those linked Reels typically run about three minutes or less. A viewer who catches a teaser can move to the full video without leaving Instagram.

![How Clips as Reels connects short and long video: 1. Post a long-form Feature video 2. Cut short Reels clips as teasers 3. Link each clip to the full Feature 4. Viewer watches the full video without leaving the app](https://uscale.ai/blog-media/instagram-features-long-form-video-product-videos/steps-how-clips-as-reels-connects-short-and-lo-1200x360.svg)
This is not Instagram's first try at long video. IGTV launched as a standalone app in 2018 and shut down in 2022. Features lives inside the main app instead, next to the Reels people already scroll.

That design shows how Instagram sees the format. Short clips help people find the video, and the long video does the explaining. The Reel is the trailer, and the Feature is the full film. Anyone who has cut a product demo into teasers will recognize that split. The next question is why Instagram wants the long half now.

## Why Instagram is testing long-form video now: the payout gap with YouTube

Instagram is testing long-form video because creator money sits in long videos, and YouTube holds that ground. YouTube's Partner Program pays enrolled creators 55% of the ad revenue their videos earn. Instagram has not matched that payout model with short-form content. YouTube has also said it paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the prior four years.

![The creator economics Instagram is chasing: Share of ad revenue YouTube pays enrolled Partner Program creators 55%, Paid by YouTube to creators, artists and media companies over four years $100B+](https://uscale.ai/blog-media/instagram-features-long-form-video-product-videos/chart-the-creator-economics-instagram-is-chasi-1200x396.svg "Source: TechCrunch / Watch out, YouTube — Instagram goes from short-form to 90-minute videos, Oct 26, 2026")
The logic is simple. A creator who earns on YouTube from a full podcast episode has little reason to post that episode anywhere else. Features gives creators a place inside Instagram for the long cut. It is Instagram's attempt to compete for the creators and viewers it now sends elsewhere.

The test also reverses Instagram's own position. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said he had long been against long-form video because shorter Reels drive more shares and DMs. VP of Product Tessa Lyons convinced him to test the longer format.

The catch is that Instagram is not yet sharing ad revenue with creators who post Features, and it has not announced a long-term monetization model. **Instagram has built the place to post, but not the paycheck.** The paycheck is what decides whether creators, and the audiences product teams want to reach, actually move over.

That argues for patience. Still, a team sitting on a folder of long demos has a fair objection.

## Shouldn't a 90-minute format change where we publish now?

The case for moving early is a fair one. Instagram is testing horizontal video up to [90 minutes long](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/watch-out-youtube-instagram-goes-from-short-form-to-90-minute-videos/). Many product teams already have long demos and explainers that could fill that slot. New formats often have less competition for attention, and Instagram reaches a broad casual audience that few B2B channels can match. From that angle, waiting looks like giving up reach.

All of that can be true, and it still points to watching the test, not planning around it. Instagram clearly wants long-form attention, but it has not yet set the terms for this format:

| What a publishing plan needs | Where Features stands |
|---|---|
| Access | A [small group of creators in the U.S. and Brazil](https://indiantelevision.com/iworld/instagram-tests-features-to-expand-into-long-form-video-content/) |
| A rollout date | None. Instagram says only that it will expand ["in the coming months"](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-rolls-out-limited-features-test-in-the-us/872825/), and has not said whether a broad rollout will happen |
| Revenue share | [None yet](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/instagram-videos-90-minutes-apple-tv-not-paying-creators-1236931293/), and no long-term monetization model has been announced |

A publishing plan needs access, a date and some sign that the format will last. Features does not have any of the three yet. The early-mover argument is really an argument for being ready: keep the long cut on hand, and keep publishing where your audience watches today.

So what does being ready look like in practice?

## What product teams should do while Instagram tests Features

The test asks nothing of you yet. Three small moves keep you ready in case it opens up.

### Keep cutting short vertical clips

**Keep publishing short vertical cuts** for Instagram. Reels are still the format for discovery on the platform, and the test changes nothing for accounts outside the creator group. You're done when each new demo or explainer ships with a tall cut sized for Reels.

### Hold a longer master of every demo

**Save a longer horizontal master** of each product demo or explainer, next to its short versions. If Features opens to brand accounts, you re-export from the master instead of starting over. Until then, the same master already works on your launch page, on YouTube and in sales follow-ups.

The free route is the screen recorder you already have plus a script in a doc. If your product changes often, uscale saves the filmed tour with the project, so a new cut picks up the new screens without another filming day. You're done when each product has one folder that holds the long master and its short cuts.

For where a longer explainer sits in a buyer's path, see [B2B video marketing](https://uscale.ai/use-cases/b2b-video-marketing).

### Watch Instagram's own messaging

**Set a monthly reminder** to check Instagram's official announcements. Its messaging says the test will expand "in the coming months" and gives no fixed date. Act when a rollout date or revenue-share terms appear. You're done when the reminder is in your calendar and you keep a one-line note of what changed.

### If you do only one thing

This takes less than an hour. Pick your best short clip, find the long demo it came from, and file the two together. The pairing matches how Instagram's Clips as Reels test links short Reels to one full video.

Success means Reels still go out on schedule, a long master is ready for any new format, and you decide on Features once Instagram announces its terms.

**Try it:** [make B2B marketing videos](https://uscale.ai/use-cases/b2b-video-marketing) from your live product, with a long master and short cuts kept together.

## Watch the test, keep the master cut

Instagram spent years capping Reels at 60 to 90 seconds, and it is now testing videos up to 90 minutes long. That is worth watching. It is not yet worth rebuilding a publishing plan around. While the test runs:

- Keep posting short vertical cuts where Instagram discovery already works.
- Keep one longer master cut of each demo or explainer up to date.
- Follow Instagram's own rollout messaging, not the headlines.

If you are deciding how long that master cut should run, read [how long an AI-generated video can be](https://uscale.ai/blog/how-long-can-an-ai-generated-video-be) before you plan it. The [example films](https://uscale.ai/examples) show finished uscale cuts of real products, and [the credit packs](https://uscale.ai/pricing) list what each step costs. Your first uscale video is free.

A format test can wait. Your next demo shouldn't.

## Questions

### What is Instagram's Features format?

Instagram's Features format is a new upload type for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, built into the main Instagram app rather than a separate one. Instagram announced the test on October 26, 2026, after trialing it with creators in Brazil. A companion tool, Clips as Reels, lets a creator link up to eight short Reels to one full Feature, so viewers can move from a teaser to the full video.

### How long can an Instagram Features video be?

An Instagram Features video can run up to 90 minutes and is uploaded in horizontal format. That is a sharp change from Reels, which Instagram has historically capped at 60 to 90 seconds. Creators in the test can also link up to eight short Reels clips, typically about three minutes or less each, to one Feature, so short teasers point viewers to the full-length video.

### Is Instagram's 90-minute video test available to everyone?

No. Instagram's 90-minute Features test is limited to a small group of creators in the U.S. and Brazil. Instagram plans to grow the U.S. group to tens of thousands of creators, and its messaging says the test will expand in the coming months. It has given no fixed date, though, and has not said whether Features will roll out to all accounts.

### Does Instagram pay creators for Features videos the way YouTube does?

Not yet. Instagram is not sharing ad revenue with creators who post Features videos and has not announced a long-term monetization model for the format. YouTube's Partner Program, by contrast, pays enrolled creators 55% of the ad revenue their videos earn. YouTube also says it paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the prior four years.

### How much does it cost to make a long-form product video with uscale?

The cost of a uscale product video depends on the steps it needs. Each step, such as filming, writing or rendering, has its own price in credits, and films with AI film shots cost more. The director chat is free, and it names each price before it spends a credit. The first video is free, and the uscale pricing page lists current credit prices.

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Source: https://uscale.ai/blog/instagram-features-long-form-video-product-videos