Instagram begins testing a full-screen version of feeds, similar to TikTok

(Image Courtesy: Instagram/Meta)

Instagram has begun testing a new full screen version of the feed, that is similar to TikTok. Meta's growing insistence on being more like TikTok have led to it borrowing a lot of features from the popular Chinese content hosting service, owned by ByteDance.

The feed has actually been in testing since last month, but the updated version that Mark Zuckerberg shared through his account now shows the posts go completely full screen.

Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg said that a short-video service like Instagram Reels would be instrumental in taking on the likes of TikTok, which has over 1 billion active monthly users. He said that Meta faced "unprecedented level of competition," from TikTok.

This has bought a lot of changes for Instagram, like Reels which enables users to post 15-second videos, Remix which is a Reels feature that allows users to record new videos mixed with videos from others, and Visual Replies, which is yet another Reels feature that lets users comment on videos.

Meta has also made it clear that they will start inserting more Reels and algorithmic content into user feeds, and the platform itself will pivot to videos in place of images.

"We want to make it easier to discover content and connect with friends," wrote Zuckerberg in his tweet. He said that Instagram still values photos and they were, "an important part of Instagram," and they were, "working on ways to improve the way they show up in a full-screen Feed too."

For now, the new full screen mode is in limited testing and, "Some people will start seeing this test soon."