Instagram Features: YouTube’s New Rival

Instagram Tests 90-Minute Features Videos, Taking Aim at YouTube’s Creator Model

Instagram is testing a new long-form video format called Features, which lets select creators upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, a clear move that expands the platform beyond short-form Reels and positions it more directly against YouTube. The rollout is still limited, but the early details show Instagram is experimenting with both creator distribution and monetization, including ad support, without confirming a YouTube-style revenue-share model.

What Instagram’s Features Format Is

Features is Instagram’s new long-form video test, designed for horizontal content that better fits podcasts, interviews, comedy specials, and other formats that do not work as naturally in Reels. The feature is currently being tested with select creators in the U.S., after earlier testing in Brazil, and it appears intended to keep more long-form viewing inside Instagram rather than sending audiences to YouTube.

• Supports horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.
• Targets creators making podcasts, interviews, comedy, and other episodic content.
• Connects short Reels clips to full-length videos inside the app.
• Appears in Instagram’s feed and Explore surfaces for discovery.

Why Instagram Is Challenging YouTube

Instagram’s push into 90-minute videos signals a broader strategy to compete for creator attention, viewer time, and long-form advertising revenue. By offering a format that can host full episodes and longer storytelling, Instagram is trying to become a destination for both short clips and premium long-form content, which has traditionally been YouTube’s strongest territory.

The key competitive angle is distribution. Instagram can use its existing social graph, Reels discovery, and in-app linking to move users from short clips to full videos without leaving the platform. That creates a tighter viewing loop for creators and a new pathway for brands to reach audiences inside Instagram’s ecosystem.

What It Means for Creator Monetization

Instagram is not promising a YouTube-style ad revenue-sharing system for Features. Reports indicate that existing ad and branded-content deals may carry over into the longer videos, while Instagram is also exploring ways for creators to earn through brands, fans, and platform-based incentives.

• Existing ad deals can carry over into Features videos.
• Instagram may help creators without current brand deals find new ones.
• No ad revenue-share program has been confirmed.
• Instagram says it is still exploring long-term monetization options.

That means the early monetization model looks closer to brand partnerships and creator-specific deals than a broad, automated payout system. For creators, this could be promising if Instagram builds strong ad demand around long-form content, but it also leaves uncertainty about predictable earnings compared with YouTube’s established model.

How Features Could Change Content Strategy

If the rollout expands, Features could influence how creators package content across Instagram. Longer videos may encourage more podcast clips, serialized interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and repurposed YouTube-style uploads, all optimized to keep viewers inside the app.

This could also change how creators use Reels. Instead of treating Reels as the end product, creators may use short clips as top-of-funnel discovery assets that funnel viewers into a full-length Features video. That makes Instagram more than a short-form platform, it becomes a layered video ecosystem.

Conclusion

Instagram’s 90-minute Features test is one of its boldest moves yet in the creator economy, blending long-form video, social discovery, and possible ad support into a format that directly challenges YouTube. The biggest unanswered question is monetization, and whether Instagram can turn this experiment into a creator-friendly business model with scale.