Long-form video test
Instagram Features: Plan Long-Form Video for the New Test
Instagram Features is an early test for longer videos that sit beside Reels, Series, Live, and TV. The October test includes horizontal videos up to 90 minutes for selected creators, plus as many as eight short clips that can lead viewers to one full episode. Most accounts do not have access, so plan the story and its discovery clips before changing your publishing calendar.
Published and reviewed by the Roastagram team ·
Separate the test from ordinary Reels
Features is Instagram's working name for long-form video. Adam Mosseri described it as an early investment and said Instagram is testing and listening to feedback. Coverage of the October 26 announcement reports a small United States test, horizontal uploads up to 90 minutes, and a Clips as Reels option that connects as many as eight short clips to one longer video.
A regular Reel still has its own creation and recommendation rules. Do not describe every longer Reel as a Feature, and do not promise that an account can upload 90 minutes. Check the publish screen available to the exact account.
Primary source: Adam Mosseri on Instagram, longer video and Features announcement, October 26, 2026. Test limits were cross-checked against contemporaneous coverage from Variety and TechCrunch on October 26, 2026.
Give the full episode one question
Longer running time helps when the viewer needs evidence, sequence, or several voices. An investigation into an advertising trial could move from the claim, to the documents, to the people affected, then to the unresolved question. It should still answer one clear question. A loose collection of short-post ideas will feel longer without becoming more useful.
Write a one-sentence promise before the outline. Divide the evidence into chapters that can be named plainly. If a section repeats the same point, cut it. If the subject only needs a concise explanation, publish a Reel instead of stretching it into an episode.
Build chapters that survive outside the full video
A public-service interview or report may need an opening summary, source context, the main exchange, and a closing update. Record clean transitions between those parts. A viewer joining from a short clip needs to understand where that moment belongs without replaying the entire introduction.
Put names, dates, locations, and source labels on screen when they matter. Add captions and review translated names manually. For a multilingual newsroom, a clipped sentence must keep enough context to remain accurate in the language and format where it appears.
Plan the eight possible clips before filming
The reported test allows up to eight short clips to point to one long video. That is a ceiling, not a target. Choose only moments that work as complete short videos and give each clip a different reason to continue.
- State the episode's question in one concrete sentence.
- Show the strongest piece of visible evidence.
- Use one answer that changes the direction of the story.
- Clarify a term the full episode depends on.
- Show a process, location, or demonstration that benefits from video.
- Answer one likely objection without giving away the whole conclusion.
- Introduce a later chapter through a precise unresolved detail.
- Publish a useful update after the episode when the facts change.
A clip should make sense by itself, use a readable vertical crop, and point to the full episode honestly. Avoid cutting a dramatic sentence away from the evidence that qualifies it.
Shoot horizontal footage with the phone crop in mind
Meta began testing a dedicated home for horizontal video on Instagram for TV before the October Features announcement. A long interview can use a wider frame, but its discovery clips still need to work on a phone. Keep the speaker and important demonstration near a safe central area, record enough resolution for a vertical crop, and avoid placing essential text at the far edges.
Make one horizontal master rather than stretching a vertical export. Record clean audio as a separate priority. Viewers may tolerate a simple picture during a strong interview, but muffled speech makes a long episode hard to follow on any screen.
Primary source: Meta Newsroom, Instagram for TV horizontal and longer-form tests, June 22, 2026.
Use a safe fallback while access is limited
Keep the original master, captions, transcript, sources, and chapter notes outside Instagram. If the account does not have Features, turn the idea into a restrained Instagram content series or publish the strongest self-contained section as a regular Reel.
A limited test can change or disappear. Build material that remains useful when the upload control, limit, or TV route changes. The subject and evidence should determine the edit, not the novelty of a new button.
Instagram Features questions
What are Instagram Features?
Features is Instagram's name for an early long-form video test. Instagram says it is investing in longer videos that work beside Reels, Series, Live, and TV. Access is limited, so most accounts will not see a Features upload control.
How long can an Instagram Feature be?
Reporting on Instagram's October 26 announcement says the test includes horizontal videos up to 90 minutes for selected creators. Treat that as a test limit rather than a standard upload limit for every account.
How do people find a long Instagram Feature?
Selected creators can connect up to eight short clips to one longer video. Those clips work as Reels that introduce a specific moment and point viewers to the full Feature.
Should I make a 90-minute video now?
Only if your account has access and the subject earns the time. Build a complete outline and source file first. Most creators can test the same idea as a Reel series or a shorter three-minute Reel while the Features test remains limited.
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