Instagram is working on a “spin” feature for Reels, its short video TikTok clone, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. This feature was first discovered by Reverse Engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, allowing other users to exchange text or audio within the reels. Instagram says Spins is an internal prototype and has not been tested externally.
This feature allows users to create templates to start trends that others can use to put their own creative spin on them. If you have a trending template created by someone, you can swap out the text or audio to change the meaning to suit different scenarios. For example, you can record a video of your dog yawning and share it with the text “Monday morning me.” If you turn on Spin, someone else can reshare your video and replace the text with something like, “Trying to stay awake in class.”
According to a screenshot posted by Paluzzi, it appears that every time someone creates a spin, the creator gets credit for the original reel, allowing them to reach a wider audience. The screenshot also shows that users can toggle this feature on and off on different reels via a “spin” toggle that appears before publishing a reel.
#Instagram Continue working on “Spin” #reel 👀
ℹ️ Allow others to exchange text and audio in your Reels. Every additional spin will reach your audience. pic.twitter.com/W3DIgWAeuT
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 12, 2024
Spins should not be confused with Reels' existing “Remix” feature. This is a clone of TikTok's Duet feature, which appears alongside the original video within the video and allows you to provide comments and reactions. Spin, on the other hand, allows for a bit more collaborative fun and creativity.
Once this new feature is released, Reels users and viewers will have access to features not available on TikTok. Given that Reels is essentially a copycat of his TikTok and has the same features, the addition of Spins would introduce a differentiating factor, albeit a small one, between the two products.
As with other internal prototypes, it's unclear when or if Instagram plans to release Spins to the public.