Instagram is testing long-form video. On 26 October 2026 its head, Adam Mosseri, said the app is trying out a new format called Features that lets selected creators post horizontal clips of up to 90 minutes, as reported by Social Media Today. Mosseri has long said he was against long-form video on Instagram, so the test is a change from his previously stated position. It is a test, though, not a general launch, and no Malaysian test has been announced.
Quick facts
- What: a new Instagram format called Features, for horizontal video. Ninety minutes is the longest length reported in the test.
- Who: selected creators in Brazil and a limited United States test, which reporting says Instagram plans to widen to tens of thousands of American creators.
- Malaysia: no launch date announced as of 26 October 2026, and no published eligibility list.
- Reels: a Reel is generally not recommended to people who do not follow you once it runs longer than three minutes. That is a distribution rule, not an upload limit, so longer uploads are still allowed, they are just less likely to be shown to new viewers.
- Money: Instagram has not announced a general revenue-share scheme for Features creators. YouTube already shares ad revenue with eligible creators.
- Funnel: up to 8 vertical Reels can link to one Feature, working as trailers for the full video.
Mosseri announced the test on 26 October 2026 in a horizontal video posted with Tessa Lyons, Instagram's vice president of product, again per Social Media Today. "For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram," he said in that announcement. That reverses his own position, though it is not Instagram's first try at long video: it ran a standalone IGTV app for years before discontinuing it in 2022 and folding that video back into the main app. Features is horizontal and long, closer in shape to a YouTube video than to a Reel.
The two numbers measure different things, which is the point. The 3-minute figure is a distribution rule: to be pushed to people who do not already follow you, a Reel generally needs to run under 3 minutes. The 90-minute figure is an upload ceiling for the new format, enough for a documentary, a podcast episode or a lecture. Features is being trialled with a small group of creators in Brazil and a limited rollout in the United States that reporting says Instagram plans to widen to tens of thousands of American creators, per Online Tech Tips. As of 26 October 2026 there is no published eligibility list and no Malaysia date.
For a Malaysian creator, the useful question is what changes if Features does reach Malaysia. On money, the honest position today is that YouTube is the clearer bet, though the comparison is between an established programme and an early test: YouTube shares advertising revenue with eligible creators through its Partner Programme, so a long video that pulls views can also pull income, part of why we have covered YouTube's moves to reward original work. Instagram, by contrast, has not announced a general revenue share for Features as of 26 October 2026. Social Media Today reported Lyons saying Instagram is working on several creator deals, and that established creators can bring existing branded-content arrangements, so some participants may earn. There is still no public revenue-share scheme a Malaysian creator could count on today.
What Instagram is offering instead is reach and a funnel. Up to 8 short vertical Reels can link to a single Feature, working as trailers that pull a scroller into the longer video, per Online Tech Tips. For a creator who already has an Instagram following but a thin YouTube channel, that is a running start on an audience. It also sits alongside the Edits assistant Instagram gave creators last month, which suggests ideas and hooks rather than cutting the footage for you.
Instagram has announced no Malaysian test, and has not said when one might come, or whether local creators would earn from it if it did. Our read, while the money question is open: a long video still makes more sense on the platform that can share advertising revenue with eligible creators, unless a creator is using it to drive sponsorships, sales or sign-ups rather than ad income. The day Instagram says how Features pays is the day that calculation is worth redoing.
