Instagram deletes IGTV button from the app because it wasn't being used. Here's what changes for users
IGTV is one of the many features introduced by Instagram in recent years. It allows users to post videos longer than 60 seconds. As of a few days ago, the app removed the button that allows you to access the channel from the main interface.
The icon used to be located in the upper right corner, but now it no longer exists. It was the digital platform TechCrunch that noticed its absence, which was later confirmed by a spokesperson for the company Facebook Inc. What is the reason for its elimination? Does Instagram want to introduce more features? For the moment there are only speculations and there is no confirmation from the company. One thing is certain: the social network doesn't want to lose its primacy and is thinking of new strategies to not let TikTok take away users. All that remains is to understand what will be the future of IGTV.
Instagram wants to eliminate IGTV?
IGTV is the internal channel introduced by Instagram in June 2018. As the name implies, it's meant to be a real TV where users can upload longer videos than those allowed in the feed, which currently have a 60-second limit. Originally, it was meant to compete directly with similar platforms, first and foremost YouTube. Unfortunately, then TikTok came along and took the lead among social networks dedicated to videos.
Until now, it was possible to access IGTV videos from the main screen of the app, however, since a few days the famous button has disappeared and has done so quietly. Mark Zuckerberg's company did not release any announcement about it: the novelty was noticed by the TechCrunch platform. Later, a company spokesperson confirmed the decision to remove the button because it wasn't being used by users. People access long videos from other sections of the app such as personal and business profiles and the Explore section where you can also see previews of many movies. Not to mention that there is the stand-alone app dedicated entirely to IGTV. For this reason, the button has been eliminated: the goal is to make the app smarter and easier to manage.
Will IGTV and long videos be leveraged to curb TikTok?
For now, IGTV remains one of the app's pivotal features, although there are rumors that starting in June 2020, the 60-second limit for videos in the feed will be lowered. As a result, users will be able to upload long videos to the wall and perhaps abandon IGTV.
Not to mention that, currently, the giant to defeat is TikTok, an app founded on mini-clips that has taken in many of the users coming from Instagram, especially younger kids. So here's where the company's focus is increasingly on video: what will be the moves to prevent the Chinese app from gaining primacy in the social world? We just have to wait for Instagram's next moves.