Highlights

• Instagram Launches ‘Edits’ App as the new video editing tool designed to rival TikTok’s CapCut.
• The new app features AI-powered effects, advanced editing features, Reels-friendly options, integration with Instagram’s music library and watermark-free exports.
• Ex-Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom says that Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a threat to Facebook’s growth.

Caption – Instagram’s new editing app is now available on App Store and Google Play. (Image credit – Meta)

Instagram is officially rolling out its new video editing app called Edits, which is meant to compete with TikTok’s popular editing tool, CapCut.

Meta first teased the app earlier this year, just as TikTok and other ByteDance apps were temporarily removed from Apple and Google’s app stores. Now, as questions around TikTok’s future continue, Meta is pushing ahead and hoping to attract more creators to its platforms with this new tool.

You can now download Edits from both the App Store and Google Play.

The app offers much more advanced editing features than what Instagram has had so far. With the in-app camera, creators can record up to 10 minutes of video in “enhanced quality.” It also includes fan-favourite effects like green screen, plus access to Instagram’s massive music library.

And since AI is a big part of Meta’s current strategy, Edits comes with some AI-powered tools too. The “animate” feature turns still photos into short videos, and “cutouts” lets you isolate people or objects with detailed tracking.

One major plus over CapCut is that Edits doesn’t add a watermark to exported videos, something Instagram avoids since watermarked videos often get downranked on the platform.

Even though CapCut is already back online in the U.S., Meta is making Edits more Instagram-friendly to draw in Reels creators. That includes in-app analytics for posts and the option to use audio tracks saved in Instagram.

And this is just the beginning. Meta says Edits is “the first step,” and that it plans to work closely with creators to build even more features in the future.

Ex-Instagram CEO Says Zuckerberg Thought Instagram Was a “Threat”

In other Instagram news, the company’s former CEO and Co-founder Kevin Systrom testified this week in Meta’s ongoing antitrust trial. His testimony gave an inside look at the rocky relationship between Instagram and Facebook after Meta (then Facebook) bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion.

Systrom, who led Instagram until 2018, said that Mark Zuckerberg saw the photo-sharing app as a direct competitor. “He believed we were a threat to their growth,” Systrom testified, and added that Zuckerberg wasn’t investing enough in Instagram, even as it grew rapidly.

According to The New York Times, Systrom said Instagram had far fewer employees than Facebook, even after hitting 1 billion users. He also noted that Zuckerberg felt strongly about whether Instagram might be seen as better than Facebook, saying, “As the founder of Facebook, he felt a lot of emotion around which one was better, meaning Instagram or Facebook.”

While past reports have covered tension between Instagram’s founders and Zuckerberg, this is the first time Systrom has spoken publicly and in detail. He said those tensions were part of what led him to leave the company, and claimed Zuckerberg thought Instagram was “hurting Facebook’s growth,” according to Bloomberg.

FAQs

Q1. What is Instagram’s new Edits app, and how does it compare to CapCut?

Answer. Instagram’s Edits app is a video editing tool designed to compete with TikTok’s CapCut. It offers AI-powered effects, watermark-free exports, and better integration with Instagram’s platform, making it appealing for Reels creators.

Q2. Why did Meta launch Edits now?

Answer. Meta introduced Edits as TikTok and other ByteDance apps faced temporary removal from app stores. With TikTok’s uncertain future, Meta aims to attract more creators by offering advanced editing features.

Q3. What did former Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom say about Zuckerberg?

Answer. Systrom testified that Mark Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a “threat” to Facebook’s growth and wasn’t investing enough in it. He also noted that tensions with Zuckerberg contributed to his decision to leave the company.

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