July 20, 2026

Instagram enables download of public Reels in the US

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Instagram introduced Reels in 2020, and since then, this feature’s popularity has grown, reaching over 2.35 billion monthly active users. Now, Instagram is rolling out a new feature for its users in the US.

Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, announced on his broadcast channel that the company will allow users to download Reels to their camera roll. The process is simple: just tap the share button and select the download option.

It’s important to note that only Reels from public accounts can be downloaded, and even if you have a public account, you can choose to turn off the Reel download option.

Mosseri did not mention whether the downloaded Reels would have watermarks, but based on the picture he uploaded, it is safe to assume that downloaded Reels will indeed bear watermarks, much like they do right now.

Currently, every Instagram user can download and share their own Reels on different platforms. However, with this new feature, users will also be able to share other people’s Reels on platforms like TikTok, for example.

TikTok has had this feature for years, and videos with the TikTok logo are now prevalent on various social platforms, contributing to the Chinese video-sharing app’s increasing popularity.

It’s worth noting that although videos with TikTok’s logo are no longer promoted by Instagram’s algorithms, their number on the platform remains substantial. With this new update, there is a chance for Instagram’s logo to appear frequently on its rival platforms as well.

While it is likely that this feature will eventually be available for users worldwide, the exact timeline for its global release remains unknown. We will have to wait and see when that happens.

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