Instagram announces new video editing app amid CapCut ban
What's the story
Instagram head Adam Mosseri has announced its new video editing software, Edits.
The announcement came on the same day when ByteDance-owned social media platform TikTok and video editing software CapCut, were removed from App Store and Play Store in the US.
"Now, there's a lot going on in the world right now and no matter what happens, we think it's our job to create the most compelling creative tools," Mosseri said during his announcement.
App features
Edits: A tool for short-form video creators
Edits will be launched on iOS next month, with an Android version following later.
The software will let users create and edit videos, share them on Instagram, and monitor their Instagram Reels analytics.
"It's not for people who are using desktop apps. It's not for people who look for templates. It's for people who use their phone to make short-form videos," Mosseri explained about the target audience of Edits.
Advanced features
Support for AI animation and generative captions
The first version of Edits will support the creation of videos up to 10 minutes long in 1080p resolution.
It will also offer AI animation, generative captions, and overlays like text, sound and voice effects, filters and stickers.
Mosseri admitted the first version of Edits will be "incomplete," but promised it will be updated over time.
Software comparison
Edits and CapCut: Two distinct video editing software
While Edits is a product of Instagram, a subsidiary of Meta, CapCut is owned by ByteDance.
CapCut became unavailable in the US as of Sunday afternoon due to the same federal legislation that imposed a ban on TikTok.
In early 2024, President Joe Biden signed a legislation into law requiring ByteDance to divest its platforms by January 19 this year.
While TikTok later announced the restoration of its platform in the US, CapCut and Lemon8 still remain inactive.