Instagram head Adam Mosseri took to the thread on Sunday to make yet another announcement this weekend. The timing certainly has nothing to do with TikTok or any other ByteDance-owned app going dark (briefly): a new free video editing app, called Editing, is in the works. Instagram Edits will cater to users who edit videos on their phones, offering a “full suite of creative tools.” This includes the usual editing tools, plus high-quality recordings, shareable drafts, trending audio, insights into your reel’s performance, and an “inspiration tab.”
If you’re reminded of CapCut, TikTok’s sister app for video editing, you’re not alone. In response to the off-the-cuff comparison, Mosseri called Edits “a CapCut, but more for creators than casual video makers.”
Edits isn’t available yet, but iOS users can pre-order it on the App Store, and Mosseri says an Android version is “coming soon.” He says it will be released in February, but the App Store page lists it as March 13th. And don’t expect too much polish upon release. “The first version will be incomplete, so please be patient, but we’re really excited to get this into your hands,” Mosseri said.
Edits app logo (Edits/App Store)
The announcement comes shortly after TikTok announced its app would be back online in the United States, just over 12 hours after it was shut down. CapCut has not been revived yet, but is expected to follow suit. President Trump said on social media that after he takes office, he will issue an executive order giving ByteDance more time to sort out TikTok’s future.
Threads users have criticized Instagram over the timing of the announcement, but Mosseri said the app has been in development for several months and “I think it’s going to end up looking quite different than CapCut.” Ta. In that regard, he says: “Editing will include a wider range of creative tools, but will likely target fewer users. Think about where you keep track of all your ideas, rather than templates. AI video editing tools Think clip by clip or video by video. Think of new insights into why your videos are succeeding or struggling.”
One way the editorial department seems to have an advantage, at least when it comes to CapCut, is that the App Store page states that there will be no watermark when exporting videos. CapCut’s free version has long added an easily removed ending logo to videos when exporting, and recently started adding corner watermarks as well.
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