Instagram Realizes We Don't Love IGTV

IGTV will no longer display its dedicated icon at the top of Instagram's user interface, TechCrunch reports.

The long-form videos aren't totally disappearing from Instagram, though. Most users discover the clips in other areas of the app, and so Instagram has decided to pull the dedicated icon to streamline its overall design. Users will now discover IGTV-based content within their feed, the Explore tab, and creator profiles.

Creators can record and edit videos of up to 60 minutes in length for IGTV, but often they're much shorter. Instagram also encourages vertical video to be uploaded, not horizontal video. Still, it doesn't seem as if creators are rushing to diversify their content to include IGTV. There's no way for creators to monetize videos, and in turn lackluster content could be preventing viewers from sticking around.

"We've learned that most people are finding IGTV content through previews in Feed, the IGTV channel in Explore, creators' profiles and the standalone IGTV app," a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Very few people are clicking into the IGTV icon in the top right corner of the home screen in the Instagram app. We always aim to keep Instagram as simple as possible, so we're removing this icon based on these learnings and feedback from our community."

Since arriving eighteen months ago, the standalone IGTV app has earned only 7 million installations on iOS and Android. TechCrunch reports that, in the same period, competitor TikTok attracted 1.15 billion installations worldwide. In the United States specifically, there's also a significant gap between the apps. Compared to TikTok's 80.5 million U.S. installations during that period, IGTV generated just 1.1 million.

Of course, users don't need the IGTV app to watch videos. It's merely offered as a quicker method of access filtering out Instagram's traditional photos and short-form videos.

IGTV isn't set up as a direct threat to TikTok, but Instagram still wants to put pressure on ByteDance's app. Just last week, the platform added TikTok-like features to Boomerang clips. Additional features should roll out in the coming months, and then Instagram could ramp up its efforts to shake TikTok's global dominance.

Competitors such as TikTok and YouTube are problematic today, but Instagram also needs to focus on future players in video streaming. Quibi, which will deliver bite-sized videos, debuts in a few months. If the Facebook-owned social network wants to succeed in this area, it better start offering more complex features as well as enhanced monetization before competitors tear away at its coveted user base.

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