Instagram Will Soon Allow Others Put a Spin on Your Reels

Instagram is developing a new "Spins" feature for Reels, its version of short videos like TikTok. Right now, a software engineer named Alessandro Paluzzi found that Spins would let other people change the words or sounds in your Reel. Instagram said it's just an idea for now and not ready for real users to try.

With Spins, someone could take your Reel and tweak it to make it their own. For example, if you posted a funny video of your dog yawning with the caption "Me on Monday mornings," someone else could reuse that video. But they could swap the words to say "Me trying to stay awake in class" instead.

Instagram thinks Spins could start trends on Reels. People may make "templates" that others copy and remix. The original creator would still get credit each time anyone "spins" their Reel. There would be a new "Spins" button so you can choose to allow it or not for each Reel you share.

Spins is different from "Remix," where two videos play side by side. With Spins, it's more about building on someone's idea together in a playful way. Remix is for commenting on the original.

If Spins launches, it could set Reels apart from rivals like TikTok. TikTok users can't currently change each other's videos like this. Only time will tell if Instagram goes ahead with rolling out Spins for real or not. But it shows they're thinking of new ways for the viral videos on Reels to spread even further online.