Instagram has installed a new privacy setting which will default all new and existing underage accounts to an automatic private mode.
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Instagram users will now be able to watch Reels short-form videos on bigger screens.
Meta said Tuesday that the company will begin testing its Instagram for TV app in the U.S. via Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, underscoring the photo-sharing app’s effort to become a major video platform beyond smartphones, taking on TikTok and YouTube.
The Instagram for TV app features the company’s TikTok-like Reels videos that are often produced by individual creators to be viewed, shared and algorithmically recommended to users on the platform.
Tessa Lyons, Instagram vice president of product, told CNBC in an interview that Meta plans to expand the new TV app to other device makers, though she didn’t name them. She said the company is currently prioritizing “a great experience” rather than the immediate expansion of its giant ad business on TV.
“We think we probably have a lot more work to do to really make sure that we’re bringing people the content they love on mobile in a way that really makes sense for them and feels designed for TV,” Lyons said. “That’s where we’re going to be focused in 2026 as well as bringing it to more people and more devices, and, down the line, we’ll certainly think more about monetization.”
The Reels displayed on the TV app “will still continue to be vertical videos” instead of being reformatted to accommodate a television’s more horizontal design, Lyons said.
Lyons said the new Instagram TV app will stick with short form, showing Reels videos “that are three minutes or less.” Meta previously debuted a separate, video-specific variant of Instagram, dubbed IGTV, in 2018 that let people upload long-form videos. The company shut the mobile app down in 2022, when it began heavily pushing Reels as TikTok’s popularity soared.
“Down the line, we’ll think about if we want to move into slightly longer content,” Lyons said.
App users will be able to see a selection of Reels that have been collected into channels that are based on specific interests like sports, music, travel and other topics.
Customers can add five individual Instagram accounts to a single, shared TV-specific Instagram account, but the company said it would “apply content standards suitable for a broad audience,” which would likely keep teenagers from being recommended Reels containing videos related to drugs, alcohol and sexualized content.
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