Reels Is Basically TikTok For Instagram & Everyone’s Making Jokes About It

At the beginning of August, Instagram released a new feature called Reels. The new addition to the photo-sharing app lets users create and share short videos, which might sound pretty familiar. It's so similar to TikTok that plenty of people are pointing out the clear comparisons. Here are 20 tweets about TikTok and Reels that poke fun at Instagram's latest launch.

Instagram launched Reels in over 50 countries, including the United States, on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The new feature comes as President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday, Aug. 6 banning China-based TikTok after 45 days from the order, saying that the United States must take "aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security."

On Instagram Reels, you can combine and edit different visuals, AR effects, and audio into 15-second "Reels" within the app. After you've created your video, you'll be able to share the clip on your Feed, Stories, with select friends, or via Direct Message. If you have a public Instagram profile, you can also opt to share your video clip on the new Reels Explore page, where you can be discovered by a larger audience. The page also lets users watch videos personalized to specific interests, similar to TikTok's feed.

Users who have tried out Reels are calling out Instagram for copying TikTok, and plenty of people are sharing their criticism of the feature. Check out the best tweets about the two apps to get a picture of how everyone's feeling about the latest Instagram update.

It looks like plenty of users are seeing TikTok videos popping up on Reels.

People are noting how Reels is shockingly similar to its competitor.

But Reels is also missing key features that TikTok has, such as downloading your Reel with music.

Some people are calling out Instagram for replicating features from other popular apps, with Reels being only the latest example.

Some declared they were just planning to stick with TikTok.

Even TikTok's official Twitter account got in on the fun with a shady tweet.

It looks like fans aren't ready to get behind Instagram's new launch yet. But with TikTok's ban in the United States coming into effect in September, Reels might just become the go-to alternative for video sharing.