Instagram Reportedly Developing A TikTok Copycat Feature Called ‘Clips’

After copying Snapchat’s hallmark Stories format to great success, Instagram may be looking to pilfer the latest platform favored by Gen Z: TikTok, which enables users to create 15-second videos comprising lip-syncing, comedy, hashtag challenges, and more.

Tech researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who uncovers unreleased app features by reversing engineering code, reports on her blog that Instagram has long been working on a new camera mode for Stories called ‘Clips’. Clips allows users to edit different videos into a single Story, and then overlay music as well as adjust speed — which are signature editing features for TikTok.

Manchun notes, however, that Clips does not yet appear to contain two other key features: the ability to add effects and filters. That said, she surmises that Facebook

could easily implement these capabilities via its existing augmented reality tech platform, Spark AR, which allows anyone to make their own AR filters and effects for Instagram.

“To me, this is unsurprising because TikTok is a rising star in the social media space, and Instagram/Facebook has shown the pattern of cloning features from competitors,” Manchun writes on her blog, though she notes that it’s possible that Instagram won’t ultimately press play on Clips. “Experimental features like this could come and go. The time it takes to develop and release one varies.”

You can check out several screencaps of the still-in-development feature, courtesy of Manchun, below: