Instagram Updates: Collabs, Music for Reels, Desktop Posting & More

Instagram Announces New Features for Feed and Reels

A suite of updates is being deployed this week by Instagram, impacting both the primary Instagram Feed and the short-form video platform, Reels. These creator-centric enhancements will facilitate collaboration between users, provide avenues for fundraising, and improve the utilization of music within Reels content.

Furthermore, the Instagram desktop website is receiving a significant usability upgrade. Users will now be able to directly upload both photographs and videos, provided they are under one minute in duration, through their web browser.

Desktop Posting Now Available

This desktop posting capability, long requested by the user base, will be accessible globally starting Thursday, October 21, according to the company.

Initial testing of this feature occurred during the summer months, but widespread availability was not implemented until now.

Collaborative Posts with “Collabs”

The rollout of new features commences today with the introduction of “Collabs.”

Instagram characterizes this as a “test” feature, designed to enable co-authorship of both Feed posts and Reels. Users can invite another account to collaborate directly from the tagging interface within the app.

Upon acceptance by the invited user, both accounts will be prominently displayed in the post or Reel header, and the content will be shared with the followers of both accounts.

Although officially announced today, many Instagram users had already observed the feature in operation, as a limited global test began in July.

Instagram previously indicated that access to this initial test was restricted to a small segment of users, with no firm timeline for broader implementation.

When creators choose to collaborate, the post or Reel will be visible on both Profile Grids, and will share metrics such as view count, likes, and comments.

Fundraising Enhancements

Beginning Wednesday, Instagram will initiate testing of a streamlined process for creating fundraisers benefiting nonprofit organizations.

This new feature integrates directly into the creation button (the “+” icon located in the top right corner of the screen). Selecting this option will present users with the choice to initiate a fundraiser, rather than simply creating a Post, Story, Reel, or Live video.

Users will then be able to select a nonprofit organization and add the fundraiser to their Feed post.

Instagram has previously supported fundraising initiatives, including incorporating support for nonprofit fundraising during live broadcasts last year. However, a dedicated, easily accessible fundraising creation tool directly from the user profile was previously unavailable.

Developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi had previously discovered and shared information about this new fundraiser button in development back in September.

New Reels Music Features

Two additional features are designed to enrich the experience of using music within Instagram Reels.

On Thursday, Instagram will launch two new effects – Superbeat and Dynamic Lyrics – to assist creators in editing and performing with music on Reels. Superbeat will intelligently synchronize special effects with the rhythm of the selected song, while Dynamic Lyrics will display three-dimensional lyrics that move in time with the song’s beat.

These additions mirror similar interactive music effects introduced by TikTok in April, which included several visually synchronized effects. Reels, until now, offered a more limited selection of native creative effects, relying heavily on community-created content and basic tools like timers and speed adjustments.

The Reels features will be released concurrently with the desktop posting functionality, which is initially limited to photos and videos under one minute in length. While the IGTV brand was recently discontinued for long-form video, videos up to 60 minutes in duration are still supported as “Instagram Video” – encompassing all content outside of Stories and Reels.