With the advent of TikTok bans, Instagram Reels offers a new way to interact with friends

If you double-tapped your Instagram Reel recently, your friends might be able to see it, thanks to a new Instagram update. Instagram reels The company is introducing a new Friends tab that shows you all the videos that your friends have liked and interacted with Announce Friday. The new feature will be rolled out starting today for users in the US.

This will be different from your friends tab on Reels, which shows you all the videos created and published by the accounts you follow. This is more reminiscent of TikTok’s algorithm, which would weave videos your friends sent you via direct messages into your own page.

You can see this separate Reels feed by tapping on the new pill-shaped widget in the top right corner — displaying two profile photos of your friends — and the new custom feed will open. You can also reply to these videos or start direct messages with friends from there. Don’t worry if you don’t see the option yet — it may take some time for new features to roll out.

Read more: New teen accounts on Instagram: What parents and kids need to know

The update comes after a tumultuous start to the year for the Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be Termination of the third-party validation program Across all its platforms and overhaul its content moderation. The proposed changes to the content moderation policy include loosening restrictions on how users can talk about gender identity and immigration, which Zuckerberg described as a return to the company’s “roots around freedom of expression.”

Fact checking groups and LGBTQ+ advocates They were concerned about what this meant for the quality and safety of information on the platforms.

The new feature is also coming on the same day The US Supreme Court upheld the law This would effectively ban TikTok if it does not sell its US business by January 19 to a new buyer approved by US officials. President Joe Biden He pointed out He will not impose the ban during the last few hours of his presidency, and President-elect Donald Trump, who is sworn in on Monday, has said he is interested in finding a political solution.

But the decision raises a lot of uncertainty about the future of video-based social media for TikTok’s more than 170 million active U.S. users, some of whom may want to move to Instagram Reels or elsewhere. Alternative sites.