Instagram is testing a new Picture-in-Picture feature for watching Reels, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday. This feature allows users to watch Reels in a small, floating window on their screen while browsing other apps, enabling seamless multitasking.
The feature was first spotted by app researcher Radu Oncescu. Users included in the test will receive a pop-up notification explaining the new feature and instructions on how to activate it.
While Picture-in-Picture is excellent for multitasking, it also has the potential to increase retention for longer videos. This is particularly valuable in an era of shrinking attention spans. For instance, if a user finds a long Reel, they can continue watching it in the background while performing other tasks like responding to a text message or browsing another social media app.
Apps like TikTok and YouTube have supported Picture-in-Picture for quite some time. Adding a similar feature to Instagram could give creators a better opportunity to retain their audience for longer content. For Instagram, this would likely translate to more time spent within its app.
The launch of this test follows comments made several months ago by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who hinted that the feature could be coming soon. At the time, Mosseri responded to a user asking about the feature by saying he would talk to his team to see if they could figure something out.
Instagram is starting the test with a small group of users. As with any test feature, it is currently unclear when or if Instagram plans to roll it out more widely.