• by Colin Kirkland , October 2, 2025

When Instagram hit 3 billion monthly active users last month, the social media platform announced it would begin prioritizing Reels, with Instagram head Adam Mosseri stating that the app will “reorient the app more around DMs, Reels, and recommendations over the next couple of months.”

On Thursday, Instagram officially began testing this major change -- starting to replace the home tab with its short-form video feature for a small group of users in India, where they have the choice to opt in or out.

“If you look at the last few years, almost all of our growth has been driven by DMs, Reels, and recommendations,” Mosseri said in an Instagram video in September.

According to Meta, overall video watch time on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, is up 20% year-over-year and Reels makes up 50% or more of all time spent on the platform.

In a more recent video post, Mosseri demonstrates how the new home tab would work, explaining that this test “is just an *option*” featuring a scrollable home feed of short-form video content that fills the user's entire screen.

Mosseri also says photos from followed accounts will appear alongside the revised home feed but has not elaborated on how this would look.

The tests build upon Instagram's newfound iPad app, which was designed specifically to feature Reels when users open the app's home tab.

Upon its release, Meta said the iPad app is intended “to reflect how people use bigger screens today – for lean back entertainment.”