Do you know what is IGTV on Instagram? IGTV was later called Instagram TV. This feature was introduced on Insta on June 2018. But On 1st March 2022, IG’s parent company Meta shut down Instagram TV. So the app was removed from app stores mid-March, and all IGTV videos were merged into the Instagram app as reels or video posts.
Instagram TV was introduced as a feature where users could post long-form content to compete with YouTube. But it flopped on IG, and later, TikTok came into the limelight. Soon Instagram introduced ‘Reels’ to compete with TikTok, and IGTV was forgotten.
So in this article, we will see what is IGTV and where is IGTV on Instagram.
Table of Contents
Where Is IGTV On Instagram?
When IGTV was available on Instagram, you could find it at the top of the explore page. Once you click on the IGTV icon, you can see all the long-form videos on Instagram.
Later Instagram also launched an independent app for IGTV. So even if you clicked on the IGTV tab on the explore page, you were taken to the Instagram TV app if it was downloaded on your phone.
IGTV app requires users to log in with an Insta account. And upload videos on Instagram TV. Mobile devices were allowed to upload videos of up to 15 minutes in length with a file size of up to 650 MB.
While those using IGTV on a desktop were allowed to upload videos of up to 60 minutes in length with a file size of up to 3.6 GB, content creators mainly used Instagram TV to post long-form videos on their Insta profiles.
Users can also access IGTV by visiting their favorite influencer’s profile and clicking on the Instagram TV icon.
What Happened After IGTV Was Removed?
As mentioned above, IGTV, or Instagram TV, was removed on 1st March 2022 by Meta. So, after the Instagram TV feature was removed from IG, all the long-form content was converted to video posts or reels. Also, with newer updates on Instagram, any video posted on Instagram is now considered a reel. So, indirectly all the video posts on Instagram are also reels.
Also, videos on Instagram can now be posted between 3 seconds and 10 minutes for all accounts. And only the verified accounts on IG can post a video of up to 60 minutes.
How To Post IGTV On Instagram In 2023?
You can still post an IGTV video on your Insta profile only if you have a business or professional account on IG. Technically it won’t be an IGTV video. Because now, whatever video you post on Insta will be considered a reel. But on Creator studio in your content library, you can find an IGTV section where you can see your longer video posts. Here’s how you can do it.
- Open creator studio and click on the green Create Button on the left.
- Next select post from the drop-down.
- Now enter your captions for the post.
- Upload the video you want to post. (The video can be 60 mins long)
- Click on Publish Post to upload the video.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How Does IGTV Work On Instagram?
IGTV allowed Insta users to create channels to upload videos between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long. In addition, large accounts could upload videos up to 60 minutes long. IGTV existed so users could create more compelling content to engage their audience. Unfortunately, it flopped, and hence, it was removed from Instagram.
Q2. Is IGTV Free On Instagram?
IGTV was free to download for Android and iOS users. In addition, the app was also free to use. So you didn’t have to pay anything to continue watching videos from your favorite content creators on the platform.
Q3. What Is The Difference Between Video Post And Reels?
While reels have a maximum length of 60 seconds, video posts could be up to 60 minutes, making them perfect for longer content and discussions. Also, whereas reels are meant to be entertaining, video posts are usually intended to be informative and educational with being entertaining think YouTube-style content.
Q4. What Happens When You Post To IGTV?
Once you select to share your content on Instagram TV, a preview of your IGTV video will appear in your follower’s feed, and the cover image will appear in your profile’s grid. In addition, when you post a preview of your IGTV video, the title and description will copy over to the caption.
Q5. How Do I Watch Someone’s IGTV?
While the IGTV icon will be gone from the top right corner of the main IG app, users can still access the IGTV content by tapping on the bottom left corner of a post in their feeds. In addition, users can also access IGTV videos directly from the profile page of a creator or friend.
Here’s everything you need to know about what IGTV is and where it is on Instagram. Unfortunately, it is no longer available on IG. And if you want to post long-form content on IG, you can share it as a video post.
The length of the video posts on IG can be anywhere between 3 seconds to 10 minutes for all the users, while only the verified accounts have the exclusion of posting a 60-minute video on IG. So, we have covered everything you need about IGTV on Instagram and the story behind removing Insta TV.