Facebook-owned photo sharing platform Instagram has hit one billion monthly active users since its launch in 2010. The platform had 800m users in
September last year. The platform has also launched IGTV, a new app for watching long-form, vertical video from your favorite Instagram creators.
There is a stand-alone IGTV app but still users can still watch the long-form video from within the Instagram app so the entire community of one billion can use it from the very start.
According to Kevin Systrom, Co-Founder & CEO, “IGTV will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on Android and iOS. IGTV is different in a few ways. First, it’s built for how you actually use your phone, so videos are full screen and vertical. Also, unlike on Instagram, videos aren’t limited to one minute. Instead, each video can be up to an hour long.”
Systrom says just like TV, IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app. Users don’t have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests. You can swipe up to discover more — switch between “For You,” “Following,” “Popular” and “Continue Watching.” You can also like, comment and send videos to friends in Direct.
IGTV has channels made by creators who can be followed. Anyone can be a creator — you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel.