Instagram will introduce a new Edits app for video editing

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri took to Threads on Sunday with yet another announcement, the timing of which was undoubtedly unrelated to TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps (briefly) being dark: a new, free video-editing tool called Edits is on its way. Instagram Edits will cater to those who edit videos on their phones, providing "a full suite of creative tools." This offers higher-quality recordings, sharing drafts, trending audio, analytics into your Reels' performance, and a "inspiration tab," in addition to the normal editing capabilities.

If all of this makes you think of CapCut, TikTok's sibling app for video editing, you're not alone. Mosseri referred to Edits as "CapCut, but more for creators than casual video makers."

Edits is not currently available, but you can pre-order it on the App Store if you have an iOS device, and Mosseri claims an Android version is "coming soon." While he claims the release date is in February, the App Store page indicates March 13. And don't anticipate anything particularly polished when it arrives. “The first version is going to be incomplete, so please be patient, but I’m really excited to put this in all your hands,” Mosseri said.

The announcement came shortly after TikTok said that its app would be back up in the United States, only around 12 hours after it was pulled down. CapCut is yet to return, but it is likely to follow suit. Trump stated on social media that after he is inaugurated in, he will issue an executive order extending ByteDance's time to determine TikTok's destiny.

While Threads users have criticised Instagram over the timing of the news, Mosseri stated that the app has been in development for months, "and I think it'll end up looking pretty different than CapCut." On that note, he stated, “Edits will have a much broader range of creative tools and probably a smaller addressable audience. Think a place to track all your ideas instead of templates. Think AI video editing tools on a per clip or per video basis. Think new insights on why your videos are succeeding or struggling.”

The App Store page states that videos will not have a watermark when exported, which looks to provide Edits an advantage over CapCut. While the free version of CapCut has long added an easily removed ending logo to videos during export, it has recently begun to add a corner watermark as well.