Instagram unveils Edits, a video editing app to rival CapCut

Instagram has announced Edits, a free video editing app that sounds a lot like CapCut. 

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In a video posted to Threads on Sunday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri described Edits as a "full suite of creative tools," and briefly ran through its planned features.

Credit: Instagram

"There will be a dedicated tab for inspiration, another to keep track of any early ideas you might have, a much higher quality camera which I used to record this video, all the editing tools you’d expect, the ability to share drafts with friends and other creators, and, if you decide to share your videos on Instagram, powerful insights on how those videos do," Mosseri wrote.

Though Edits' page in the iOS App Store states that it is expected on Mar. 13, Mosseri said that we can expect it to arrive in February. Pre-orders are currently available in the iOS App Store, and are coming to Android "soon." However, Mosseri cautioned that the first version of the app will be incomplete, and asked for users' patience.

According to the iOS App Store listing, Edits will enable users to film videos up to 10 minutes long, adjusting settings such as resolution and framerate. Editing tools will include generated captions, video filters and voice effects, audio enhancing to remove background noise, and the ability to "bring images to life with AI animation." There will also be a live insights dashboard enabling you to track how your Instagram reels are performing.

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View on Threads

Users were quick to note the timing of Mosseri's announcement, with Edits apparently aiming to rival ByteDance's popular video editing app CapCut. CapCut was pulled from U.S. app stores this weekend as a result of the country's ban on "foreign adversary controlled applications" — a measure which specifically targeted TikTok by name, but has also impacted other apps such as Marvel Snap.

Though he initially didn't refer to TikTok or CapCut by name, Mosseri still appeared to make vague reference to the ban, stating that "there's a lot going on in the world right now," and that this tool is "for those of you who make videos for not just Instagram, but for [other] platforms out there."

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Yet even without the ban, Edits' features may tempt creators. While CapCut also has generated captions and the ability to reduce noise, both previously free features now require a paid subscription.

Credit: Instagram

In response to the comparisons with CapCut, Mosseri stated that he believes Edits will "end up pretty different," claiming that it will have a wider range of creative tools and "probably a smaller addressable audience."

"Think a place to track all your ideas instead of templates," said Mosseri, noting that Edits has been in development for months. "Think AI video editing tools on a per clip or per video basis. Think new insights on why your videos are succeeding or struggling."