Instagram will launch a new video editing app known as Edits, which will compete with ByteDance-owned CapCut.
CapCut was taken offline in the United States over the weekend amid the U.S. government’s efforts to ban TikTok, which is also owned by ByteDance.
“Edits is more than a video editing app; it’s a full suite of creative tools,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri. The app will include a high-quality camera, a draft video ideas, and video performance insights, Mosseri said, as well as editing features.
The app will be released in February, and is now available for pre-order in Apple’s App Store. Android access is forthcoming.
CapCut is a video and photo editor often used to build shortform content for TikTok. “Edits will have a much broader range of creative tools and probably a smaller addressable audience” than CapCut, Mosseri said.
The U.S. passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest its platforms, including TikTok and CapCut, by 19 January, or be banned in the country.
While TikTok was only offline briefly, CapCut and other ByteDance-owned apps are still inaccessible in the U.S. ByteDance apps can also no longer be downloaded from U.S. devices.
President Donald Trump has said he hopes to restore TikTok in the U.S. using an executive order, and has recommended the U.S. government acquire a 50% stake in TikTok.
Trump has not commented on plans for other ByteDance apps.
Instagram is owned by Meta (NASDAQ: META). Meta’s share price closed at US$612.77 on Friday, the most recent day of trading, up from its previous close at $611.30. Its market capitalisation is $1.5 trillion.
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