On Tuesday, Facebook announced that soon all videos on its platform will be able to be shared as Reels, regardless of their length or orientation. Until now, users could share both video posts and Reels. The company is also renaming the Video tab on its platform to the Reels tab. The update will not affect which videos are recommended to you, Facebook says.
In the coming months, users won’t have to choose between uploading a video or a movie, as they will automatically be published as a movie. In addition, Facebook videos will not have any restrictions on length or format. (Currently, Facebook videos can only be 90 seconds long).
The idea behind the changes is to streamline the format of video sharing on the social network. This isn’t the first time the Meta-owned platform has done this, as Instagram started automatically converting new video posts under 15 minutes into Reels back in 2022.
“Previously, you uploaded videos to your feed or posted Reels using different creative flows and tools for each format,” Facebook explains in its blog post. “Now we’re combining that experience with a simplified publishing process that gives you access to even more creative tools. We’ll also give you the ability to control the settings for the audience that sees your videos.”
These changes are likely to upset some users, as they can create some problems.
For example, it may be inconvenient to publish a horizontal video if it is uploaded in the format of vertical videos. In addition, users may not want to see long videos mixed with short ones.
As part of the change, the default settings for feeds and videos will now be the same. When users start posting videos after the change, they’ll be prompted to confirm their audience settings to determine who can see their videos: everyone, their friends, or a select group of people.
