Instagram is now testing a Reels-first layout in India and South Korea that makes the short video format the main way users interact with the app, which could help explain why Direct Messaging was moved to a prominent spot on the homepage. The experiment is the latest indication of Meta’s push to orient discovery and private sharing, after internal data showed that short videos get re-shared across its platforms billions of times, and that more conversations now begin from content people are watching.
What changes in Instagram’s new Reels-first interface
When you open the app, the redesign loads the Reels page first, which flips vertical video into the entry point. Stories still appear at the top of the screen, but the button for direct messages is relocated to an icon in the middle of a new bottom navigation bar, reflecting Instagram’s focus on private sharing. The Reels tab moves to the second position and scrolls sideways to let users move between main sections.
A new Following section lives next to Reels and provides three feed options: All, which mixes recommendations with posts and Reels from accounts you follow; Friends, a filter for mutual connections; and Latest, a chronological feed for the latest posts and Reels. The company notes that the test is relatively small for now, but could roll out globally if engagement and satisfaction metrics do well.
Why India and South Korea are leading the trial
India is Instagram’s biggest audience market by count of users, according to DataReportal, and a hotbed for short-form video after the local ban on TikTok that restructured the creator economy. Reels has since become a default growth lever there, resonating with the same mobile-first user base and burgeoning creator culture that exists in communities across regional languages and various niches, from comedy to education.
South Korea offers a contrasting yet strategic profile: a mature smartphone base—with some of the highest 5G penetration in the world, according to Opensignal—and an over-indexing culture of premium video and music consumption.
By running tests in both markets, Instagram can learn how a Reels-first creation flow fares under different user behaviors, network conditions, and creator monetization scenarios.
The business logic behind a Reels-first default
Meta recently said that Instagram had more than three billion monthly users and credited much of its momentum to short-form video. The company also said short videos are shared 4.5 billion times across its apps—confirming why discovery and DM sharing now live in the middle of the interface. Reels has lifted time spent in Instagram since its release, executives said on earnings calls, helped by changes to the recommendation system that surface relevant clips from beyond an app user’s following.
There are two reasons for prioritizing Reels at open: it maximizes the inventory where discovery—and therefore ad demand—is strongest, and it seeds more private conversations, which are increasingly where friends react to content. Centering the DM icon in the navbar middle is not just cosmetic—it shortens the runway from viewing to sharing: an engagement loop that needs tightening.
What it means for creators and brands on Instagram
With a Reels-first default, it takes appreciation to the next level of what vertical video can and should be. But creators in India and South Korea are more likely to be helped by faster feedback cycles as more viewers open into a feed tuned for their interests, not just their network. The new All, Friends, and Latest views within Following might offer lesser-followed accounts a more even playing field while allowing audiences to tune their feeds.
For marketers, the test indicates that creative and media mixes should lean even more toward Reels placement with hooks in the first few seconds, strong captions, and clear CTAs to share via DM.
Creator-led drops, catalog tags, and social commerce experiments could all stand to gain as private conversations become the default handoff from discovery to intent. Measurement teams who can track changes in view-through, saves, and shares will see the leading indicators arrive before sales lift follows.
How this fits Instagram’s broader design direction
The test reflects layout decisions first demonstrated in Instagram’s new iPad app, where Stories are front and center, and tab-to-tab swipes make for a more video-forward experience. It aligns with a broader industry-wide movement: YouTube Shorts has been given a prominent stage on the YouTube app, and Snapchat Spotlight is just a tap away from the camera—each emphasizing short video as the default attention funnel.
If metrics from India and South Korea show stronger time spent, more re-shares, and steady satisfaction scores, expect a gradual global rollout. The major things to watch will be whether photo-first creators feel left behind, and if those new Following controls provide meaningful relief from feed fatigue by offering users straightforward mechanisms to switch between recommendations and recency.
What to watch next as the Reels-first test expands
Some signals to look out for are Reels session starts, DM shares per view, and the use of Friends and Latest filters. Creator pay and payout structures will also matter, especially in India, where platform incentives can tilt content supply rapidly. If the test sticks, we could see a Reels-first home screen become the new normal for Instagram, making short video and private sharing the app’s primary loop.
