Instagram is testing picture-in-picture playback for Reels that will allow videos to float in a small window while users cross-post and multitask through their phone. The test, which was first spotted by app researcher Radu Oncescu, is accessible to some users in the form of an in-app prompt that describes how to turn on PiP — as well as how to dismiss or continue playing the mini player.
The maneuver targets one issue, retention. Keeping a Reel in view while people respond to messages, check notifications or scroll through their feed on Instagram reduces the friction that often ends a session halfway through. For creators, that extra motivation could translate into more average watch time and fewer drop-offs on longer videos.
Why PiP is important for short‑form video
Picture-in-picture is an effective engagement tool on mobile video. On Android (since Oreo) and iOS (since iOS 14), there are system-level enables for PiP, which allow video play to continue in a movable window while users move on to doing something else. When the feature is well-integrated in apps, completion rates for longer videos tend to increase since viewers no longer need to decide between watching a clip to the end and responding to a notification.
The timing coincides with wider waves of attention. According to Data. ai’s State of Mobile report the average person now spends around five hours per day in mobile apps. In that battle for time, short-form video is a major sink, but the greatest threat is disruption. A PiP option provides Instagram with a means of capturing “almost lost” sessions — the moments when a user would otherwise abandon a Reel to check a message or perpetrate an act of doomscrolling — and turn them into more viewing time.
It also aligns with Instagram’s focus on Reels performance. Meta has said Reels generates meaningful time spent growth and is operating at a multi-billion dollar pace of annual revenue, as well as hundreds of billions of plays per day across its platforms. It would be a natural extension to maintain those plays while multitasking.
Catch-up YouTube and TikTok
YouTube and TikTok have had flavors of that mobile PiP for a bit now, though with platform-specific quirks — historically, YouTube limited full PiP on iOS to — while linted YouTube | TechCrunchprivation has been more broad on Android. Implementation of TikTok has varied by region and OS, but the idea will be a familiar one: Keep the video going while the user juggles tasks.
As the post states: “Instagram finally adopting PiP means feature parity on something that directly impacts session time.” We imagine the experience will fit right into OS conventions: draggple mini window with play/pause, swipe-to-dismiss, and maybe even an option to go back to full screen. Even minutiae of UX are life and death at this scale — like, does a caption or on-screen subtitle remain legible at a smaller size, because that’s what keeps a viewer from fleeing a commentator-heavy video.
Signals from Instagram leadership
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri had previously said the team was “exploring” PiP after users asked for it, and hinted the company would “figure something out.” The test that’s now appearing is a sign that exploration has graduated to live testing, in keeping with Instagram’s iterative approach to rolling out video features.
It also fits into Instagram’s wider embrace of video. Having already sunset IGTV and brought most formats under a single Reels ecosystems, PiP offers continuity next instead of yet another destination. For viewers, that continuity means they experience fewer context switches; for Instagram, it means that viewers are spending more minutes of their lives inside its app even when they are doing other things.
What creators and advertisers need to know
The biggest beneficiaries will be creators who are working on tutorials, explainers, commentary or multi-part narratives. As PiP becomes available more broadly, monitor average watch time and completion rate for clips over 60 seconds, in addition to view-through during multitasking moments (like when people open DMs mid-Reel). The new formats that are PiP friendly — clear audio, ready-to-read subtitles, visuals that are still recognizable at a small size — will be more important.
For advertisers, PiP brings both opportunity and headaches. OLV can boost effective reach but measurement must be based on window size and whether background or foreground. Though there is no sign of Instagram inserting ads in PiP yet, brands should expect standards comparable to other platforms that use eligibility, viewability and, in the case of sound, audibility thresholds to determine what qualifies as a view.
Availability and what’s next
Instagram says the feature is in a small test with only a few users, so don’t expect to see it adopted widely. Early feedback, technical capabilities, and OS-specific idiosyncrasies from Android and iOS will help determine which way the wind will blow. Instagram, historically, widens its access once the initial engagement boosts are clear and UX quirks get ironed out.
If you’re in the test, you might spot a pop-up that explains how to get set up with PiP as well as control the mini player. Standard controls for moving or dismissing the window. For everyone else, this is a revealing signal: Instagram is focusing on how to get Reels to keep playing during interruptions — a relatively minor UI change that may have a major effect on the length of time people spend watching.
