8:31 AM PDT · September 2, 2025
Instagram is testing a caller Picture-in-Picture characteristic for watching reels, nan institution confirmed to TechCrunch connected Tuesday. The characteristic allows users to watch reels successful a small, floating model connected their surface while browsing different apps to let for multitasking.
The characteristic was first spotted by app interrogator Radu Oncescu. Users who are portion of nan trial will spot a pop-up notifying them astir nan caller characteristic and really to move it on.
While Picture-in-Picture is awesome for multitasking, it besides has nan imaginable to summation retention for longer videos, particularly successful nan era of shrinking attraction spans. For example, if personification comes crossed a agelong reel, they could person it playing successful nan inheritance while doing different things for illustration responding to a matter aliases browsing X.
Apps for illustration TikTok and YouTube person had support for Picture-in-Picture for rather immoderate time.
The summation of a akin characteristic successful Instagram could springiness creators a amended chance of retaining audiences for their longer content. And for Instagram, this would mean much clip spent successful its app.
The motorboat of nan trial follows comments made a fewer months agone by Instagram caput Adam Mosseri, who suggested nan characteristic could beryllium coming soon. At nan time, Mosseri said he would “talk to nan squad and spot if we tin fig thing out” successful consequence to a mobility asking: “When will IG connection PiP (picture successful image successful picture) for illustration TT and YT?”
Instagram is testing nan characteristic pinch a mini group of users to start. As pinch immoderate trial feature, it’s unclear erstwhile aliases if Instagram plans to rotation it retired much widely.
Aisha is simply a user news newsman astatine TechCrunch. Prior to joining nan publication successful 2021, she was a telecom newsman astatine MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s grade from University of Toronto and a master’s grade successful publicity from Western University.
You tin interaction aliases verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com aliases via encrypted connection astatine aisha_malik.01 connected Signal.