Instagram is testing a new feature designed to streamline how users access the latest reels that have been shared with friends. These reels will appear in the direct messages area at the top of the interface, giving people a quick and convenient way to revisit them without scrolling through conversations. This change focuses on improving visibility for shared short videos so they are easier to locate and watch again when desired.
At present, users can share both posts and reels within any chat. Once shared, those reels or posts are part of the ongoing chat thread, and they may disappear as conversations move forward because the messages are stored in a chronological order like other messaging apps. This keeps the history intact but can make it less obvious to retrieve a specific reel later.
Industry observers note that the company is developing a feature aimed at simplifying the process of finding a reel that was sent, including the ability to watch it again or forward it to someone else. The goal is to reduce friction when users want to re-engage with previously shared content and to improve the overall efficiency of each chat thread.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the new option would display the reel list at the top of the inbox while also showing, in the lower left corner, an icon representing each recipient who received the reel. This visual arrangement is intended to help users quickly identify distribution across chats and pick out which conversations include a given reel.
TechCrunch notes that if the same short video is shared with multiple people, it may appear only once in the view, accompanied by the avatar of the most recent recipient who accessed it. This approach would reduce duplication in the interface and provide a concise snapshot of where a reel has traveled recently.
Meta has publicly acknowledged work on this capability, confirming ongoing improvements but providing no detailed mechanism. The company has suggested that users will be able to search for and rediscover reels, signaling a shift toward more persistent access to sent content and a smoother rediscovery process across chats and devices.