Instagram Introduces Watch History for Reels

Instagram introduces Watch History for Reels, allowing users to easily revisit previously viewed short videos directly within the app.

Meta has introduced an update to Instagram, which was inspired by TikTok. In the last week, Instagram’s chief, Adam Mosseri, revealed that users have access to the feature “Watch History” for Reels, making it easier to discover previously watched videos within the application.

Watch History Overview

The new feature is available beneath Profile settings > Activities. It’s labeled under the heading “Watch History.” As you can see in the example, It shows thumbnails of all Reels you’ve seen in the last 30 days. 

According to Mosseri:

“If you go to ‘Profile’, and under ‘Settings’ under your ‘Activity,’ there’s ‘Watch History’ now, so you can see every Reel that you’ve ever watched. You can sort it from oldest to newest, or newest to oldest, you can go to a specific date or date range, and you can even filter it down to a specific person or account that posted that Reel, so hopefully now you can find that thing that you were trying to find that you couldn’t find before.”

While it does not provide all views for the entire lifetime, but only the last 30 days, it provides the convenience of browsing your past history by date or by account.

Why This Matters

This feature solves an issue that is often a source of frustration that is the loss of videos you didn’t save but would like to revisit in the future. TikTok has a similar features to watch history that many users appreciate. 

Instagram’s feature reduces the stress of constantly searching for lost videos, whether it’s a hilarious moment, promotional video or something you’d like to share with your friends.

Availability and Impact

The update is part of the most recent Instagram application version and is expected to improve user experience by making Reels easier to navigate. 

Although it’s a minor change this is an important improvement that is in line with Instagram’s overall strategy to mimic TikTok’s popular video features, and keep users interested.