Instagram working on ‘Blend’ for co-viewing Reels with friends

Instagram's new "Blend" feature wants to make Reels more of a co-viewing experience by merging your video interests with a friend's into one feed.

Blend would allow you to share a feed of recommended Reels tailored for you and a buddy. (Express image)

Instagram is cooking up a new way for users to discover short-form videos together. The Meta-owned platform is prototyping a feature called “Blend” that would generate a private feed of recommended Reels based on you and a friend’s interests.

The unreleased feature, spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, seems aimed at boosting Reels’ viewership through collaborative sharing. If launched, Blend would allow you to invite a friend, and Instagram’s algorithm would then populate a feed with Reels it thinks you’d both enjoy based on your viewing habits and the clips you’ve previously shared with each other.

#Instagram is working on Blend: #Reels recommendations based on reels you've shared each other and your reels interests 👀

ℹ️ Private between the two of you. You can leave a Blend at any time. pic.twitter.com/1kcssBuf7G

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 28, 2024

Think of it like Spotify’s Blend playlist which combines you and a friend’s music tastes into one combined soundtrack. But instead of songs, Instagram’s version would merge your Reels interests into a unified vertical video feed just for the two of you.

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Screenshots indicate these Blends would be private between you and your friend, with the ability to leave the shared Reel recommendation feed at any time. It’s unclear if Blends would continuously update with new video suggestions or refresh on a set schedule.

The social media giant hasn’t shared many specifics on Blend, and like most prototypes, there’s no guarantee it will actually launch to the public.