Best of 2023

Best of 2022

Q1 2022 in the Middle East

Tag Archives: Instagram

Instagram rolls out download of public Reels to more countries worldwide

August 17, 2023 Yasser Masood Leave a comment

You could attribute TikTok’s success with the feature of sharing their videos off-platform, allowing users to download the videos watermarked with the account. Meta has now implemented the same feature for Instagram Reels, after its initial announcement back in June 2023 (source: TechCrunch).

Although Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri stated that US-based users would be the first to see it, a timeline wasn’t announced for the rollout to other countries worldwide. It looks like the option is now expanding to more countries worldwide including the Middle East region. How? It just so happens that I was creating a Reel and the pop-up just showed up.

Download and Share Reels

Downloading Reels is as simple as tapping on the share icon and then selecting the Download option.

Only public accounts have the option to toggle the Download option.
You can also retroactively toggle it for each previously-published Reel to be downloadable.

All downloaded Reels will have an animated watermark showing the account name in different positions based on the video length.

However, it seems there is a difference between iOS and Android when I tried it with a random Reel from Adobe Video. Anyone who has saved a video from TikTok will have seen that the resoltuion is in SD (540×960 px).

Downloading via iOS gives a video in HD (720×1280 px) encoded in MPEG4/H.264
Downloading via Android app gives a video in FullHD (1080x1920px) encoded in HEVC/H.265

Metadata for same downloaded video on iOS (left) and Android (right)

It’s not clear why there is such a difference, but this might come down to each platform’s technicalities. Having watch the same video from both devices, they showed no visible loss in quality.

The move is looking to capitalize on the momentum for people to watch more Reels on Instagram natively. Also a great way to complement the recent launch of Threads.

If you’re not seeing the option to download, make sure you’ve updated the Instargam app to the latest version on both iOS and Android.

Header image credit: Alexander Shatov

Social Media

Rolling out the Blue carpet for Meta Verified across the Middle East

July 29, 2023 Yasser Masood 2 Comments

Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) has finally brought their Meta Verified subscription service to the Middle East region as July. While other publications have stated the rollout for UAE and Saudi Arabia, it’s also now available in Qatar and likely across the wider Middle East region.

Though the service launched in late February in certain markets and slowly expanded to more, Meta following in the footsteps of Twitter (X Blue, given the recent brand change), Snapchat+, and YouTube Premium.

Signing up for the Meta Verified perks

The program itself is open to individuals (i.e. people), hence businesses can’t sign up to it. Another good thing is that the current verification process on Instagram looks to be staying around for businesses, celebrities, and noted public figures. Eligibility requirements for individuals are the following for both Facebook and Instagram.

18 years of age or higher
Public/Private profile assocaited with your full name and has a profiel picture including our face
Have two-factor authentication enabled
Meet minimum activity requirements
Have a government-issued ID that matches the name and profile picture of your account
Adhere to the Terms of Service and Community Standards

Depending on which platform you subscribe to Meta Verified, the perks that come along include the following. Note that the benefits are subject to change over time. The most coveted aspect of the Meta Verified subscription is the iconic ‘blue checkmark’ (the one on many of the other Verified accounts on celebrities and noted influencers)

Verified badge (the very thing every possible individual would want)
Increased account protection with proactive monitoring to avoid impersonation
Access to priority account support
Unique stickers for Storeis and Reels available only to subscribers

Subscription catches

One big distinction is that the sign up to Meta Verified varies by device, which also influences the monthly price. The mobile pricing is higher due to the in-app purchase policies for iOS and Android.

Facebook users can sign up either via web browser ($11.99 or equivalent to local currency) or directly via Facebook mobile app ($14.99 or equivalent to local currency)
Instagram users can only sign up via Instagram mobile app ($14.99 or equivalent to local currency).

Meta Verified for Facebook has different subscription based on how you sign up

So if you’re looking to sign up, head over to the Accounts Center either via the web or native mobile app. Then tap on Meta Verified and follow the instructions. There is no annual upfront deal (which would defintiely save you money), hence you’ll be seeing it as a monthly charge.

Note that there is no bundle option yet covering both Meta platforms. You’ll be paying separately for both Facebook and Instagram should you choose to do so.

Social Media

Meet Threads, Meta’s clone of Twitter rolling out across the Middle East

July 6, 2023 Yasser Masood 1 Comment

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’ve also seen the state of Twitter recently in the news. Even with various other alternatives popping up (Mastodon and BlueSky) , a lot of speculation arose on Meta responding with their own app. That turned out to be true, now known as Threads and it’s already rolling out worldwide including across the Middle East region.

Threads is Twitter-ish

While we do remember that Twitter started off first with 140 characters then doubling to 280 (while also supporting other media types), Instagram looks to start Threads off with a bit of nostalgic yet simpler feel:

Threads posts can be up to 500 characters long with text, which is more generous that Twitter’s non-Blue users but still keeps it focused
Links (which will also generate large previews), photos, and videos (max 5 minutes in length) can also be added
You can ‘like’, re-post, and reply and even share; the last option even lets you share directly to Instagram Stories, helping to bring people from the main app to Threads as well.
Threads are shown in the main feed (with recommended content to start with), and you can like, re-post, and reply to each update. Expect to see mix of both content from users you follow and those recommended by the app.

Sign up to Threads using your existing Instagram account

For the MENA region, the listing on the respective app stores did mention the official languages being supported; sadly, Arabic is not one of them but Hindi did make the cut (which easily caters to India-based users as it’s one of the large markets for Meta).

Remember when Instagram was mobile-only since its launch (even for viewing someone’s profile)? They didn’t launch a web presence for viewing profiles until 2012. Years later, they followed up with an expanded set to see your feed in a desktop web browser. Threads already has a web presence available for users. You can even hyperlink to specific ‘threads’ on each user as well.

First impressions

Some users in the MENA region already had early access to the app itself, with creators including Ghanim Al-Muftah (Qatar) and Khalid Al Ameri (UAE). You can also view their accounts via a desktop/laptop browser, showing posts about few days before the official launch.

As a small jab to Twitter, you can view the Threads without even having an account.

Some notable creators in the MENA region had early access to Threads before the official launch.

While the app did show up early with a “pre-order” option to be installed once officially released, I managed to opt-in for that and then saw it installed straight away. After signing up using my Instagram account, it also adds a numbered badge on your profile (below your name) which identifies your numbered position when one signs up.

At the time of publishing, the app already crossed the 2M downloads milestone. Here’s hoping that the app doesn’t suddenly shutter like all the other previous apps from Meta (Boomerang/Hyperlapse, Direct, etc.)

If you’re looking for another alternative to Twitter but want to leverage your existing Instagram audience, you can download the app now from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store.

P.S: Do follow my account as well.

Image Credits: Instagram blog

Social Media

Instagram rolling out link sticker worldwide

October 30, 2021 Yasser Masood Leave a comment

If you are like me, you’ve been eager to get your Instagram account verified or to grow it beyond 10K followers. Why? You wanted the option to have swipe up links on Stories.

Recently, that is no longer the problem. Instagram is officially rolling out the link sticker to all accounts worldwide including to users across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Indian Subcontinent.

Today, we’re launching the new Link Sticker 🔗 globally. This allows anyone, regardless of follower count, to easily share links in a story.

We’ve received a lot of feedback over the years on limiting links to accounts with >10k followers, and we heard you, 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/uhJPXLscVo
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) October 27, 2021

Swipe up to sticker tap

The sticker replaces the previous “swipe up” option on Stories, which has been retired since August. If you did use it, users couldn’t even reply to Stories that had swipe up links. The new link sticker solves that problem.

Using it is as easy as navigating to the sticker tool after snapping/selecting your photo/video, tapping the “Link” sticker and then entering the URL. Like other stickers, you can’t promote any Stories directly from the Instargam app if they use the new link sticker.

If you don’t see it yet under the Sticker options, give it a bit of time. Otherwise, you can check to see that you’re running the latest version of the app on iOS/Android (tends to work for me).

Many users have seen Instargam Stories being a major source of traffic. This rollout is welcome news not only for individual users/creators, but also for businesses who are still cultivating their audience.

Post photos/videos from desktop

If you’ve been finding it a hassle to just post from the mobile phone, Instagram has heard your cries. Users can now post their photos/videos straight from a desktop browser.

You can post either a single photo/video.
If you want to post a carousel of photos/videos or a mix of them, you haev the option for it.
You can even adjust the scaling to either square, portrait/landscape, vertical, or keep the original aspect ratio.

However, customization edit options are limited compared to the native Instagram app (only the option to select the predefined filters and very few adjustment options). You can’t schedule your posts from the desktop browser (only from the Creator Studio).

We’re excited to finally launch this feature. 😊✨

You can now post photos and videos (under one minute) in a 💻desktop💻 browser directly to Instagram. pic.twitter.com/5cNR7DumAf
— Instagram (@instagram) October 21, 2021

Since they’ve recently consolidated videos under a dedicated tab (combining IGTV with the standard feed videos), you can still post videos that are more than 1min in length.

With these rollouts, if only they could expand availability of the Shopping tags to more countries in the region

Image credit: Instagram on Twitter

Social Media

Instagram Stories now translates text in multiple languages

July 24, 2021 Yasser Masood Leave a comment

Have you ever come across text in an Instagram user’s Stories, but it was in a different language? That’s about to change with the rollout of automatic text translation on Instagram Stories.

✨ Nuevo: traducciones de texto en tus historias

🤩 नया: Stories में टेक्स्ट ट्रांसलेशन

⭐️ Novo: tradução de texto no Stories

💫 New：ストーリーズのテキスト翻訳

🌟 New: text translations in Stories pic.twitter.com/dMPgIXrsub
— Instagram (@instagram) July 21, 2021

Before you jump ahead, you need to know that this translation happens when users add text in a different language using the built-in text box. That means it won’t help you translate text that’s part of the image/video itself.

When the app detects a foreign language in the Stories’ text, a “See Translation” option will pop-up on the top left of the screen (just below the username). Users can tap to see a translation at the bottom. The new translation feature is available worldwide (including the Middle East and North Africa region). Just like for posts, it supports 90+ languages (inc. Arabic and Hindi) to make sharing content with an international audience easier.

While Instagram added translation of text in posts and user bios in 2016, the rollout on Stories is a big welcome due to the format’s popularity. Users can start using it on both the iOS and Android versions of the Instagram app.

Social Media

Instagram rolls out ads for Reels across the Middle East

July 1, 2021 Yasser Masood Leave a comment

While every Facebook product catalog has integrated monetization, the one product that still didn’t have any form of advertising yet has been Reels. That changed recently, as Instagram announced on their blog that advertising on Reels is now open to all advertisers worldwide.

If your business is covering the Middle East and North Africa region on Instagram, you can start tapping into the TikTok rival.

Get trendy with ads

It’s only been a few months since Instagram expanded its availability across the region, while also testing out ads on their TikTok clone across select countries. The product is approaching its first anniversary this late August.

Reels ads look just like how they should be: full-screen viewing, looping, up to 30 seconds in length, and will appear in between other Reels. Like other promoted content, these ads are identified by a “sponsored” label on them and it’ll show below the name of the advertiser’s account.

Ads on Instagram Reels, widely avalable to businesses across the Middle East and North Africa region

The ads themselves will appear in most places users view Reels content. That includes the dedicated Reels tab in the main Instagram app, Stories, Explore and in your Instagram Feed, and will appear in between individual Reels posted by users.

Users will see an ad when they’re in the full-screen viewer (i.e. watching Reels via the dedicated tab itself).

If you’re already looking to get a head-start on it, Instagram has already published a quick guide on their Help portal (visit here). If you’re already familiar with advertising on Stories, then it’s almost the same methodology except for some subtle differences. The placement will be visible under the Instagram section when selecting Manual Placement during the Campaign creation process on Ads Manager.

While there hasn’t been any user insights into the number of people using the TikTok clone, advertisers still have a large audience on Instagram that will warrant attention to another product.

Covering technology, digital, social media, and other related topics in the Middle East and North Africa region till the Indian Subcontinent.

Exit mobile version

Download and Share Reels

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Signing up for the Meta Verified perks

Subscription catches

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Threads is Twitter-ish

First impressions

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Swipe up to sticker tap

Post photos/videos from desktop

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Get trendy with ads

Share this anywhere and everywhere

Covering technology, digital, social media, and other related topics in the Middle East and North Africa region till the Indian Subcontinent.