New features in Edits: edit videos like pros… from your mobile device

A new menu for performing batch actions from a single place, new video effects, reversing a clip... We tell you about the updates in Edits.

January 28, 2026

Instagram has announced updates to Edits, its video editing app for mobile devices. These changes promise to save time during the editing process.

How long will it be until this app is no longer free? I truly hope it remains so for quite some time.

New timeline settings

Editing a video (even a short one) on a mobile device can be quite frustrating. You do not have a full view of the timeline, the screen is much smaller, and swiping to find the function you need can sometimes become endless. Furthermore, you must take into account the “rules” of the social network for which you are editing. This is why this is one of my new favorite features.

Now, when you click on the name of your project, a new menu will appear, allowing you to perform batch actions:

You are able to rename the project
Loop playback: Choose whether, when you are editing a video segment, it repeats continuously
Snapping
Show frames (which will appear next to the timecode)
Show Instagram guides so you know where the red lines are when adding elements to the video, ensuring they do not interfere with the like, comment, share icons, etc.
Select whether main track changes apply only to visual clips (including sound effects), only to audio clips, or to both. This is ideal when you wish to cut a clip while maintaining the audio’s length unchanged.

Other new effects that you can Apply to Your Videos

On Android devices, the following features have already been enabled:

New video effects that can be applied to specific people or objects.
- One of these features is Crop, which allows you to trim a clip, remove its background, and overlay it onto another;
- The other feature is Mask, which allows you to select an image or video (either from your project or your gallery) and crop it into any shape you desire.
The reverse option, which, as its name suggests, allows you to reverse a clip. However, you should keep in mind that this will remove its audio.
New text animations to add dynamism to your videos.

Copy and paste elements from one project to another

As you already know, the main highlight of Edits is that it allows you to keep all your creations in one place. One of its latest updates now enables you to copy elements from one project to another (or even within the same project).

This proves ideal for episodic content series, as it enables you, for example, to maintain the style and format of an episode title. Or even, if you wish to preserve a consistent aesthetic across all your videos to strengthen your brand, you will no longer have to do it manually; you will simply copy the elements from the previous project, paste them into the new one, and edit as needed. This is an action that will undoubtedly save a significant amount of time for those of us engaged in video editing.

According to Instagram, this feature will begin rolling out, for the moment, on iOS devices this week.