In reply to The Verge’s request, Meta denied intentionally disabling the audio for Reels that are exported by users to other social platforms. They claim it is an audio glitch and working on a fix.
Earlier, Meta made it mandatory that users need to post their Reels first on either Instagram or Facebook before posting them elsewhere. This statement, alongside the cutting of audio for exports, made the community believe that Meta is intentionally doing that – to prevent users from sharing Reels on TikTok.
Cutting Off Audio For Exported Reels
Instagram users who’re making Reels using the platform’s native tools and then transporting them to other social media platforms are unintentionally barred by Meta – by cutting their audio in the process!
Talking to The Verge, a Meta spokesperson clarified that it’s an audio glitch, and they’re working on a fix. But, the community meanwhile believed that it was an intentional move by Meta, who’s blocking them from sharing the content across other platforms.
While it’s not true, Meta may be secretly wanting this exclusivity anyway! After all, it’s competing head-to-head with TikTok in most cases, but still not able to get that top spot in the short video-making industry.
And with Instagram and TikTok offering different tools for making short videos, there’s no wonder why Meta wanted to do that, eventually. TikTok has long been watermarking its users’ content – so sharing them with other platforms will still maintain its exclusivity.
Lately, YouTube announced similar plans for their Shorts content too. Although Meta introduced a clause – forcing its users to post their Reels on Instagram first before sharing them to other platforms, this isn’t enough until a watermark is set to prove the exclusivity.
Well, the newly hovering audio glitch doesn’t seem to be linked to this and is only limited to Instagram iOS users.