Instagram Reels are about to get a lot more repetitive

Instagram is introducing updates to its Reels templates — a feature that allows users to make their own video based on someone else’s. The result could be a lot more content that looks exactly like everything else.

Templates break down Reels into a preset format that users can drop their own photos and videos into — a sequence of five 0.7-second clips set over a specific song, for example. It’s an easy way to participate in viral trends while spending minimal time editing, and it also encourages the proliferation of content that is only slightly different from other videos — which I guess is the same thing.

The updates to Reels templates are taking the copy-and-paste approach one step further: the presets will soon also include the text and transitions that the original video had, though users will be able to customize different elements if they don’t want their clip to be exactly the same.

Instagram is also adding more ways to find templates if you don’t feel like coming up with your own video concept. A new template browser page surfaces template recommendations from Instagram, plus trending sequences that are popular with other users. Any templates users have saved for later will also appear here.