Instagram Tests Major Redesign with Reels as Home Tab

Instagram is experimenting with a significant redesign that could reshape how users open the app. The company is testing Reels as the new home tab. According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Reels and direct messages have fueled much of the platform’s recent growth. That’s why Meta is exploring this shift.

According to the source, the updated home screen combines familiar and new elements. Stories still appear in a horizontal row at the top. However, once users scroll, the interface changes into the current Reels-style feed, where full-screen videos dominate. Photos from followed accounts will remain part of the feed, although Instagram has not shown exactly how.

The test mirrors Instagram’s new iPad app, which already opens directly into Reels. Meta explained that this design suits larger screens better, where people prefer a “lean back entertainment” style. Now, the same experiment is moving to Instagram’s core mobile app.

This potential redesign highlights Meta’s strategy of pushing video deeper into Instagram’s identity. By giving Reels the prime spot, the company signals that short-form video is central to its future.