Meta is quietly experimenting with a new feature on Instagram that may allow users to see other things on their phone during texting or during. The company is allegedly testing Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode for reels. This feature will allow users to watch videos in floating windows even after exiting the app. Similar to YouTube and X offering.

The feature was first seen by the app researcher Redu Onksku, who saw a pop-up inside the Instagram, which inspires users to “try to paint in the picture”. Sharing a screenshot of the feature on the threads, Onksku wrote, “Instagram is testing a new ‘Picture-in-Picture’ feature for Instagram Reels.” Once the PIP feature is enabled, the reel will continue to play in a small, reservoir window that sits over other apps or home screens, making multitasking easier.

In a screenshot shared by Oncescu, the user has received a notice about this feature from Instagram. When they tap on the “TRAI It” button, the Instagram directs them to the platform’s original share screen, where a tole is available to activate the pip. The floating player acts like a PIP on apps like Youtube and Tiktok, both have supported the feature for some time.

This feature allows users to respond to messages, browse web, or even scroll through any other app, while still watching a reel/ video. Now the flexibility of this video in Instagram can potentially allow the company to tilt users for long-term reels, which are becoming more normal because platform pushes creators to quickly go beyond 15–30 seconds clips.

Instead of leaving a long video, the audience can simply let it play in the background while doing something else on his device. It can also help in dealing with the challenge of drawing attention to Instagram.

For creators, PIP can be a subtle but powerful tool. By reducing the possibility of the audience exiting the middle-video, this feature may increase the total clock time.

And this is not the first time we are hearing about PIP for Instagram. A few months ago, Instagram Head Adam Mosari indicated that this feature could be on the way. When asked about the possibility, he said that he would “talk to the team and see if we can understand something.”

Now it seems that those conversations have been converted into real experiments, although the company has not yet confirmed when – or even if – Pip will be rolled out more widely. Currently, this feature is being tested with a small group of users. There is no timeline for a broad release, and the meta has a track record of quietly inserted with the features that do not perform well during the tests. For now, it will be interesting to see that when Instagram decides to provide PIP to all.