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Exclusive: Facebook testing Vine-like video for Instagram

Flickr: Mehfuz Hossain
Flickr: Mehfuz Hossain

Facebook is testing a video feature for its photo sharing social network Instagram similar in function to Twitter’s Vine, according to a source.

The feature, which is still being tested internally, would allow a user to upload somewhere between five to 10 seconds of video from their mobile device to the photo sharing website, the source said.



The source requested anonymity as they were not permitted to speak publicly about the feature.

While the video feature is being tested internally, it is unclear if it will launch to Instagram’s 100 million monthly active users, who collectively upload around 40 million photos per day. It’s also unclear if the app will have Instagram’s hallmark filters.



Adding video to Instagram would pit Facebook’s photo sharing application against Vine, an application acquired by Twitter in October 2012 and launched to the public in January 2013. Vine allows users to upload six seconds of video with audio, then cross-post video to Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

User statistics for Vine have not been released to the public.



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Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.