Mosseri: Earlier Reels launch would have prevented TikTok from becoming as big
Adam Mosseri · The rise of taste, human authenticity and judgment in an AI world | Adam Mosseri (Head of IG) · Jul 9, 2026 · at 1:02:03
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, reflects on early product mistakes with Instagram Reels and how building on top of Stories left Meta out of position when TikTok exploded in 2020.
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“And if we had the version of reels that we launched In like mid, just maybe we think it's like the summer of 20 20, in the summer of 2019. I think, I don't think TikTok isn't, I think TikTok is still big and important, but I don't think it's as big as it is now because when they really took off was when the pandemic hit and a bunch of people had a lot of time at home and we're looking for a little bit of joy and we're totally fine with our phone having sound on.”
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