Meta has rolled out a fresh set of upgrades for its Edits video editing app, alongside a new Instagram feature that lets creators build Reels using another clip as a guide. The changes are designed to give creators more control over style, music and audience insight, as Meta continues to expand its creator toolkit across Instagram and Edits.
New Tools Inside Edits
The latest Edits update introduces clickable audio links, which let Reels creators attach links to specific songs or sounds that viewers can tap to listen. A new trending topics feature offers insight into what is driving engagement among a creator’s audience, though for now it is limited to accounts with more than 10,000 followers. Meta has also added Kits, which allow creators to save visual style elements into one group and return to a chosen look whenever they like. Additional visual effects tools are arriving too, widening the creative options available in the app.
Instagram’s “Use as Reference” Option
In the main Instagram app, creators can now open a Reel shorter than 90 seconds, tap the three-dot menu and select “Use as reference.” The clip appears in a small window inside the camera view, where it can be moved, paused or replayed before recording begins. A countdown also helps creators sync their footage with the original, which could make response videos easier to produce. The feature is currently available only on iOS.
Instagram is also retiring Reels linking, the option that let creators connect clips into a series. Introduced in August 2025, it will be removed from Oct. 28, according to creator economy expert Lia Haberman, as part of an effort to simplify the Reels experience. The move may point to Instagram’s growing interest in long-form content, rather than guiding viewers through chains of short clips.