If you’ve been debating whether to post that three-minute Instagram Reel or trim it down to 30 seconds to avoid algorithmic penalties, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri has finally clarified how the platform actually measures video engagement—and it’s not what most creators have been assuming.

In a refreshingly straightforward explanation, Mosseri explains that Instagram doesn’t penalize longer videos, “We don’t want to penalize longer videos, which is why we look at not only the percentage of a video that was watched, but also the number of seconds. If you watched 10 seconds of a minute long video, that is just as many seconds as if it was 10 seconds of a 10 second video, so you won’t be penalized.”

Translation: Raw watch time matters just as much as completion percentage.

While Mosseri didn’t reveal the secret sauce of how these metrics are weighted, his statement offers crucial insights for content creators:

• Longer videos aren’t algorithmically disadvantaged: You won’t be punished for posting that in-depth tutorial just because fewer people watch it all the way through.
• Actual seconds watched count: Ten seconds is ten seconds, whether it’s 100% of a short clip or 10% of a longer video.
• Completion still matters: Reading between the lines, completion rates likely still factor into the algorithm’s decisions, but they’re balanced against absolute watch time.

This revelation aligns perfectly with Instagram’s recent move to expand Reels to three minutes. The platform wants more long-form content but needed to reassure creators that the algorithm wouldn’t punish them for embracing this direction.

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