Instagram’s answer to CapCut is finally here. Edits was first teased by Adam Mosseri, the Meta-owned social media giant's head, in mid-January, as TikTok was facing its first ban in the US. It was originally supposed to launch in February, then March, but here we are in April, and today’s the day.
As initially promised, Instagram Edits is available for free on Android and iOS. It lands as a familiar timeline-based editor offering deep integration with Instagram, meaning you can view your metrics, watch other Reels, browse through all the available sounds and audio clips, and even apply popular effects.
Unlike CapCut, which is owned by TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, or other video-editing apps for mobile, Instagram is billing Edits as a one-stop shop. As you can see from the screenshots below, there's a lot of focus on creation and ideation.
Beyond importing video, making cuts, adding text, and implementing effects, you can use sticky notes of sorts to create lists of ideas or manage various projects.
(Image credit: Instagram)As noted above, you can watch other Reels and browse for them without leaving the app. Plus, you’ll have the ability to save notes associated with them – maybe it’s one you want to remix or just an excellent custom audio you want to use in your next video.
The big appeal, though, for the Instagram faithful is a promised high-quality camera for "enhanced video recording." This way, you can capture and edit right in the app, versus shooting in another app and then moving it into Instagram. Again, as a trend for Meta, the goal is to own the whole process.
Now, whether you shoot in the app or import, there are plenty of editing tools available. Mosseri initially teased that Edits would have all the tools you’d expect, and those are here. Instagram is tossing in some more unique ones, though, including the ability to pull from popular effects like a green screen.
More advanced effects, like Cutouts, which allows you to isolate a person or object on screen with tracking, or Antimate, which likely utilizes a Meta LLM, can turn images into video for engaging moments, are also included.
Both seem pretty handy, and are located at the very bottom of the interface as a row of tools. Above it, you’ll have a classic timeline that harkens back to iMovie and looks quite reminiscent of CapCut. You’ll have your main video track with audio below it, as well as room for on-screen elements like text or overlays.
(Image credit: Instagram)While I haven’t tried Edits yet, the core functions seem to be on a par with those of other video editors, and it should be easy enough to quickly create an edit with drag-and-drop, cuts, splits, and more. Edits also has a Captions tool, as well as options to record a voiceover and add other elements.
Instagram is also promising to listen to feedback, and already has a list of features that are set to arrive in the next few updates to Edits, including the ability to use AI to modify videos, likely with a prompt; keyframes, collaboration features, and an expansion to built-in elements like fonts, filters, and voice effects, among other things.
The platform also promises to listen to feedback on Edits and use it to inform the development roadmap. I'm curious to see how Edits stacks up, given that CapCut, which I use quite a bit, disappeared for a while TikTok was banned. You can edit up to 10 minutes of video, and Instagram promises watermark-free exports to its own platform as well as general saves to the device.
Additionally, while the AI features aren’t make or break, they could let creators spice up content, and I like the promised functionality of Cutouts. So, yes, while the design does resemble CapCut, that platform didn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel of video editing on the fly.
If anything, Instagram launching Edits as a free video editor on iOS and Android should inspire some new features for competing apps to help level the playing field. If you’re interested in trying Edits, it’s rolling out now for Android and iOS.
You might also likeBethesda Softworks has officially unveiled The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, and it's playable right now.
Following a series of recent leaks, today's special Bethesda broadcast finally confirmed that the remaster of the 2006 game is real and is now available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Game Pass.
The standard edition costs $49.99 / £49.99 and it's $59.99 / £59.99 for the Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition comes with the base game plus additional content in the form of new quests, armor, horse armor, and weapons.
According to Bethesda, the game has been rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 in collaboration with Virtuos to "achieve our visual goals" and features all-new character models, a new lighting system that simulates how light interacts with the environment, and a rework of the game mechanics.
Gameplay has also been completely modernized, along with UI and UX, audio, and environments, like cities, woodland, and dungeons, but still features the original game's identity.
"This is Oblivion in its most complete form," one developer said in the broadcast.
Bethesda boss Todd Howard also made an appearance to talk about the remaster 20 years after the original was released, and also reaffirmed that the studio is "working on the sixth chapter," aka The Elder Scrolls 6.
"...What's great about The Elder Scrolls is being able to look back at all of the chapters: Skyrim, Morrowind, Oblivion, Daggerfall, Arena. Each of them try to define role-playing games and open-world games for their generation," he said.
"Oblivion was a real defining moment in the series and how we make games as a studio."
You might also like...Pakistan's telecom authority continues its quest to regulate the use of unlicensed VPNs across the country despite pushbacks.
On April 18, 2025, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) granted the needed license to three companies in order to provide their services in the country. The Authority now urges all VPN providers operating in Pakistan to obtain a license to avoid potential service disruptions.
All this comes as increasingly more Pakistanis have been using some of the best VPN services to access X, which has been blocked since February 2024, and other restricted social media platforms.
The end of unlicensed VPNs in Pakistan?"The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has commenced the licensing of Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers under the Class License for the Provision of Data Services in Pakistan. As part of this process, PTA has already granted Class Licenses to provide VPN services to three companies," the PTA wrote in an official announcement.
The plan for a new licensing category for VPN providers was first unveiled in December last year in a bid to regulate Pakistan VPN usage. Companies need to apply for a permit to operate within the country and avoid potential blocks.
As the Pakistani English-speaking newspaper The Dawn pointed out at the time, the PTA plan envisages local companies to provide VPN or proxy services to citizens, instead of foreign companies, which are more difficult to control.
This may mean the anonymity of Pakistani VPN users could be compromised when using a licensed provider as authorities may be able to monitor VPN traffic.
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As mentioned earlier, the Authority is now urging all VPN providers operating in the country to apply for the needed license.
"Timely licensing will help prevent potential service disruptions and ensure uninterrupted access for their customers," wrote the PTA.
VPN services remain a necessary tool at the time of writing to keep accessing all the main social media platforms in Pakistan, including X, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Bluesky.
Given last year's failures in successfully regulating VPN usage in Pakistan – authorities were forced to withdraw the ban on unregistered services due to a lack of legal grounds to ban VPNs – it's difficult to predict what's at stake for VPN users in the country.
Talking to TechRadar back in December, Proton VPN confirmed that if the PTA's VPN framework is eventually enforced for all providers, the company's response would be to replace its physical servers with its Smart Routing technology, as the company did in India in 2022.
TechRadar has approached some of the top providers for comment on the matter, but we are still waiting for a response at the time of writing.
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