If you‘re a frequent Instagram user, you may have recently encountered a frustrating change: the once-handy option to save Instagram Reels appears to have vanished without a trace. Where there used to be a "Save" button nestled in the three-dots menu on every Reel, many users are now seeing only a "Draw" option in its place.
So what exactly happened to the Reels save feature, and is there any hope of getting it back? In this deep dive, we‘ll explore the mystery of the missing save button and what it means for creators and users alike.
The Case of the Disappearing Save Option
Instagram Reels, the app‘s short-form video feature designed to rival TikTok, has become a central part of the platform experience since its launch in 2020. With a dedicated tab on the home screen and prominent placement in users‘ feeds, Reels have been Instagram‘s key play in the battle for short-form video dominance.
But in April 2023, something strange happened. Seemingly overnight, the ability to save Reels to your account disappeared for many Instagram users across the globe. Where the "Save" button once was, there is now just an empty space or, in some cases, a "Draw" button for adding doodles or text to the Reel.
The change seemed to roll out inconsistently, with no clear pattern as to which accounts were affected. Some users reported still having the save option while others did not. Even stranger, some people found that the feature‘s availability varied between their different Instagram accounts, with the option present on one profile but missing on another.
Theories and speculation about the reasoning behind this change have run rampant. Was it a glitch or mistake on Instagram‘s part? A deliberate move to keep Reels content exclusive to the app? A tactic to discourage reposting of Reels from other platforms?
To get to the bottom of this mystery, let‘s examine the evidence and consider some expert insights.
The TikTok Effect: Instagram‘s Battle for Short-Form Video Supremacy
To understand why Instagram might have made this perplexing move with Reels saving, it‘s important to zoom out and look at the app‘s broader competition with TikTok.
Since TikTok‘s massive surge in popularity in 2019 and 2020, Instagram has been playing catch-up in the short-form video space. Reels, which launched in August 2020, was a clear attempt to replicate TikTok‘s winning formula of an endless, algorithm-driven feed of snappy videos set to popular music clips.
Instagram has aggressively pushed Reels as a core part of the app experience, giving the feature its own dedicated tab and inserting Reels into users‘ main feeds. According to Instagram‘s parent company Meta, Reels now make up more than 20% of the time people spend on Instagram.
But despite this growth, Instagram Reels still lag behind TikTok in some key ways. One major difference is how the two apps handle content downloading and sharing.
On TikTok, users can easily download any video to their device with just a few taps. This has led to rampant reposting and cross-platform sharing of TikTok content. It‘s not uncommon to see TikTok watermarks on videos across Instagram, Twitter, and beyond.
In contrast, Instagram has historically been more protective of its native content. The app has never offered an official way to download posts or stories. Until recently, the same was true for Reels—you could save them to your Instagram account‘s "Saved" folder, but not download them directly to your phone‘s camera roll.
So could the removal of the Reels save feature be a strategic move by Instagram to keep more of that content within its own ecosystem?
"Instagram has always been a walled garden, and they want to keep people consuming content on their platform rather than spreading it elsewhere," says social media analyst Matt Navarra. "By making it harder to save and download Reels, they‘re essentially trying to make the feature stickier and keep users coming back to the app to watch that content."
There‘s also the issue of attribution and giving proper credit to Reels creators. When a Reel is downloaded and reposted to another platform, there‘s no guarantee that the original creator will be tagged or acknowledged. Removing the save option ensures that Reels can only be viewed within the Instagram app, with the creator‘s handle always attached.
"I think this move is about Instagram trying to protect the intellectual property of its creators and make sure they‘re getting the recognition they deserve for their work," says Navarra. "It‘s a way to keep Reels content native to the platform and discourage reposting without credit."
The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: How Instagram‘s Code Changes Hint at a Deliberate Choice
So far, Instagram has not provided any official statement or acknowledgment of the Reels save option‘s disappearance. The company‘s help pages still reference the feature as if it exists for all users. This silence has only fueled speculation about whether this was a purposeful decision or an unintended glitch.
But a closer look at the technical side of things suggests this was no accident. By examining the Instagram app‘s code before and after the change, we can see clear differences in how the save feature was implemented.
In previous versions of the app, the "save" button on Reels was powered by a piece of code that looked like this:
<button class="_abm0 _abm1">
<div class="_abm2">
<svg aria-label="Save" class="_ab6-" color="#262626" fill="#262626" height="24" role="img" viewBox="0 0 48 48" width="24">
<path d="M43.5 48c-.4 0-.8-.2-1.1-.4L24 29 5.6 47.6c-.4.4-1.1.6-1.6.3-.6-.2-1-.8-1-1.4v-45C3 .7 3.7 0 4.5 0h39c.8 0 1.5.7 1.5 1.5v45c0 .6-.4 1.2-.9 1.4-.2.1-.4.1-.6.1zM24 26c.8 0 1.6.3 2.2.9l15.8 16V3H6v39.9l15.8-16c.6-.6 1.4-.9 2.2-.9z"></path>
</svg>
</div>
<div class="_abm3">Save</div>
</button>But in the current version of the Instagram app, that code block is nowhere to be found. Instead, for users affected by the change, the space where the save button once appeared is now just an empty div:
<div class="_abm0"></div>This suggests that Instagram has intentionally removed the save feature for certain accounts rather than it being a bug or unintended consequence.
Interestingly, some users have reported that switching to an older version of the Instagram app temporarily restores the save Reels option. This further implies that this change is a result of an intentional update to the app‘s codebase.
But how is Instagram deciding which accounts lose the save option and which get to keep it? Some developers have theorized that it could be based on factors like account age, posting frequency, or engagement levels.
"It‘s possible that Instagram is using some kind of algorithm or machine learning model to determine which users are more likely to repost Reels content to other platforms," says app developer Jane Lee. "They could be selectively disabling the save feature for those accounts as a way to keep that content exclusive to Instagram."
However, without official confirmation from Instagram, the specifics of how this selective disabling works remain cloudy.
By the Numbers: Instagram Reels Usage and the Impact of the Save Feature‘s Removal
To put the Reels save debacle in context, let‘s take a look at some key data points:
Instagram Reels now have over 1 billion monthly active users, according to Meta‘s Q4 2022 earnings report. That‘s nearly half of Instagram‘s total monthly active user base of 2.35 billion.
In a 2022 Piper Sandler survey, 35% of U.S. teens named Instagram as their favorite social media platform, compared to 30% who chose TikTok and 22% who preferred Snapchat. Instagram Reels were cited as a key factor in the app‘s popularity among this demographic.
However, TikTok still leads in terms of average engagement and time spent. According to a 2022 report from Insider Intelligence, TikTok users spend an average of 95 minutes per day on the app, compared to just 30 minutes per day for Instagram users.
In an informal survey of 500 Instagram users conducted by tech blog Android Police, nearly 60% reported no longer having the option to save Reels to their account. 30% said they still had the save feature, while 10% were unsure.
That same survey found that 45% of respondents regularly used the Reels save feature before its removal, with 20% saying they saved Reels multiple times per week.
So while Instagram Reels have grown to be a significant portion of the overall Instagram experience, TikTok still has an edge in some usage metrics. The removal of the save option is likely an attempt to boost Reels engagement and keep pace with TikTok.
But given how many users seemed to regularly rely on the save feature, Instagram risks alienating a portion of its user base with this change. The lack of any official acknowledgement or explanation from the company has only added to the frustration.
"I think Instagram is underestimating how much people enjoyed being able to save their favorite Reels to rewatch later," says social media consultant Amir Hajian. "For a lot of users, that feature was a big part of what made Reels compelling and kept them coming back to the app. Removing it without any warning or explanation feels like a slap in the face."
What Does This Mean for Creators? Adapting Reels Strategies in a Post-Save World
For the many creators who have built followings on Instagram Reels, the save option‘s disappearance is more than just an inconvenience—it could have real impacts on their reach and engagement.
Creators could previously count on their most dedicated fans saving their Reels, which served as a form of bookmarking and helped boost the videos‘ overall engagement. Removing that option means one less metric for judging a Reel‘s performance and one less way for fans to interact with the content.
There‘s also the question of content ownership and control. Many creators used the save feature as a way to keep a backup copy of their own Reels in case they later wanted to repurpose them for other platforms or contexts. Without that ability, creators may feel like they have less agency over the content they‘re publishing to Instagram.
"As a creator, it‘s frustrating to feel like you don‘t have full control over the things you make and post to Instagram," says Reels creator Jazmyn Stokes. "The save feature was a nice way to keep a copy of your own work. It‘s disappointing to lose that, especially with no explanation from Instagram."
So what can Reels creators do to adapt to this new reality? Here are a few suggestions:
Save your own Reels before posting: If you want to ensure you have a copy of your Reels for your own records or to repurpose later, make sure to save the original video file to your phone‘s camera roll before uploading it to Instagram. That way, you‘re not reliant on the in-app save feature.
Encourage viewers to bookmark or share your Reels: Just because the save option is gone doesn‘t mean there aren‘t other ways for fans to engage with and save your content. Encourage your followers to bookmark your Reels to their browser, share them with friends, or even screen record them (with proper credit to you, of course).
Diversify your content strategy: If you‘re worried about the impact of the save feature‘s removal on your Instagram performance, it may be worth exploring other content formats and platforms. Experiment with posting more frequently to your Instagram feed and stories, or focus on building a presence on TikTok or YouTube Shorts as well.
Prioritize community building: At the end of the day, the most valuable thing you can build on any social platform is a genuine connection with your audience. Rather than getting too hung up on any one feature or metric, focus on creating content that resonates with your followers and engages them in meaningful ways. Build a community around your brand that will follow you no matter what changes Instagram makes.
Conclusion: The Bigger Picture of Social Media Shifts and Content Ownership
The curious case of the disappearing Instagram Reels save option may seem like a relatively small change in the grand scheme of things. But it‘s emblematic of the constantly shifting landscape of social media and the challenges of building a presence on rented land.
As platforms like Instagram and TikTok continue to battle for dominance and attention, creators and users alike are often left at the whim of algorithm tweaks, feature changes, and strategic pivots. It‘s a reminder that the content and communities we build on these apps are ultimately subject to the decisions and priorities of the companies that own them.
So while it‘s important to stay nimble and adapt to changes like the Reels save removal, it‘s equally important to think about how to build a sustainable, platform-agnostic presence online. That might mean diversifying your content outlets, building owned channels like an email list or website, and always prioritizing the needs and interests of your core audience.
Because at the end of the day, the only thing we can count on in the world of social media is change. The platforms and features that are indispensable today may be gone tomorrow. But if you‘ve built something meaningful that truly resonates with people, you‘ll be able to weather any storm and come out stronger on the other side.
