Edits is a free photo and video-editing app aimed at content creators posting on social media – particularly Instagram, the makers behind the Edits app. Designed to take on its rival TikTok’s CapCut, Edits lets creators use a range of creative tools not found in the original Instagram app, to design and build content from the comfort of their own phone. Edits also offers analytics tools for users to track video performance, gearing the app towards more serious content creators over casual users.
What can kids do on Edits?
Instagram’s feed has long changed since the days of sharing oversaturated pictures of avocado toast – the social sharing app’s main focus has shifted to Reels, Instagram’s version of short-form videos, which now dominate the user experience on most successful social platforms. Instagram’s rival, TikTok, provides users with an extensive suite of tools within the app, along with a standalone studio, CapCut, letting creators and dabblers create videos on their phone in a short space of time. Instagram’s Edits hopes to level the playing field, offering what the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, calls “a full suite of creative tools”. On Edits, you can:
- Keep track of ideas and drafts in one space
- Create videos with better tools than those found in the Instagram app, like a higher quality camera, video cutouts, and animation with integrated AI
- Share drafts and ideas with friends or other creators
- Use a wider library of fonts, animations, music, and filters
- Explore other users’ videos in an “Inspiration” feed
- Check analytics tools to understand video performance, if sharing within Instagram
- Download your final creation, watermark-free, to your camera roll
To use Edits, you first need an Instagram account, which means that in accordance with Instagram’s Teen Accounts and policies, it’s restricted to age 13+.
Instagram Edits: the risks parents need to know
In-app content
While the features on Edits are mostly designed for video creation, the “Inspiration” feed could be a source of inappropriate content, depending on the videos they are served. The videos displayed are based on Instagram’s algorithm, so the app serves inspirational content to you depending on your interests, likes, and behavior over on Instagram itself. In general, if your child uses Instagram, it’s important to talk to them about how algorithms work, and encourage them to engage with positive content or content that allows them to explore their interests, rather than content that makes them feel demotivated, or which is inappropriate for their age.
Content sharing
As with any social media, make sure your child understands consent, and what they are able to post on social media. While Teen accounts are private by default, your child should still understand that once a video or picture is posted online, we lose control of the content, and even if your child decides to delete a video, someone following them could easily have taken screen recordings or screenshots. It’s also important they are aware of online consent: taking videos and pictures of friends and family is one thing, but filming strangers or people they don’t know, then uploading it to social media could have implications, either for your child or the person they filmed.
Social media pressure
Edits doesn’t have a traditional Instagram “feed”, but it does have an “Inspiration” feed, where you’re served aspirational content and Reels from creators, designed to get you creating too. While you can’t comment on these videos, so there’s no user interaction, watching a steady stream of picture-perfect, Instagram-ready content has both its pros and cons – serving as creative inspiration, while also having the potential to affect how your child views the world. Talking to your child about the realities of online influencers, and helping them recognize that not everything they see online is real or reflective of other people’s reality, can set them up with a more realistic outlook of social media.
Making Edits safer for teens
Comply with age restrictions
If your child isn’t old enough to have their own Instagram account, they shouldn’t be using Edits, as the app requires Instagram to be able to create and experiment. Depending on the country, Instagram requires users to be at least 13 before opening an account, and under-18s will automatically be streamed into a more teen-appropriate experience through their Teen Accounts feature.
Get to know the app with them
Video apps like Edits can be a great way to encourage teens to get creative, as long as they’re using the app in a responsible way. Get to know Edits’ features, and explore the ways that your child can create content, especially because through Edits, you don’t actually have to post the end product to social media. You could create videos as a family, or show them how to use the tools to create videos about their hobbies and interests.
Encourage safe sharing
If your child does share videos to social media, or any content, it’s important for them to share responsibly. Talk to your child about the importance of never revealing personal information or information that can help identify their name and location, such as school uniform, street name, or similar. Even if your child’s account is private, this still rings true, as anything online can be shared through screenshots or spoken about in group chats. Make sure your child also understands what online consent looks like – for their friendship group, for example, sharing photos and videos might be OK, but when sharing pictures of minors, it’s important to always get consent.
Have conversations about what healthy social media use looks like
In today’s world, despite restrictions and proposals affecting how minors use these channels, social media is relatively inescapable. Even if your teen doesn’t use social media now, the chances are that in the future, they will. Help them make sense of social media and talk about its role in their life. Teaching our teens to verify information, think critically about the content they see online, and how to interact with others when they explore chats, comments, and other internet spaces, will help set them up to be better digital citizens in the future.
With some ground rules and understanding of the app’s features, Instagram’s Edits tool can be an opportunity for your teen to explore their creativity, especially if they’re not sharing videos on Instagram itself. Setting daily use limits on apps like Edits can help to bring balance to teens’ digital activity, especially if you notice increased amounts of time spent on the app. However, if your child is active on social media, proceed with more caution, communicating with them about building a positive relationship with social media, understanding how the algorithm works, and the dangers that the platforms can pose.
