Tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk has once again expressed his dislike for Instagram, this time taking aim at the ‘annoying’ Instagram logo watermark that appears on downloaded Reels.
Musk reacted to a Reel posted by a user on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “That annoying Instagram logo keeps popping up in videos. Makes things worse.” He referred to the watermark that includes the Instagram logo and the name of the user to whom the video belongs. Musk finds this watermark distracting and unnecessary.
It’s worth noting that TikTok also allows users to download videos with a watermark, which makes Musk’s reaction somewhat puzzling.
This is not the first time Musk has taken a shot at Instagram. Earlier in December, he commented on a report stating that over a million people search for “How to delete (my) Instagram account” each month in 2023. X ranked third for this search query, while Facebook, another Meta app, ranked fifth.
Last year, Musk likened Instagram to OnlyFans, escalating his rivalry with Meta Platforms Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. He has also been critical of advertisers on Instagram, criticizing them after a report claimed that the platform’s algorithms were serving “risqué” footage of children.
Despite Musk’s criticism, Instagram recently introduced the ability to download Reels, allowing users to share them on other platforms. To download a Reel, open the desired Reel and tap the “Share” button. If the account owner has enabled downloads, a “Download” button will appear. Tap on it to save the Reel to your device’s internal storage.
