Meta is bringing Instagram's endless scroll to living room televisions with a new TV app now available on Google TV devices in the United States. The expansion follows the platform's December debut on Amazon Fire TV and represents Instagram's most direct attempt yet to compete with YouTube for control of the living room screen.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the rollout on Threads, positioning the move as more than a limited test. The app, available through the Google Play Store, transforms Reels viewing from a phone-based activity into a passive television experience where videos play automatically like traditional broadcast channels.
Users can access their personalized Reels feed organized into themed categories including comedy, music, sports highlights, travel, and viral moments. Content surfaces based on creators and topics already engaged with on mobile Instagram accounts.
The interface supports remote navigation rather than touchscreen swiping, with videos continuing to play without constant user input. The TV app supports multi-account login for households, allowing up to five different Instagram profiles on a single television. Passwordless authentication works through phone approval when devices share the same Wi-Fi network.
Users maintain full interactive capabilities including liking videos, viewing comments, and resharing content directly from the television interface.
This expansion arrives just two months after Instagram's initial Fire TV launch in December 2025, which Meta described at the time as a "test" limited to U.S. Amazon devices. The rapid platform expansion signals Meta's commitment to establishing Instagram as a serious television competitor rather than maintaining it as a mobile-only experience.
Instagram's television push directly targets YouTube's dominance in living room video consumption. While YouTube already offers Shorts viewing through its TV app and TikTok previously operated a television application before shutting it down, Meta appears determined not to be excluded as short-form video increasingly migrates beyond smartphones.
The company also sees potential for television viewing of longer creator content currently in development. Mini-dramas and extended video formats being tested on Instagram could find more natural viewing environments on larger screens than mobile devices provide.
For now, the Google TV expansion remains exclusive to U.S. users according to reports from international testers who cannot access the application. Meta likely plans broader geographic availability after gathering initial feedback from American Google TV households about their Reels viewing habits on television displays.
