"The update simplifies playback control and makes content consumption more seamless and intuitive," the company said in a press release.

The feature has been rolled out after months of testing and user feedback around inconsistent tap controls according to the platform. With this update, users can pause a Reel with a single tap and further also access a mute option once paused. The Mobile Indian can independently confirm that Tap to Pause feature on Instagram Reels was available for one of our accounts since a few weeks now.

Meanwhile, the company rolled out a couple of other new features earlier this year for its platform in India. This includes the addition of AI voice effects in Instagram DMs for voice notes. The feature allows you to record a voice note in a DM and apply different voice effects before sending it. It is now live in India and can be used on both Android and iOS.

With AI Voice Effects in Instagram DMs for Voice Notes, you can transform your voice messages into fun, character-style effects while still preserving the rhythm, tone, and emotion of the original recording.

Back in January this year, Instagram expanded Reels translations to five new Indian languages including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Marathi. When the feature is turned on, the tool preserves the sound and tone of your voice, "so your reels feel authentically you." You can also choose to enable the lip syncing feature, which syncs the translated audio to your mouth's movements, so it looks like you're actually speaking the language.