[3] The service was launched and introduced by former Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom in a live event in San Francisco on June 20, 2018, featuring creators such as Lele Pons.

Mobile devices allowed uploads of up to 15 minutes in length with a file size of up to 650 MB, while desktop web browsers allowed uploads of up to 60 minutes in length with a file size of up to 3.6 GB.

Additionally, uploads on IGTV could be mirrored to a linked Facebook page.

[9] The standalone app was not widely adopted; in January 2020, it was reported that it only had around 7 million users.

[11][12] In February 2022, Instagram announced that IGTV would be discontinued in March 2022, electing to focus on video functionality in the main app (including Reels).