Tubular Labs restores Instagram Reels view data through Meta API update

Social video intelligence platform Tubular Labs announced September 25, 2025, the restoration of Instagram Reels view counts to its analytics dashboard. The feature returns after Meta updated its Business Discovery API, allowing the official Meta Measurement Partner to provide platform-verified view data to customers tracking cross-platform social video performance.

According to Tubular Labs, the restoration enables access to over 27.5 billion data points from Instagram Reels. These metrics cover public content from both creators and businesses, offering marketers comprehensive visibility into Instagram performance alongside existing data from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and other platforms within Tubular's database of more than 15 billion videos.

The announcement comes as Instagram continues experiencing substantial growth. Since late 2020, more than 1.6 billion videos have been uploaded to Instagram, representing nearly 1 million new videos daily. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Instagram reached over 3 billion monthly active users, strengthening its position as a critical platform for video marketing strategies.

Jill Nicholson, CMO of Chartbeat, Tubular Labs' parent company, stated the restoration addresses consistent customer demand. "Tubular customers can see the full picture on Instagram to identify opportunities faster, optimize strategies with precision, and analyze cross-platform metrics," according to the announcement.

The technical implementation leverages Meta's recent Business Discovery API modifications. As an official Meta Measurement Partner, Tubular Labs receives platform-verified view counts rather than estimated metrics, providing advertisers with consistent measurement standards across social platforms. This development addresses a significant gap in social video analytics that emerged when view data became unavailable through previous API limitations.

Beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics highlighted the practical applications in the announcement. Fabienne Vossen noted the restoration provides "trusted, platform-verified data and consistent metrics across social platforms, empowering us to make smarter, faster decisions on our video strategy." The beauty industry particularly benefits from this capability, as trends move rapidly and require immediate performance tracking.

Tubular Labs identifies three primary capabilities enabled by the restored data. Unified cross-platform analysis allows marketers to evaluate Instagram performance alongside other social platforms using consistent metrics. Platform-verified views provide complete, trusted performance pictures without estimation gaps. Streamlined reporting eliminates workarounds previously required for cross-platform measurement, establishing a single source of analytical truth.

The restoration addresses growing demands for Instagram Reels analytics. Instagram Reels have consistently outperformed other video content formats, generating six times the reach of Instagram Stories and more than three times the median views of other Instagram video content, according to previous research from Emplifi.

Recent developments in Instagram measurement have created additional complexity for marketers. Instagram content became searchable through Google starting July 10, requiring dual-platform tracking of both Google performance metrics and native Instagram engagement data. Meta also introduced Instagram follows metrics for ads reporting in July 2025, expanding attribution visibility for audience acquisition campaigns.

The timing coincides with broader platform measurement changes. YouTube modified Shorts view counting methodology March 31, eliminating minimum watch time requirements and increasing reported view counts. These platform-specific measurement adjustments highlight the importance of standardized cross-platform analytics tools for marketing teams managing multi-channel video strategies.

Instagram's technical infrastructure has undergone significant modifications throughout 2025. Meta expanded Instagram Reels with longer video limits and creator incentives in January, increasing maximum Reels length to three minutes and introducing cash incentives up to $5,000 for eligible creators. These changes increase content volume and diversity, making comprehensive analytics more critical for performance measurement.

The restoration also benefits from enhanced brand safety infrastructure. DoubleVerify launched content-level controls on Meta platforms, providing 30 new avoidance categories for Facebook and Instagram advertisers. These safety measures complement Tubular Labs' measurement capabilities, enabling comprehensive campaign monitoring that addresses both performance and brand suitability concerns.

Tubular Labs operates as the social video intelligence company providing unified views of content, interests, and audience behaviors across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, and additional platforms. The company maintains the largest social video database covering more than 15 billion videos and 45 million creators, helping brands, agencies, and media companies anticipate trends, identify emerging creators, and optimize video strategies for maximum engagement.

The Business Discovery API update represents Meta's continued development of measurement partnerships. As platforms compete for advertising revenue, providing third-party verification and comprehensive analytics becomes increasingly important for maintaining advertiser confidence. The restoration of Instagram Reels view data through official partnerships demonstrates platform commitment to transparency and measurement standards.

Marketing teams utilizing Tubular Labs can now access Instagram Reels data across all platform areas, ensuring complete social video intelligence for strategic decision-making. The platform-verified nature of the restored data eliminates concerns about metric accuracy that can arise with estimated or scraped analytics, providing the measurement reliability required for budget allocation and campaign optimization decisions.

The announcement positions Tubular Labs to strengthen its role among marketers requiring accurate, timely, and comprehensive social video intelligence. With Instagram Reels continuing as one of the fastest-growing social video formats, visibility into platform-verified view counts becomes essential for competitive benchmarking, trend identification, and data-driven marketing optimization.

Timeline

• September 25, 2025: Tubular Labs announces restoration of Instagram Reels view counts through Meta's Business Discovery API update
• Late 2020: Instagram begins significant video upload growth, reaching 1.6 billion videos by 2025
• August 2025: Meta introduces Instagram follows metric for ads reporting
• July 2025: Instagram content becomes searchable on Google
• April 2025: Instagram launches new video creation app for content creators
• March 2025: YouTube changes how Shorts views are counted
• February 2025: DoubleVerify launches content-level controls on Meta platforms
• January 2025: Meta expands Instagram Reels with longer videos and creator incentives

Summary

Who: Tubular Labs, the global leader in social video intelligence and official Meta Measurement Partner, announced the restoration to customers managing cross-platform video marketing strategies.

What: Instagram Reels view counts returned to Tubular Labs' analytics platform, providing access to over 27.5 billion platform-verified data points from public Instagram Reels content.

When: September 25, 2025, following Meta's recent update to the Business Discovery API that enables official measurement partners to access view count data.

Where: Available globally to all Tubular Labs customers through the company's unified analytics platform covering YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, and other social video platforms.

Why: The restoration addresses consistent customer demand for complete Instagram performance visibility, enabling unified cross-platform measurement, trusted platform-verified metrics, and streamlined reporting for data-driven video marketing decisions.