In April 2025, Instagram began testing a groundbreaking feature that allows creators to lock their Reels, making them accessible only to followers who can unlock them with a secret passcode. As a creator myself, I believe this feature will be a game-changer in lead generation, email list building, and monetization. Based on feedback from over 750K creators who shared this news with others within the 2.5 million followers of the official Instagram Design page, it's clear that this feature is already sparking excitement across the platform.

One month after the announcement, the first locked Reels appeared on The Weeknd's account, and it received 250K shares within the first 3 days.

The secret code is “ICANTSING”

This is an amazing result because, on average, @TheWeeknd gets only 5k-20k shares per post.

Locked Reels generated 10 times more engagement!

Creators can post a locked Reel on their feed, and followers can unlock it by entering a secret code. It might sound simple, but this feature has a lot of potential for getting more engagement and helping creators grow their email lists.

Some people wonder if followers will bother to search for the secret code. Let’s look at why this feature can work and how it can help.

But it will work better if you ask users to provide their email, automatically copy the secret code, and then redirect them to the locked Reels, where they can simply paste it and unlock the content.

This method reduces friction compared to the traditional process marketers have used before, making it easier for users to access exclusive content.

Here’s how it will work.

You need to create two Reels. The first one will be a Promo Reel announcing the exclusive, locked content. In the promo, mention that you have a "how-to tutorial" or "5 ways to resolve (problem name)" ready for them. In the caption, tell followers that if they want to learn more, they should comment with a specific keyword, and you’ll send them the video.

When users comment the keyword or DM you, tools like Apiway can automatically reply with a link to Apiway Unlock Reels page. The link won’t lead to the locked Reel directly. Instead, it will direct users to a page with a contact form.

Here’s the most important part of the process: after submitting the form, users are taken to another page where they can copy the secret code with just one click, and then move to the locked Reel.

Once they’re on the locked Reels page, users can simply paste the code they copied into the field and unlock the content. They won’t need to manually type the code or go to their email to find it. Everything works automatically.

This is the future of lead magnets on Instagram. We’re currently working on this feature at Apiway. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram. Let’s talk about it!

If people want to unlock your Reels, it means some of them will be willing to pay for it. It's like a tripwire product that helps warm up your audience.

Instead of just collecting emails, you can charge, for example, $10 per Reel. It's like selling small tips or micro-lessons.

Some people may compare it to OnlyFans inside Instagram, but it's important to note that content is hosted on Instagram's infrastructure, and it’s impossible to post adult content, even in locked Reels. Locked Reels are actually a light version of a membership site.

Many times, I've seen creators providing separate Instagram accounts for different workshops, courses, and challenges. On one hand, this is a great approach because workshop attendees don’t need to leave Instagram—they can continue consuming content in their usual environment.

However, it can also be very hard to manage and provide access to the content. If the workshop profile is open, everyone can consume content for free, making it impossible to monetize. If the account is closed (as is usually the case), the account owner has to manually approve all followers after payment. Payments can be matched by email, but when users send a request to join the closed account, the account owner can only see the Instagram username. This makes it more difficult to provide access to paid content for people who have truly paid.

When you have 10 people in a workshop, it’s not difficult. But when you have 10,000 attendees, it can become a nightmare.

So, creators can provide an open workshop profile, but all content will be locked behind Reels.

After payment, attendees will receive a secret code that unlocks every Reel. The code can be the same for all locked Reels. This means that an open workshop profile can function like a course hosting platform, and secret codes will work like a membership zone.

In my opinion, it won’t fully replace course hosting apps, but this approach could become quite popular

In my essay, “The End of Following”, I used the character Carrie Bradshaw as an example of an influencer. Imagine if Carrie Bradshaw were real and living in today's Instagram era. She would definitely create IG Stories. But monetizing the IG Stories format is difficult. While it's great for iterating and warming up followers, it's hard to monetize it as a standalone product.

But what if Carrie used IG Stories for storytelling, but the final episode was in a locked Reel that her followers could buy for, say, $5? Imagine if 1,000 real fans bought every episode, 5 times a month. That would be $20,000 per month. This is actually close to the salary that allowed Carrie to live the lifestyle she had on Sex and the City.

This type of Reels Series could be in a separate account, with each series unlocked after payment.

So, if Carrie could draw views to TV screens, why couldn't she do the same with paid Reels series?

It’s the same feature as a membership site or lead magnet page. The same tactics used for lead magnets can now be applied to the Unlocked Reels feature. It just makes the process easier and with less friction.

In my opinion, it’s an obvious way to collect your followers' emails more easily than before.